I've been active and posting snaps since I joined about two weeks ago. What i've noticed is that there is a lack of discussion with posts, which overall makes Snapzu less engaging than I would like. However, I do find it understandable since a) small user base and b) I myself am more of a lurker than a poster - but I've started to post replies to comments on my snaps, even though they are few and far between. I'm not really sure how to encourage more discussion related to snaps - there seems to be some interest in them since they're being voted up but not really commented on. Perhaps I'll start posting my own reaction first to get the conversation started?
As for the idea of an "ideal" Snapzu, I'd just like to say that I like that Snapzu isn't reddit. There's already a reddit for that. Besides the censorship issues that came up recently, reddit has changed over the last few years into more of a giant, anonymous facebook community. And it's great for killing time and feeling a part of a community of people that share your interests, but less for thinking and engagement. I like the potential for snapzu, and I'd like to see less of a drive for a censorship free, "reddit 2.0" and more of growing and shaping snapzu into it's own thing.
Now that you mention it, I might be guilty of not opening up snaps and engaging with them as well. I think it might be a case of learned habit. Migrating over from reddit, where headlines are sensationalized or glossed over in favor of comment threads. I'll be mindful of trying to engage with snapzu differently than reddit, if I want to practice what I just preached.
I also skipped articles on reddit and went straight to the comments on so many topics. The comments is often where you find more information or even better information than the link that was originally posted. I also tend to like to read others opinions on topics and just lurk around.
To me, it depends on why they aren't opening the snaps. I mean, if they genuinely don't think that they will be interested by the material, then that's fine. And maybe they just haven't joined enough tribes to find lots of content they want to read. But I would rather that than people opening snaps just to get the achievements.
Well, I read all of the posts in the tribes where I'm the chief - but, sadly, so far the only posts are the ones I have made :)
And I agree that reading a snap that you aren't sure about may very well net you an interesting read... just haven't had time to go through terribly many yet. But, then, I've only been on the site for 4 days now.
I used to lurk on reddit, hardly ever posting anything. The unlikeliness of my comment even being seen, the likelihood of being downvoted for no reason other than disagreement, and the fact that no one knew or cared who I was were all reasons to just not bother. I'm finding it easier to post here on Snapzu because of the smaller user base, the civility of a culture that promotes intellectual discussion, and the fact that my profile gives me an identity (albeit an anonymous one). I think others probably share my sentiments.
The lack of discussion is definitely just a lack of users. I've already seen an increase in activity in the short while I've been here, so things are looking up! It's down to users like you and myself to keep things moving.
I strongly agree that Snapzu is not reddit. I think a lot of us are used to whatever community we came from, and it's hard to imagine anything else, but Snapzu is Snapzu — the beautiful thing is that us users can make it what we want :)
Perhaps I'll start posting my own reaction first to get the conversation started?
This here is the key to engaging more with a small community I think. The problem is with a smaller pool of users it's much harder to find people that share those exact same interests, so even if they read the post, they may not be able to reply since they just don't know enough to start/join the discussion. I think as the snapzu community grows this will drastically improve, that's why it's so damn important to keep spreading the word and getting more and more people involved.
I like the potential for snapzu, and I'd like to see less of a drive for a censorship free, "reddit 2.0" and more of growing and shaping snapzu into it's own thing.
Agreed, snapzu needs to be it's own thing with it's own identity. I cringe every time I see people saying it's just another more slick looking reddit, that's bullshit, there is so much more to it and people wont know unless we make the differences clear.
This is my first time posting in the lounge.
I've been active and posting snaps since I joined about two weeks ago. What i've noticed is that there is a lack of discussion with posts, which overall makes Snapzu less engaging than I would like. However, I do find it understandable since a) small user base and b) I myself am more of a lurker than a poster - but I've started to post replies to comments on my snaps, even though they are few and far between. I'm not really sure how to encourage more discussion related to snaps - there seems to be some interest in them since they're being voted up but not really commented on. Perhaps I'll start posting my own reaction first to get the conversation started?
As for the idea of an "ideal" Snapzu, I'd just like to say that I like that Snapzu isn't reddit. There's already a reddit for that. Besides the censorship issues that came up recently, reddit has changed over the last few years into more of a giant, anonymous facebook community. And it's great for killing time and feeling a part of a community of people that share your interests, but less for thinking and engagement. I like the potential for snapzu, and I'd like to see less of a drive for a censorship free, "reddit 2.0" and more of growing and shaping snapzu into it's own thing.
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I used to lurk on reddit, hardly ever posting anything. The unlikeliness of my comment even being seen, the likelihood of being downvoted for no reason other than disagreement, and the fact that no one knew or cared who I was were all reasons to just not bother. I'm finding it easier to post here on Snapzu because of the smaller user base, the civility of a culture that promotes intellectual discussion, and the fact that my profile gives me an identity (albeit an anonymous one). I think others probably share my sentiments.
The lack of discussion is definitely just a lack of users. I've already seen an increase in activity in the short while I've been here, so things are looking up! It's down to users like you and myself to keep things moving.
I strongly agree that Snapzu is not reddit. I think a lot of us are used to whatever community we came from, and it's hard to imagine anything else, but Snapzu is Snapzu — the beautiful thing is that us users can make it what we want :)
This here is the key to engaging more with a small community I think. The problem is with a smaller pool of users it's much harder to find people that share those exact same interests, so even if they read the post, they may not be able to reply since they just don't know enough to start/join the discussion. I think as the snapzu community grows this will drastically improve, that's why it's so damn important to keep spreading the word and getting more and more people involved.
Agreed, snapzu needs to be it's own thing with it's own identity. I cringe every time I see people saying it's just another more slick looking reddit, that's bullshit, there is so much more to it and people wont know unless we make the differences clear.
I think just for an experiment I'll start leaving first comments on the Snaps I post and see what happens. I'll let you know how it goes.