In this context, Iím listing down some issues that emerged from the Informal Survey conducted on Ryze. Some very basic issues on the Ryze proposition I feel the Ryze owners and administrators need to address are :

• People seem to hesitate to invite others to this network .. I think a lot has to do with the fact that many do not perceive any ëtangibleí benefit from being here Ö whether social or business rewards Ö. and this perception perhaps stems from the fact that the objectives of the community are not really clear Ö thereís little by way of intro from the owners Ö and the wide array of people and conversations makes it easy for someone to get ëlostí. Here are a few comments from members :

ìThree words that describe my experiences here Ö 'uneven': at first there was very little activity, now there is a great deal; 'tentative': sometimes I don't know what to make of it; 'hopeful': is this the way to build social capital?î

"I think everyone struggles to find the relevance that Ryze can have in their lives. Which is why they sign up, then donít do anything about it. That relevance or personal context is key to making them participate. This can be done with more ìproven case studies / successful partnerships / success storiesî made possible because of Ryze ñ not just the ìquotesî on the home pageî.

• As a result, there seems to be little ëprideí in being a Ryze member Ö its interesting to see that a lot of people are on here and are working the system .. yet they would like to appear as if theyíre not really so involved. This would link back to fears on digital identity and reputation Ö do I want to be ëseení on Ryze ? What would others think of me if they knew I was ëactiveí here ? What ëfaceí do I present Ö if I go ësoftí will people take me too flippantly Ö if Iím a ësuití will I encourage interactions or just contract and jobseekers?
• This could explain some hesitance to invite more people Ö and once again reinforce the fact that Ryze does not enjoy any clear brand image or vision Ö and a call to the owners to work at it Ö we need stats, we need incentives, we need ësuccess storiesí, we need evangelism. And if no one is asked or recognized for it (except for the no. of invitees youíve brought in .. or the guestbook hits on your page .. which some dislike), there seems to be low motivation to do so.

ìIf I see too much of the banal chat that goes on if they pay too much attention to hits and # of message scores .. I would quit Ryzeî

ìWe need success stories. I got a job when I did this, or so and so referred me to a new client. Creating customer evangalists is crucial, but some people do it naturally. Give them better tools! Reward them! Give them some incentivesî.

• The question this raises is should Ryze project a certain image Ö and if so what is the desired image.Conversely, if itís a network for people run by people Ö should this image evolve on its own Ö yet thereís need to ësteerí it in some direction, simply because it is not a homogenous group with shared objectives on here.Ryze claims to be a ëbusiness networkí ñ is it really that ñ or has it organically grown into something else?
• Link this back to the front page, to the ëtoneí set by the owners, to the intros for new members, to the ëwelcomingí protocol, to the networks .... there seem flaws in all these areas.
• A thought here .. for instance Ö could we have, along with networks Ö something along the lines of cooperatives Ö say a research cooperative, or a design cooperative, or a social interaction cooperative, or an ideation cooperative Ö where thereís stronger motivation to contribute Ö and some kind of financial model can be put in place. That would result in shared ownership Ö shared nurturance Ö shared rewards.

Perhaps its time to identify and prototype what could facilitate adoption and acceleration for different people at different levels of adoption with different goals and motivations - some matrix suggest themselves in the areas of levels of participation, expectations, roadblocks, new avenues, stickiness, perceived rewards,etc. Almost like doing a classical segmentation exercise Ö identifying and measuring segments, identifying drivers and exploring ways to sustain and build.

This type of information could be useful :

• To ëfeel the pulseí of different segments Ö say, what are IT professionals or teenagers or designers or housewives in Manhattan or gizmo freaks talking about these days
• To better define and focus the Ryze vision ñ let it come from the people that make Ryze .. yet give it direction
• To provide access to knowledge communities ñ perhaps not in its current form .. but with some focus, could be a useful toolbox/incubation box/ideation forum Ö
• To provide an understanding of ëtechí needs by segment Ö two benefits Ö one .. can give rise to tech needs for which solutions may be sought and two Ö this human face may ease the adoption cycle of technology innovations Ö. for instance .. even a simple FAQs can be better designed, made more user friendly

Following a Collectively Constructed Blogstory(Microdoc News) - where Microdoc surveys the types of blogs that have responded to the story and how the story has continued.  This post ends with a call to action : "What we need is a site that will provide summaries of blogologues, provide all citations, have a summary of each, the type of blog post (vote, summary, opinion, reaction) so that we can follow stories far more easily. There is a task for Daypop, Blogdex, Feedster or Popdex."

Practical Considerations in Tracing a Blogosphere Story: where practical considerations in tracing the progress or evolution of a Blogosphere story are discussed.  Interesting to note observations based on the 'mutation' of the original post by Microdoc News.  Some problems they have documented :

Here is the problem -- in mapping this story, what can I count as a node contributing to the collective story? Do I count comments on the Doc Searl site as a contribution to a blogging story? In that the comments are on the Doc Searl site, is not it sufficient to indicate that the main posting of Doc Searl is enough to show as the voter or opinion in the blog story map?

We also experienced difficulties in what can be included as a blog. Is a site of just links a blog? Such as the links of Anil Dash. Also, can we count Blogdex, Daypop, and Popdex as providing a vote or not in the story? These sites are a vital way of people learning about the story, and in some cases people identify these sites as a source of their story. Does a blog always need to be the source of a blog post, or can it be an automated site that simply stores links?

What is the point of referencing? Why do we need to know where Joe obtained the link from? Apart from helping us map the story, there is kind of a intellectual honesty thing here. How hard you looked, where you gained the intelligence, and the type of link from which you obtained the story is all relevant. It is kind of the "authorization" of the story

Discussion and Citation in the Blogosphere...[plasticbag.org].  Here's an absolutely wonderful piece by Tom Coates, in which he attempts to resolve some basic questions about discussions and conversations through blogging. 

"Can you have a good discussion through the blogosphere? What is the nature of that discussion? How does it differ from message-board conversation?"

He speaks of a "micro-paradigm shift - a kind of hyperactive academia, where discussion moves forward in discontinuous chunks - with an initial weighty post articulating a position that is then commented upon, challenged and cited all over the place.  But the debate doesn't move forward until someone manages to articulate a position of sufficient weight to shift the emphasis of the discussion to their new position"

Here's a neat diagram on comparisons between online threaded discussions and weblog style microparadigm shifts :

I like the thought that "debate across weblogs self-organizes in a pretty useful way".  

Like an unbound sieve .... filtering out the grain from the dust ....   

"Blogs offer the human voice, which can be loud, controversial, and even wacky. But the realness of the blog inspires trust and piques peopleís curiosity. A blog can create a community and a dynamic discussion.If you are a product manager working in the chemical products industry, chances are that you would rather hear about the real experiences of other product managers in your industry than read a glossy marketing piece by the marcom department. Blogs fit this communications requirement perfectly."

Whats particularly interesting is the section on how blog technologies and their underlying concepts can be applied to corporate newsletters.

"You can adapt blog technologies to your corporate electronic newsletters by taking advantage of the underlying concepts. You can, for example, do the following:

• Publish a small amount of well-organized information frequently and regularly
• Include content from individuals who are knowledgeable and passionate about their work
• Make it easy for your employees to communicate directly in their own, human voice
• Respect the reader by making sure your e-newsletter provides value and that he/she wants to receive it

Whatís often missing is an easy way for the ìknow-howî keepers to capture their knowledge, organize it, and deliver it. The best e-newsletters are written in a real voice, not in corporate speak."

Disruptive technology ..... ? I'd agree - weblogs tend to be personal with a 'real voice' - and that can be a challenge to the corporate voice.

Yet, how rare it is to see or hear a humanized corporate voice.