Zorbo provides a good answer: Focus. Both in what the Tool does and also what it is used for; to wit, we created Storylane to build a library of human experiences and opinions. We created Storylane to focus on what matters. This is partly achieved by the tool itself and how it works, partly by the community and how is being collectively crafted. The key operative word here is actually "being" as in we have been doing this for a couple of weeks and the focus that I am describing is pretty much in the making
Storylane is free for all (as in: NOT invite only but open to anyone). It is however community curated in that the best content surfaces to the top using the feedback users give.
I like the sound of "A library of human experiences" - it grabs me more than "People sharing things that matter".
Perhaps there is an example or demo you could make public, to give less adventurous visitors (like me) an idea of what it does? (edit: like the /gauss link I just noticed - now I like it)
Since upvotes aren't shown, I just want to say that I prefer "A library of human experiences" too. The current subtitle makes it sounds more like a social network for friends and families than a open community.
Point taken, and it seems to be a common thread. We need to think about how to do this better.
The reason we care about registrations is because we look at it as a community not a marketplace for content.
Building a bad community, not setting precedent, training up people and solidifying a culture are pretty lethal to your stated goal.
Once you are open to all, your constant battle will always be:
1) Not let the Signal to Noise ratio degenerate
2) Be able to split the Signal down into sub categories for people to process, as opposed to a torrent which then leads to arbitrary discarding of significant data.
You bring two very important points. I agree that creating the right community and the right precedent is Key, but I don't think you need to be closed in order to achieve this. On the contrary, I think one needs to build a system that cana achieve that And be open. From our point a view, is actually an imperative: we Must be able to do it. We simply don't like close, invite only systems. The reasons probably will fit better in another thread.
With regards to managing signal to noise: 100% agree. Figuring out how to slice and dice the content so that you see what matters to You is our number one "tactical" objective. It is actually a hard problem, but one that gets easier as you come to understand the content being created and once you can benefit from enough liquidity to slice and dice at will.
We reasoned that the signed-in experience is a lot richer than what we could show signed-out on the landing page, but perhaps we should not take it to such an extreme :)
