June 8, 2023

A Flawed Web 20

As Web2.0 continues to evolve, it seems more and more sites are going towards a user created content model.

It works great from the webmaster point of view: Simply put up the infastructure and let your users create your content for you, and collect advertising revenue.

In fact there seems to be an influx of these type of sites. Fark, Delicious, and Digg are the 3 big ones that come to mind. Then there’s craigslist and google groups which are a whole different idea all together.

But there’s a flaw here. What’s in it for the user? Why should they submit content to you?

In the case of Craigslist and Delicious, it’s because the sites provide a valuable service without the obtrusive ads.

But what about the smaller sites? the Digg, the Shoutwires, the Farks of the internet? What motivates a user to contribute to them?

Theoretically, wouldn’t that user be better off posting his original content on his own site with his own ads?

As blogs become more omnipotent, and everybody and their mother gets one, I think web3.0 is going to take the selfish attitude of “what’s in it for me?”

About Ryan Jones

Ryan Jones is an SEO from Detroit. By day he works as a manager of SEO & Analytics at SapientNitro where his team performs SEO for Fortune500 clients. By night he's either playing hockey or attempting to take over the world with his own websites - which he would have already succeeded in doing had it not been for those meddling kids and their dog. The views expressed here have not been paid for and belong only to Ryan, not any of his employers or clients. Follow Ryan on Twitter at: @RyanJones, add him on Google+ or visit his personal website: www.RyanMJones.com