If I could work anywhere…

Alongside Jeff and Kent croft, I conceived, co-founded, and launched Lendle a little over four months ago. Our little slice of the book-lending market has performed beyond our expectations, and I think it’s fair to say all three of us are amazed at how far we’ve come in such a short period of time.

For me, though, the most satisfying aspect of running a social book-lending site has been the chance to do something I’ve always known I’d love: Evangelize, promote and drive the social aspects of a product I am truly proud of. 

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Holy Hell: Newsvine implodes! It’s all my fault!

A few days ago, I wrote a fairly simple article about Newsvine. I suggested it needs fixing (does anyone think otherwise?) and outlined several steps that could be taken to fix it. I didn’t and don’t see any of them as particularly controversial.

Read my suggestions here.

I happen to be Facebook friends with Mike Davidson (Newsvine’s CEO) as well as Calvin Tang (Newsvine’s ex-COO). I’ve back-and-forthed with Mike a few dozen times via email and my initial thought was that he might read my post and nothing much would come of it. Calvin and I have exchanged thoughts a lot more often than that, but Calvin doesn’t work for Newsvine anymore. At any rate, I didn’t even bother to say anything to Mike about my article, so I didn’t really expect much to come of it. I have no idea whether he’s read it, or not.

Something did come of it, though.

It was seeded to Newsvine by another of my Facebook friends (Viki Gonia) who also happens to work for Newsvine as a guide. (I don’t know much about what “works for” entails, really. If she gets paid, she’s never mentioned it to me. If she doesn’t, she should.)

If you’re a masochist, or have an hour or two to spare, read the comment thread appended to her seed, because that’s when the shit really hit the fan.

Over a thousand comments in just about two days. I haven’t been on Newsvine for months, now—not as a commenter/contributor, anyway—but it’s fairly clear that people are still…upset…about things I’ve said in the past. That doesn’t surprise me. I know I’ve ruffled a few feathers. (Feathers often deserved to be ruffled.)

Anywho…

Viki’s thread spawned at least two other articles, adding hundreds more comments to the mix. Somewhere amidst all of this, a popular user was been banned for (apparently) having two registered accounts and using both of them to vote for comments and articles. That’s a big no-no on Newsvine. (Ironically, she was calling out another person for the same offense.) There are allegedly extenuating circumstances, blah blah blah.

Curiously, despite the fact that the punishment (and even the lead-up to it) was based on a lengthy derail of the original topic that had absolutely nothing to do with my suggestions for fixing Newsvine, the banning is somehow my fault, and it has even been suggested that Viki orchestrated this whole thing to rid Newsvine of the “social chatters” I derided in my fix article. The plan, I guess, involved tricking someone into getting banned (we’re very clever) which would then cause a bunch of goofballs to leave Newsvine in order to protest the unfair treatment of one of their BFFs.

That’s not what I intended at all, but: Good riddance.

Most of the people now throwing a fit do indeed engage in the sort of worthless behavior I was referencing when I said that some people simply aren’t cut out for the internet. If even half of those people leave and never come back I’m going to campaign for a second Random Act of Vineness. I’d be the first person to earn two and also the first person to earn one while not actively contributing content. 

At any rate, I’m not sure if anything could have proved my points better than the current meta explosion has, and I really wish I could claim to have orchestrated it. Alas, no.

Viki also posted a “How We Would Fix Newsvine” thread, in a valiant effort to cull some of the ideas thrown around on her seed, back before people decided to derail it.

Here’s the thing, though: There’s almost no one I trust less to “fix” Newsvine than the current active community. (I use the term “active” very lightly.) This isn’t something that should or can be done by committee and it certainly shouldn’t be done by a committee comprised of those who are the problem.

The fix needs to be hashed out by 5-10 people who have the clout to get something done. They need to sit around a table and make some real choices about what can really be done to solve the very real problems facing Newsvine. Otherwise, you’re just going to get Newsvine’s version of The Homer.

I’m convinced that any effective fix that isn’t just lip service will involve some tough decisions that a lot of people simply won’t like.

In the end, I think my favorite part of this has to be the suggestion that I don’t have “the right” to suggest improvements to a website I no longer contribute to—even though I spent more time there (by a long time) than probably anyone involved in the ensuing discussion. (Not only do I not have the right, but my opinion is completely irrelevant. Apparently, though, that won’t stop them from yammering on and on and on about this and that and everything and getting all worked up to the point of threatening to leave.)

Does Calvin, a co-founder, get to have an opinion now that he’s moved on? Can he voice it? Is he irrelevant as well?

Ah well. If I’d have wanted their input, or thought it was valuable, I’d have posted my thoughts to Newsvine myself, instead of secretly asking Viki to do it for me.

Just kidding, guys! Put the tinfoil hats and pitchforks away. (Actual juice: I do have two accounts, and Dennis is wrong: I created the second one, not Calvin, as part of a joke, almost a year to the day after I joined. It’s a conspiracy.)

I still love the idea of Newsvine. I love the promise it never fully lived up to. At the same time, I hate what it has become and I hate that it is now filled with people who see it as a glorified chat room—and actually want it to stay that way—probably because that’s all they’ve ever known it to be.

These people have no imagination. They have no interest in making or being a part of something great.

Fuck ‘em.

How sad.

How I Would Fix Newsvine

Background: For several years, I was an incredibly active member of the Newsvine community. Now I’m not. In my opinion, Newsvine is broken, but I think it can be fixed. 

Here’s how:

1. Make it fun. (Again.) One of Newsvine’s earliest concepts was the ability to earn branches on your vine via a series of 6 achievements. They were either absurdly easy to get (the first five) or (as with the last branch) absurdly difficult. As a result, they don’t signify anything at all. Instead, Newsvine should offer an expanded list of hundreds of achievements. The list could be endless really, but I’m thinking tiered achievements for milestones in seeding content and for writing original content. Achievements for votes. For earning followers. For losing followers. For time spent as a member. For pulling in a large number of page views. For being linked by mainstream outlets. And, of course, badges should be awarded (light heartedly) for things like having content flagged for removal. (Or for being maliciously targeted for removal.) Someone has been a member for a year without ever seeding or writing content? There’s an achievement for that. Then, design a bunch of badges, collect them on a page, and let me show them off. They should be fun, lighthearted and above all else, they should encourage useful participation and exploration. More than anything, this idea would require the Newsvine staff to sit around a table and brainstorm some fun achievements in an effort to spur community involvement on Newsvine. Maybe I’m wrong, but it feels (to me) like part of why Newsvine needs fixing is because that hasn’t happened in too long.
2. Zero tolerance. The Internet is full of angry, hateful people. Many of them congregate on Newsvine and are boorish assholes who should have been banned ages ago. People get too many chances and this is (I guess) largely because even assholes have vocal followers who will throw a fit when their friends are reprimanded, which becomes work for the staff. (Amazingly, the fact that their friend is an awful person is never a factor in why a punishment was handed down. It’s always “Newsvine has an obvious liberal bias.” Except for those times when “Newsvine has an obvious conservative bias.”) I’m no longer there because Newsvine’s Code of Honor doesn’t distinguish between calling someone out for being an asshole and, well, being an asshole. That got old and I wasn’t interested in getting banned for calling assholes assholes. All those people who whine and complain and threaten to leave because they can’t get away with their bullshit? If they haven’t left yet, there’s not enough zero tolerance going on. UPDATE: Over on Newsvine, I’m seeing some blowback about the idea of zero tolerance. This whole thing is about assholes. People who would call someone else a “cunt”. Or who would threaten someone else. Or who would expose someone’s private information. I didn’t expect anyone to object to a zero tolerance stance about that but, apparently, some people do. I’m not talking about policy disagreements or heated debate. I’m talking about people who cannot respect other people without becoming abusive in some way or another. I have never, and will never defend someone—whether I agree with their opinions or not—for doing something like that, but there are a lot of people (many of them who are arguing against my “zero tolerance” idea) who do defend that sort of behavior.
3. Reward effort. Quantity is rewarded on Newsvine and it always has been. Newsvine’s most visible (but completely worthless) gauge of success is the leaderboard and several of the (all-time) “top” viners are people who haven’t been there in years. They rank highly because they seeded thousands of articles in a relatively short period of time. (Presumably. I don’t know the exact algorithm but can’t think of any other way to explain, say, Aine MacDermot’s #4 position.) Seeding outside links is easy. Way easier than writing original content of any length. Part of rewarding effort should involve picking people who write quality content and featuring them on the front page and, yes, paying them to contribute. Everyone earns advertising revenue by participating on Newsvine. Sadly, it’s the assholes and seeders who earn the most under this arrangement. Paid original content from those who earn the distinction should be a new tier. Effort also involves being interesting. I’ve already read that New York Times article. Someone else already seeded that stupid thing Glenn Beck did. Abortion has been analyzed to death. Newsvine should reward people who try harder. UPDATE: It’s been suggested that I left NOT because of anything I’ve written here, but because I wasn’t popular enough on Newsvine. Yeah. It really sucked to get a paid trip to go cover technology at CES in Las Vegas in 2010. Or when Roger Ebert posted one of my early articles on his website. Or being linked by Daring Fireball. Exposure was never a problem for me. Having a large following was never a problem for me. It’s an easy claim for someone to make who isn’t interested in looking at this with an open mind and would rather make stupid, baseless claims because they’re bitter and angry, but it’s just as easily proven false.
4. Discourage loitering. Newsvine is turning into a breeding ground for bored, social-chatters who like to flirt and goof off. That sort of time-wasting material should be stamped out and taken off the front page. People who insist that Newsvine is another Myspace shouldn’t thrive. Middle-aged women and dirty-old men flirting with each other and getting their feelings hurt because they don’t understand how the social internet works (most of these people don’t have what it takes to share and defend their opinions on a public forum) are going to be the death of Newsvine. These people are parasites and they should be treated as such. UPDATE: This one REALLY pisses people off. Why? Because they know they do it. I have nothing against middle aged women. Or dirty old men. Or their desire to act like flirty teenagers because the anonymity of the internet makes them feel all warm and tingly and…brave. Newsvine isn’t the place for it, though. And, unfortunately, those who engage in that sort of frivolous behavior are also always the people who are most easily hurt, or crushed, or dismayed about some really stupid petty personal shit when things “get too real” or whatever. It’s drama that isn’t even tied to opinion making or news or anything. It’s created by those who think there’s “newsvine” and then there’s “comments”. I think they’re both a vital component of a serious social-news concept. The person who is upset about this doesn’t think I’m the “go to” person to fix Newsvine. Maybe not. But I sure as hell know a lot more about social-media trends than most people and COMMON SENSE would tell anyone who can look past their own personal feelings that there’s something broken with Newsvine. I find it amusing that there are so many people on the Newsvine seed of this article who are whining and acting like the moderator is treating them poorly because she’s doing her job. She’s not even to the level of “zero tolerance” and they can’t stop complaining about how they’re being unfairly treated, or not taken seriously. It’s bullshit like that which stretches Tyler thin and prevents him from doing his job more effectively. 
5. Restructure. This one won’t be easy, but Newsvine is badly in need of a version 3.0: Newsvine’s groups concept didn’t scale. They’re absolutely worthless. The front page is in dire need of an overhaul and customizable user columns have been in beta since before I left. Too many features are promised and not delivered.
6. Discourage anonymity. Why feature people on the front page who are members of the community but can’t be bothered to upload an unique avatar? My experience with social-media is that those least likely to customize their column/accounts are also the least likely to stick around and contribute positively. Forcing people to use their real names may not be feasible but promoting or incentivizing “verified accounts” (perhaps via credit-card authentication) would be a huge step in limiting anonymous douchebaggery. 
7. Hire a community liaison. Replace Calvin Tang, now that he has left. Almost every social/fun experience I can recall on Newsvine was headed up by Calvin. He eventually lost the ability to do this while wearing all his other hats and Newsvine has never really replicated his influence on the community. This is somewhat tied into the idea of making Newsvine fun again, but it’s important enough, I think, to dedicate a paid position to. This isn’t the same thing as Tyler, Newsvine’s moderator, whose job isn’t tied to establishing relationships and promoting participation. He’s there to enforce zero tolerance. This person’s role is to make Newsvine a place where zero tolerance doesn’t have to be enforced all that often.