Sorry but Hi5 sucks & I just don't see it being popular here in the US.......
Ryan
· 1 year ago
The difficulty for sites like hi5 is the current entrenchment in other social networks. People have invested a lot in their current network, with friends, blog posts, photos and so on. Moving is hard when you have baggage. Also, people aren't willing to move without their friends.
So what's needed? First, a compelling reason to choose hi5 over Facebook or MySpace. Facebook stole share from MySpace because its compelling feature was a tighter, more private and secure social network. Since then, Facebook has continued to innovate, with things like the news feed and in-browser chat. What this means is hi5 has a lot to overcome just to reach parity with the 2 leading networks. Simply adding chat and launching a new design won't cut it.
Some areas where I would like to see the networks go is for one, cleaner separation between groupings of friends. While grouping tools exist on these sites, none offer a truly compelling interaction design that puts my "family" over here, my "close friends" over there and my "coworker acquaintances" over yonder. It still has the feel of a jumble of everyone with clunky tools to attempt to section off my content.
Annother area where hi5 might have a unique distinction is the bringing of people together internationally. To work out a feature that gets people from the US talking to people from all over the word could be an interesting proposition to many. As the site stands now, it's a bit of a mess with a mishmash of languages and different countrymen and women. If they can organize that properly and give effective communication tools, they might have something.
Beyond the compelling feature that gets people on other networks to notice you, you have to make it easy to transition over. Photo sharing sites and blog sites do this sort of this sort of thing all of the time. Importing tools to make it easy for you to take your data with you. Admittedly, a lot of that is made nearly impossible with draconian rules on sharing with the social networks, but they're getting a little better. Regardless, a big button with "move my Facebook account" makes the decision to try your social network that much easier.
P.S. I didn't watch the video with Mike Trigg and I admit I probably should have before writing this. :D
Programlama
· 1 year ago
I'm hating hi5, because they are always sending a spam mail, "Signup, signup, signup". So, i was deleted my mail adress in hi5 maillist.
Ryan
· 1 year ago
I suspect Programlama has a point. Hi5 has been traditionally very aggressive with their "spam your friends" approach. Their UI on signup gives you the impression that you have to spam your friends to access the site.
That approach has led to their growth and the less sophisticated spam filtering in other countries may be the reason they were successful elsewhere, but not in the US. The practice has always made me feel a little unsettled about them.
If they want US growth, cutting off the email annoyance would be a good start. It's tarnishing their brand.
hehe
· 1 year ago
i love hi5 too much,,, but it will be closed soon.,, every hi5 user are too upset and boring.. we wouldnt like to do that... i like all of hi5 things,,
All Comments
So what's needed? First, a compelling reason to choose hi5 over Facebook or MySpace. Facebook stole share from MySpace because its compelling feature was a tighter, more private and secure social network. Since then, Facebook has continued to innovate, with things like the news feed and in-browser chat. What this means is hi5 has a lot to overcome just to reach parity with the 2 leading networks. Simply adding chat and launching a new design won't cut it.
Some areas where I would like to see the networks go is for one, cleaner separation between groupings of friends. While grouping tools exist on these sites, none offer a truly compelling interaction design that puts my "family" over here, my "close friends" over there and my "coworker acquaintances" over yonder. It still has the feel of a jumble of everyone with clunky tools to attempt to section off my content.
Annother area where hi5 might have a unique distinction is the bringing of people together internationally. To work out a feature that gets people from the US talking to people from all over the word could be an interesting proposition to many. As the site stands now, it's a bit of a mess with a mishmash of languages and different countrymen and women. If they can organize that properly and give effective communication tools, they might have something.
Beyond the compelling feature that gets people on other networks to notice you, you have to make it easy to transition over. Photo sharing sites and blog sites do this sort of this sort of thing all of the time. Importing tools to make it easy for you to take your data with you. Admittedly, a lot of that is made nearly impossible with draconian rules on sharing with the social networks, but they're getting a little better. Regardless, a big button with "move my Facebook account" makes the decision to try your social network that much easier.
P.S. I didn't watch the video with Mike Trigg and I admit I probably should have before writing this. :D
That approach has led to their growth and the less sophisticated spam filtering in other countries may be the reason they were successful elsewhere, but not in the US. The practice has always made me feel a little unsettled about them.
If they want US growth, cutting off the email annoyance would be a good start. It's tarnishing their brand.