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	<title>Start a Social Network &#187; Encouraging Activity</title>
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	<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com</link>
	<description>Tips, resources, and strategies for starting and marketing your own social networking site.</description>
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		<title>&#8220;Mad Libs&#8221; Style Form Increases Conversion 25-40%</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2010/03/01/sign-up-form-increases-conversion-rates/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2010/03/01/sign-up-form-increases-conversion-rates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:27:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Getting New Members]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/?p=419</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
Great post by Luke Wroblewski on how some marketers have been trying out a narrative approach to web forms&#8211;he dubs it &#8220;Mad Libs- style.&#8221;
Technically, these forms work like any other form, but they&#8217;re presented as a fill-in-the-blanks narrative.
Here&#8217;s one example, from the audio sharing site, Huffduffer:

Another site did A/B testing on their forms, and have [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Simplifying the Sign-Up Process</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2010/02/23/simplifying-the-sign-up-process/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2010/02/23/simplifying-the-sign-up-process/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:04:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/?p=395</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
Once you get people to visit your site, you obviously want them to join. So it&#8217;s crucial that you make the sign-up process as simple as possible.
Even if you want your members&#8217; profiles to include their eye colour, favorite bird, and their zip code, you don&#8217;t always have to gather the full information on the [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Generate Buzz (and Traffic) by Understanding Your Community</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2010/02/16/generating-traffic/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2010/02/16/generating-traffic/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:51:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/?p=383</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
A great article in the NY Times explains how dating site OKCupid uses data gleamed from their site about how their members interact to fuel their new blog. Those blog posts, in turn, generate tons of publicity and traffic to the site:
&#8220;A [single] post last month that set out to debunk conventional wisdom about profile [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Got Lists?</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/11/23/got-lists/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/11/23/got-lists/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:55:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[engagement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[features]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[theauteurs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/?p=168</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
I recently did a great interview with Efe Cakarel, founder of The Auteurs, and wanted to share an insight he had.
&#8220;As we near the end of the 2000s, people are creating more and more &#8220;Best of the Decade&#8221; lists. It really came home to us how important keeping track of and ranking your favorite films [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Listen to your users: they know what they want.</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/10/26/listen-to-your-users-they-know-what-they-want/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/10/26/listen-to-your-users-they-know-what-they-want/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:44:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nurturing the Community]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/?p=154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
In the next several weeks, Twitter users will discover two new features, Lists and Retweets, that had the same user-generated beginnings.
via Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Users &#8211; NYTimes.com.
Brilliant way of letting users define the tools and features they want. Users will often hack your existing features and use them in new and interesting [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Foursquare&#8217;s Virtual Rewards</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/10/23/foursquares-virtual-rewards/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/10/23/foursquares-virtual-rewards/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:59:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nurturing the Community]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/?p=145</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
foursquare, a location-based social network, gives away so many points and &#8220;badges&#8221; to users that their personal pages can start to look like Boy Scout sashes.
It may seem over the top at first, but it&#8217;&#8217;s a powerful way to encourage certain behaviors. In the Online Community Research Network&#8217;s recent report Key Factors Establishing an Online [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Voyeurism, narcissism, and vanity &#8212; in  a good way.</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/02/19/voyeurism-narcissism-and-vanity-in-a-good-way/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/02/19/voyeurism-narcissism-and-vanity-in-a-good-way/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:01:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nurturing the Community]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/2009/02/19/voyeurism-narcissism-and-vanity-in-a-good-way/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
Good post on building social networks that talks about voyeurism, narcissism, and vanity as drivers of user behavior. Add to this the fact that people love to evaluate, criticize, and pass judgment on others, and you have the High School Model of social networking.
That&#8217;s not a criticism, by the way. It&#8217;s crucial to understand these [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to build a stong community&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/02/04/how-to-build-a-stong-community/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/02/04/how-to-build-a-stong-community/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:58:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nurturing the Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Networking Platforms]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/2009/02/04/how-to-build-a-stong-community/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
Ben Huh from I Can Has Cheeseburger gives 15 tips on how to build a stong community&#8230;
My favourite:
5. Stop Engineering and Start Thinking About the Market
People who work in the technology industry tend to over engineer things. Don’t complicate your problems, simplify them. If you need to add a commenting system to your site don’t [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Dangers of Ignoring Your Audience</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/01/17/the-dangers-of-ignoring-your-audience/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/01/17/the-dangers-of-ignoring-your-audience/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jan 2009 03:41:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nurturing the Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/2009/01/17/the-dangers-of-ignoring-your-audience/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
Clive Thompson has a great piece on Wired called Social Networks and the Wrath of Moms, which outlines what happened when UrbanBaby.com, which was purchased by CNET in 2006, launched a redesign that didn&#8217;t take into account how their users actually used the site&#8230;
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2009/01/17/the-dangers-of-ignoring-your-audience/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Establishing a Community&#8217;s Culture &#8211; Online Community Report</title>
		<link>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2008/12/17/establishing-a-communitys-culture-online-community-report/</link>
		<comments>http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/blog/2008/12/17/establishing-a-communitys-culture-online-community-report/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:10:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ric Mazereeuw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Encouraging Activity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nurturing the Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Networking Industry]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.startasocialnetwork.com/2008/12/17/establishing-a-communitys-culture-online-community-report/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
			
				
			
		
The Online Community Research Network just released high-level results from its latest report: Key Factors Establishing an Online Community&#8217;s Culture
It reaffirms that features and tools aren&#8217;t as important as content, a clear value statement, and a well moderated community&#8230;
One key area we wanted to understand was the short list of factors that community managers thought [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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