The beauty of Tribe is that we give everyone a built-in audience, and the means with which to recruit them.
We let you build a little kingdom here on Tribe, and you can see who's looking at what you create. We show you how many views there are on some things, and you can always click through on a discussion board post to see the person behind the words. But more than that, you can see who those people count as friends, and where they choose to hang out.
Lots of sites expose you to people that you wouldn't otherwise meet. Very few of them let you see who they actually are. And still fewer let you engage them directly. (Why? Well, few sites have a very developed concept of identity, for one thing. But we also happen to have attracted a very expressive group of initial users.)
I like to call this "the end of the lonely web." Since its inception, the internet has largely been a solitary place: even if you're active on it -- building your own homepage, or chatting in IRC, or posting to discussion boards -- it's neither common nor convenient to really connect with someone. Thousands of tiny flashlights, all pointed up into the sky, rather than 90 degrees left or right, so that we can all find each other in the dark.
Tribe would be much better if users could engage each other over specific needs and abilities: if people could advertise their skills/needs passively as well as actively, and promote themselves as resources for their friends and others.
One idea related to this is an alternative to the regular listing experience -- something like a more personal version of a listing, that gets sent out just to friends. Alerts or notices that appear in a special location, only for 1st-degree friends.
This could be as simple as having an "inside scoop" section when posting to Tribe: an additional field where people can enter information that only their friends can see. Something like, "Mention my name and get $10 off the cover!" or "Send me your resume and I'll put in a good word for you." This area should be clearly distinguished from the rest of the listing, and shouldn't be displayed when the listing is forwarded, for example.
That way, people will get the idea that Tribe is more than just listings. It's about opportunities that (usually) everyone can see, but in a system where your friends help you identify and act on them.
...
Hmm, the "friends only" comments feature is starting to make more sense now.
We let you build a little kingdom here on Tribe, and you can see who's looking at what you create. We show you how many views there are on some things, and you can always click through on a discussion board post to see the person behind the words. But more than that, you can see who those people count as friends, and where they choose to hang out.
Lots of sites expose you to people that you wouldn't otherwise meet. Very few of them let you see who they actually are. And still fewer let you engage them directly. (Why? Well, few sites have a very developed concept of identity, for one thing. But we also happen to have attracted a very expressive group of initial users.)
I like to call this "the end of the lonely web." Since its inception, the internet has largely been a solitary place: even if you're active on it -- building your own homepage, or chatting in IRC, or posting to discussion boards -- it's neither common nor convenient to really connect with someone. Thousands of tiny flashlights, all pointed up into the sky, rather than 90 degrees left or right, so that we can all find each other in the dark.
Tribe would be much better if users could engage each other over specific needs and abilities: if people could advertise their skills/needs passively as well as actively, and promote themselves as resources for their friends and others.
One idea related to this is an alternative to the regular listing experience -- something like a more personal version of a listing, that gets sent out just to friends. Alerts or notices that appear in a special location, only for 1st-degree friends.
This could be as simple as having an "inside scoop" section when posting to Tribe: an additional field where people can enter information that only their friends can see. Something like, "Mention my name and get $10 off the cover!" or "Send me your resume and I'll put in a good word for you." This area should be clearly distinguished from the rest of the listing, and shouldn't be displayed when the listing is forwarded, for example.
That way, people will get the idea that Tribe is more than just listings. It's about opportunities that (usually) everyone can see, but in a system where your friends help you identify and act on them.
...
Hmm, the "friends only" comments feature is starting to make more sense now.
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SF Bay Area
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