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iTunes Ping and the empty restaurant syndrome

#18 | 5:19 |

Status Update

Wednesday October 27, 2010

Like eating in a restaurant, like dancing at a wedding, like hitting the hors d'ouvres at a party, using social media sites is easier when others blaze the trail. The "empty restaurant" makes you, as a potential patron, wonder if no one else is eating here, is that an indication that I shouldn't either? In social media terms, if there's no one else using this service, perhaps I shouldn't waste my time on it either. iTunes Ping and the Apple Game Center are prime examples. Jay Goldman explains some of the problems facing a social media start-up, even a start-up with big budget backing like Ping and Apple's Game Center.

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Show Notes

Lessons learned from Ping

- Work out the terms of any partnerships BEFORE launch. Ping suffers from empty restaurant syndrome in large part because it and Facebook apparently couldn't agree on terms of use for Facebook Connect.

- Make it easy for visitors to find their friends. Things like Facebook Connect make it simple.

- Third-party software can be used to pull users' address books (opt-in, of course) making it easy for visitors to find their friends. Software like Contact Importer.

- Encourage social action: Make it easy for users to follow other users.

- If your whole concept hangs on content partnerships, make sure you engage potential partners and make it easy for them to buy in to the idea.

- OpenFeint is a prime example of social gaming done right. Take heed. Watch the Mr. Mobile episode on OpenFeint if you're not convinced.

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