I‘ve been planning an article on how an online community might revitalize itself for some time now, but why go into detail when I can just give a fantastic example?
Yesterday, a “manga face” meme swept through the communities on Pownce, Plurk, and other social networking sites. Using the free cartoon/manga face generator Face Your Manga, dozens and dozens of users participated by crafting their own faces and sharing with the community. In particular, Pownce’s OAuth integration made for an unusually excellent medium.
Taking it a step further
However, the manga-faced exploits would have stopped there if it were not for the efforts of developer Leah Siddall, creator of the reply-tracking Bownce (which really ought to be implemented within the service proper). Using everyone’s manga images and a little bit of programming trickery, she created the Pownce Yearbook, a graphical compilation of users’ faces.
What a great way to show off some community members in an artistic fashion! You’ve really got to check out the entire thing by clicking here.
Why this rocks
The reason that this is so excellent is that it brings a little bit of revitalization to a community that hasn’t really seen enormous growth over the past few weeks. Pownce is a great service and full of fascinating people, but has lacked the oomph to pull the sheer quantity of users as arguably more successful Twitter has done.
Leah’s efforts creating the Pownce Yearbook 2008 bring a little bit of fun back into the mix: reminding current members why they’re here, and demonstrating to prospective users some of the benefits of joining.
I’m not sure how long it took her to create the Pownce Yearbook, as my programming knowledge is woefully poor, but I do have a hunch that it did not take as nearly long as many programmers envision when they consider creating a new application, extension, or feature. For a reasonable investment of time and energy, Leah has created a lasting moment that will go down in the annals of Pownce history.
Enjoy this article? Why don’t you friend me on Pownce? If you’re new, you can also sign up by clicking here.
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The Pownce Yearbook: community revitalization in action
by Andy DeSoto on August 15, 2008
Yesterday, a “manga face” meme swept through the communities on Pownce, Plurk, and other social networking sites. Using the free cartoon/manga face generator Face Your Manga, dozens and dozens of users participated by crafting their own faces and sharing with the community. In particular, Pownce’s OAuth integration made for an unusually excellent medium.
Taking it a step further
However, the manga-faced exploits would have stopped there if it were not for the efforts of developer Leah Siddall, creator of the reply-tracking Bownce (which really ought to be implemented within the service proper). Using everyone’s manga images and a little bit of programming trickery, she created the Pownce Yearbook, a graphical compilation of users’ faces.
What a great way to show off some community members in an artistic fashion! You’ve really got to check out the entire thing by clicking here.
Why this rocks
Leah’s efforts creating the Pownce Yearbook 2008 bring a little bit of fun back into the mix: reminding current members why they’re here, and demonstrating to prospective users some of the benefits of joining.
I’m not sure how long it took her to create the Pownce Yearbook, as my programming knowledge is woefully poor, but I do have a hunch that it did not take as nearly long as many programmers envision when they consider creating a new application, extension, or feature. For a reasonable investment of time and energy, Leah has created a lasting moment that will go down in the annals of Pownce history.
Enjoy this article? Why don’t you friend me on Pownce? If you’re new, you can also sign up by clicking here.