Motivations online

I think there’s something vaguely paradoxical or problematic about ABC Pool’s scheme. As I understand it, this project is designed to generate a wealth of creative self-expression online and attract a stimulated audience of engaged consumers and produsers. The interactivity allows for Pool to grow by itself and become exponentially popular, thus ABC has an online farm of creative content to harvest in the coming months.

There’s no real problem with what I’ve outlined above. I think that Pool has already achieved something like this. It’s got a small group of content producers and consumers, and this community functions on its own for the most part. The *problem*, as I see it, comes into play when we attempt to expand Pool, to switch Pool into hyperdrive. We need more people making content (specifically for “my tribe”) and more people browsing content (specifically for “my tribe”). But realistically, your average Joe wouldn’t go near Pool if his life depended on it.

Why do people go online? What do they want to do with themselves once they’ve clicked the “Firefox” button?

I’m going to make some sweeping answers to this question. Sweeping, but correct in many cases I would argue.

For many people, the internet seems to function as a social tool. It’s not particularly exciting, no one particularly *enjoys* the Facebook website — but the enjoy interacting with their friends *via* facebook. Similarly, hotmail, gmail and other email sites serve a similar function. Theyr’e tools that facilitate communication between people. Simple, generally text-based communication.

People also enjoy talking about themselves.. what they’re currently doing or thinking about. The popularity of Twitter, a fairly basic website when you think about it, demonstrates this urge. It’s very simple, very effective.

So.. I’d argue that generally, our collective addiction to being online is primarily driven by this urge to communicate with friends and keep up to date with what’s happening in your social circle.

And this is not what Pool is about. Pool is about making a product. A *thing*. Something creative. A poem or a podcast or a still photo, etc. And now you’re talking about a smaller subset of people online. These people like making things, playing with media and throwing it onto the web for the world to see. Most are not out to become media producers in any professional sense, they simply like making things, putting their ideas online and potentially getting feedback and validation from people all over the world.
That’s great. I like the idea that people out there are taking initiative and making all sorts of media for their own enjoyment and not much else. The problem is, if these people want feedback or validation, they typically want to place their work somewhere with a large body of users, a mass-audience. This “place” is currently not Pool. Similarly, online media *consumers* generally gravitate towards places with a massive archive of content to browse through. This place is also not Pool.

So… Pool needs to target a subset of the community that *already have* what they’re craving. I’d argue that most people with this urge to create media, or to consume sophisticated media content, are already doing so, and are already satisfied with what they get.
So… what are we doing to attract people to Pool and “My Tribe”? Well, paradoxically, it seems that we’re *limiting people’s creative freedom* by giving them a theme to work with. Now… I’m used to addressing themes. I’ve had to do that throughout my media course. But initially, when you’re given a theme, you think “shit, really? that’s hard, why do we have to have that theme?” And then, after much brainstorming, and after several tutorial sessions with Christine, you come up with a good idea and become enthused with your project. The problem is, on the web, people have short attention spans. The entire world is at the tip of their fingers, and I’d argue that no one has the patience to work with some other person’s designated “theme” unless there’s an incentive.

I’m sure that some people will enjoy my tribe. There are a lot of people in this world, and we’ll get some people interested in Pool, no doubt. But I know that if I were in the consumer’s shoes, I’d be thinking “Hey look, I can use Pool to upload lots of my awesome media, and it’ll be really cool. Oh… wait.. a theme? my tribe? hah. no way. I’m going back to Youtube where I can put up whatever the hell I want.”

sad but true I think.