FREE
online courses on How To Start Your Own Dot Com Company - Ground Rules -
Rule 19. Your customers create your content
One attraction of the web is the chance to participate,
rather than just buy or watch. That's evident not just in chat rooms but at
retailers, like Amazon.com, where you're able to write your own book reviews.
Letting your customers create content is not just about free labor; that's the
least of it. Customers who post their thoughts (or harangues) on your message
boards have a stake in your site. Having already vested all their time and
effort, they're much more likely to become a repeat customer. They want to see
their words, and they want to see others respond to what they wrote -- and
then they respond again, adding more content. This gives your site that
much-desired stickiness.
NextPlanetOver's message boards include the chance to talk to
the stars of the comic-book world, like writer Grant Morrison (of DC Comics' Invisibles). For a business
that's built on sales, it's a way to convince people to spend time at the site.
They lurk, they chat and then they buy.
Rediff.com in a bid to widen
its reach is offering content in five different languages. A majorpart of the content comes from users.
The reason for Yahoo's popularity worldwide is chat rooms,
online photo albums and personal home pages.
