“In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action.“ – Jakob Nielsen
FOR SOME TIME I’VE BEEN WONDERING: What’re the best ways to encourage comments on one’s blog? And not just any comments, but those that promote meaningful exchange of insights and experiences. I’ve found 10 techniques and 10 plugins through a Google search. Could you add a tip or two here please?
According to usability guru Jakob Nielsen, one needs to:
Make it easier to contribute. The lower the overhead, the more people will jump through the hoop.
Make participation a side effect. For example, Amazon’s “people who bought this book, bought these other books” recommendations are a side effect of people buying books.
Edit, don’t create. Let users build their contributions by modifying existing templates rather than creating complete entities from scratch.
Reward — but don’t over-reward — participants. Although money is always good, you can also give contributors preferential treatment (such as discounts or advance notice of new stuff), or even just put gold stars on their profiles.
Promote quality contributors. …give extra prominence to good contributions and to contributions from people who’ve proven their value, as indicated by their reputation ranking.
“Study history, not the media. The truth is not to be found in a television broadcast.” – Chris D. Nebe, director-producer-screenwriter of the “Mysterious China” documentary series which showcases the epic cultural heritage of China
FRANKLY, I DON’T KNOW what to make out of the Tibetan protests. I’ve not spent significant time researching on the issues involved. However, from what I know and remember of Chinese history, I feel quite strongly that Chris Nebe (as a foreigner with insider knowledge and experience of China) is speaking the truth about Tibet in the video here:
SAD NEWS INDEED: At the recent olympic torch relay in Paris, pro-Tibetan protesters attacked a wheelchair-bound girl (an ex-paralympian fencer) who carried the olympic torch, with a blind boy pushing the wheelchair from behind. The good news: They didn’t succeed. Thanks to YouTube, I can see what happened:
Reminds me of “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”, where Emperor Palpatine said to Luke Skywalker: “The alliance… will die. As will your friends. Good, I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!”
HAVE THE TOP 20 POSTS CHANGED in Tomorrow.sg and Ping.sg this year, when compared with those of last year? Are “sex”, “money” and “controversies” still top reads?
As of today, the 
