There have been many platforms that utilise the Web 2.0 concept in order to foster community interaction. Flickr, Pinterest, and Amazon to name a few. Goodreads however is a particularly notable example of a site that harnesses the collective intelligence in order to achieve it's goal as an important aggregation of book reviews.
Tim O’Reilly and John Battelle make the point that Web 2.0 technologies are now becoming much more than explicit information being submitted by a user. The way a user accesses a service can be monitored as a much more passive method of determining how to provide a better experience for the end user.
While this method is undoubtedly used by Goodreads, the focus is more on a social media type system. Rather than just allow people to create an account and review books they have read, it is possible to create a full list of everything you have read and add it to your profile. By using features usually more associated with sites such as Facebook, the company has created an enjoyable experience that promotes user interaction which further allows them to harness the collective intelligence.
There are also many other ways in which the profile can be customised such as showcasing the book you are currently reading. This further promotes the collective submission of information as it can prompt your friends to comment on that book or even provide their own review. This technique is an incredibly effective use of Web 2.0 technology as it provides a bonus to the consumer through added interaction with friends and their interests (books) but also benefits the company as the increased interaction fosters a larger userbase and ultimately increases the site's profitability.
This is just a simple overview of how a website integrates many facets of Web 2.0 to become a profitable and successful site. However it does make it clear that Goodreads has done a particularly good job of maximising the potential of harnessing the collective intelligence through Web 2.0.
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ReplyDeleteHi Nathan,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog, you write in a really relatable manner, so I found your post interesting to read.
Goodreads is such a good example of collective intelligence (and the network effect from my understanding of it), one that I use quite often that I would not have even thought of! It is hard to imagine how Goodreads would be without all of the user contributions now and undoubtedly would not be as successful if the site did not trust its users to post their honest reviews.
As one of the good practices of harnessing collective intelligence is encouraging and rewarding valuable members, do you think that Goodreads would apply this? I could not find any information that suggested so, but it is likely that they would, like Amazon.
I found another platform similar to Goodreads, called Wattpad (http://www.wattpad.com), where users can not only comment and review stories that are uploaded, they can also suggest and provide feedback to the creators to try and help them make their work even better for the reader. It looks pretty cool.
Anyway, I look forward to reading your upcoming posts.
Brittany :) - brittsmith2014.wordpress.com
Thanks for your comment Brittany.
DeleteI couldn't find any extrinsic rewards that are being offered, however I feel that the participation in a community is enough of a reward to promote participation. However I do think that a reward system would be really good.
Also I have not had a look at Wattpad before, it sounds like a good idea however. In my own writing I have often wondered where I could get some proper feedback.
Hi Nathan.
ReplyDeleteI found your post quite interesting. I've been using Goodreads for quite some time now. In fact, I'm a Goodreads Author. That's one aspect in which the site really shines. As a promotional tool for indie authors, Goodreads allows you to cut straight to the source when it comes to rooting out a potential fanbase. Most members, in my experience, generally define themselves as 'book fanatics', and are more than happy to read and review titles that may not necessarily be available via the conventional channels.
It's not all hunky-dory, though - some of the more nefarious community elements popularly associated with Web 2.0 applications rear their ugly, bitchy heads on Goodreads. I've heard of numerous cabals of self-proclaimed 'super reviewers' who have been known to 'gang up' on particular authors and titles they may happen to take umbrage with. This playground mentality shouldn't really affect established authors at all - Goodreads is hardly the be-all, end-all of book review sites - but for indie and up-and-coming authors it can be a problem.
Or so I hear - it hasn't happened to me yet :) Fingers crossed I remain off their radars...
Thanks for your reply; It's great to get the perspective of a Goodreads author. I was not aware of the negative sides of the community before and will keep an eye out for it in future.
DeleteHi Nathan,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic for me. I also use some similar platform with the Gooodreads when I read books. Like Wattpad.
Of course, Goodreads is the largest online reading club. It is the most appropriate example for collective intelligence. However, there are many similar platform on the internet. Or some reading website without technology of collective intelligence.
If you add some comparison in this post, it may seem better. This is just my immature opinion. If you have some idea for this, you can reply me to discuss. Thanks
Hi Nathan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for showing us this useful platform. I have read your blog post carefully, and I found that it is easy to understand because of the clear structure.
In fact, I tried to use this platform after reading your post, and I found some advantages. First of all, we can write some comments after reading books. It means that we can know about others' views before reading books, so we can decide whether they are worth reading. Another benefit is that we can find the books which are recommended by our friends, so we can easily read well-written books without searching too much information. Finally, we can be both readers and authors. In other words, we can provide ebooks to others. These benefits may show that this platform harnesses the collective intelligence.
I think that if you show us more details, more people will find the advantages of this patform. Goodreads is really a good platform for those who both like reading and communication.
That is my opinion, thank you.
Hi Nathan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your nice post. You have showed us how Goodreads harnesses collective intelligence. Compared with traditional reading website, it gives readers more opportunities to become authors. People can upload e-books directly. Moreover, the establishment of people-centered interactive communication breaks the traditional reading channel pattern which is centered by books. Therefore, Goodreads is not only a reading website, a "library", it is also a Book Club, a virtual community where club members can communicate and make friends.
Anyway, I really appreciate your post. Look forwards to your coming post.
Thank you.