A very small, humble modest proposal
The current
journey to the centre of the belly button of E2 seems like a good time to pitch a very small, simple idea I've had floating around recently.
The only thing we all agree on right now is our desire to get some fresh
nodermeat around here. To that end, I propose that we start devoting our energies to recruitment, and set up a new group devoted entirely to marketing e2. I imagine it as running along similar lines to
edev, an open source marketing campaign where anyone can pitch an idea for promoting E2 in the outside world. Here are a couple of ideas for what this group could do:
Polling
Not polling of the userbase, who are
daylogging the bejesus out of their opinions at their moment, but polling of non-users and getting their opinions on this funny site of ours. There will be suggestions, which can possibly be refined into an
RDD for edev. There will also be positive points about what we do, which will be useful in deciding who to target. For example, I think our clunky
UI will prove popular with 30-somethings who remember the glory days of
geocities.
Promotion
There are huge groups of people out there searching for something like E2. I'm sure of this. A organised promotion team could find forums and websites where these people gather, and encourage them to join us.
Referral schemes
Bringing in new noders should be rewarded, and we should have a scheme for encouraging existing noders to recruit their mates. I would suggest a
500XP bonus for a referred friend who reaches level 2, but this is something which the promotion team could define.
Other stuff
There's lots.
To sum it up in one sentence: we should work together to form a coherent strategy for bringing in new noders.
Is this a foolhardy quest, given that E2 is dying, all editors are assholes and nobody wants to write anymore. Nope. E2 is a
self-defining,
self-organising, and, importantly, a
self-policing website. Do you want to see changes in policy? Don't pester the gods, just get new noders in.
Every change in E2 policy has been user-driven. Seriously. That includes
raising the bar. It may have been brutal and badly handled, but it succeeded because deep down we all wanted it. Therefore, change in editorial policy is only possible by bringing in new users.
That's the truth.
Let's get some fresh meat in here. Begin.
In other news, happy St Patrick's Day! Go n-eiri libh!