How can we make Snapzu's member base bigger?
During the great Reddit Exodus in July, a bunch of us came over and settled these fertile lands. However... it still looks kind of empty here. I'd like a bunch more people to join, but taking away the invite system would expose us to a lot of troll accounts, bots, etc. What are some ways we can actively promote Snapzu? I mean, this site even has a Twitter account and everything, it's not like they don't try.
EDIT: Whooaaaaaa, I'm on the front page! I'd like to thank the Academy, my mother, and my amazing, flawless hair for getting me here!
8 years ago by Urbanknight4
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54 comments
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Do we want it to be that much bigger at the expense of bringing in trolls?
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Consider the following: In the zombie apocalypse, you have a choice. You can go rural or urban. Rural areas have less zombies (less population), but because of that low population they have less tools, supplies, weapons, and survivors. Urban areas are full of guns, ammo, gas and cars, stores to loot, and a bunch of other goodies. Their downside is that you have blocks upon blocks of zeds to take out to reach said goodies.
I think either we compromise and open the floodgates, or we content ourselves with a snail pace. I'm gonna speak from experience because I used to have a forum- the snail pace is toxic in an internet community. Nobody is patient or loyal anymore, and if there is no reason to stick around they'll simply leave. My forum died, and just like Reddit lost us to Snapzu, Snapzu can lose others to another site without invites or with more content or what have you.
I like the comparison, but I feel like the small community of Snapzu helps make it what it is. If you want more users and trolls, Reddit seems to be the place to go. I would love more users at Snapzu, but not at the expense of ruining the community.
Okay, I'm going to build on our analogy of the zombie apocalypse.
Yeah, the urban is the ideal place for pre-made resources lying around. But if we're already rural, we aren't used to the burden of urban living turned bad (regular zombie horde to fend off). What makes rural living advantageous for us is that it relies more on sustainable living, which rural people are already accustomed to pre-apocalypse!
With rural people, you best bet is the occasional trek out to the urban area to scout for the occasional resource we can't get here (the snaps!) and just let the community grow its own resources off of that (discussions).
Yes, if we were aiming to be the next Facebook, we should aim to get big, fast. But I don't think we are, and it's probably fine to be on the small side for now.
In that case, we need more unity and ways to let members know about the smaller and more out of the way tribes so the community can grow as a whole.
This I feel is one of the flaws. The Tribes Index shows not all the Tribes, but the most popular ones, making discovery a little bit strange.
Do you know where we can submit suggestions?
/t/ideasforsnapzu is the tribe you're looking for :P
Thank you :)
I don't. For me,this is just a bit too big..But it will grow. I'm just as happy if it grows slow.
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Release a "Sexy Ladies & Gents of Snapzu" calendar.
We'll attract thousands with your flawless hair alone.
Edit: Dibs on October!
A man after my own thinking. I promote myself for the August spread!
I claim September!
I think that currently quality is better than quantity while this site grows at a nice steady pace and if members actively promote this site and attract new members this growth will come but without the sacrifice of the obvious quality it now has.
I think the most important thing is to actively tell friends about this place and send them invite codes to join and become a part of this place, word of mouth can be such a powerful thing if we had enough people doing it.
It's the invite system. That's the long and short of it. And the no mobile app. It's going to be very stagnant unless those are put forth.
I believe the admins are working quite hard on an API framework (that would allow people to develop effective apps and add-ons à la RES).
Could you explain what... well, what your entire post just said? Sorry I don't know technical terms!
An API (Application programming interface) is a set of objects and functions which allow some program to access the functions of another program (or website).
Snapzu currently doesn't have any, but its admins are working on it. When it'll be available, it'll allow people to write apps that will get information from Snapzu's data directly without having to parse the website like a human would. So it'll make app development way easier and more effective, so we can hope to have a decent mobile app when the API will be released.
The API will also allow people to develop browser extensions like RES (Reddit Enhancement Suite), which adds functionality not provided directly from the core website.
Or, even simplier : I was replying to the "no mobile app" part of /u/Autumnal's comment to say it's not easy right now to make a mobile app for Snapzu, but it will be in the near-ish future.
Thank you for the explanation! I definitely think a mobile app, especially a well-designed one, would bring people in.
It took a while for reddit to have a decent one and it's not something the admins should sink their time into. That's why a good public API is important, it lets everyone have a crack at making one.
Mobile app would help!!
Snapzu would probably need people who attract people: specialists and celebrities. It might also need some sort of original content creation.
Right now, Snapzu feels like a small town where some people fled from the modern problems of a metropolis. It doesn´t seem like it wants to grow quickly. Or maybe it is just waiting for Reddit to shoot itself on the foot again.
I know I definitely want it to grow quicker. Not just because it's kind of annoying to see the tribes I made and work so hard for get maybe one new member ever blue moon, but because people are leaving back to Reddit simply because there isn't enough content here, and plenty over there.
I think if we had more activity from current members, it would offset everything else.
I would be cool with that. The community is friendly and small, we just need to work together.
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shorter wait time for requested invites or, and this may be unpopular, purchased invites. It works for Something Awful, and they maintain their exclusivity.
Purchased invites are good. After all, it's not the only way inside, there are alternatives- and they will keep the, if you'll excuse the expression, lower elements out.
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I really like the small member base. To me I fell like I see familiar people on here and I like that. I think that "small town" aspect of Snapzu keeps people accountable for how they behave on here. I enjoy lively discussions, differences of opinions etc without the nastiness of larger sites. I expect Snapzu will get bigger and may lose some of that. I do get what /u/Urbanknight is saying about having small tribes with little exposure and activity. The tribe list doesn't show a lot of the smaller tribes so it is hard to find them.
You know what would be great? Those little Reddit ad things Reddit has- instead of being real ads, they promote a random sub. Thats really how I found a bunch of the subs I visit there.
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Not that we couldn't use more members, but being cautious about how fast new people come in the gates is key. If they come in too fast, the rest of the community won't be able to weed them out or scare them off if they turn out to be a total asshat troll. I think the invite system is working well, although it might benefit us to allow more than 3 invites per person. (That is how it works, yes?)
Personally, I really like the smaller userbase. Feels more personal and friendly, and the responses are actually thoughtful.
It's not empty to me. I can't keep up with everything.