About this time last year a few intrepid friends and I created the start-up Facetags.com. The entire point was to create a community based online drawing application around a product.

Oddly enough we missed the mark by a long-shot. Barely making our pushed back November launch date, we had already committed to a $5,000 ad in the Winter 2005 1up Holiday Buyers' Guide. We scrambled and had two sleepless weeks of cobbling together a functioning site and an entire library of creative Xbox 360 adhesive skins. We were the first to the market and over the months it didn't even seem to matter that our biggest differentiator was still being heavily worked on. We were quickly featured in Game Informer, interviewed by Gamertag Radio, and had the buzz of thousands of blogs.

The Facetags tale continues, but I'll save the guts for another day. The point of this post is that I learned so much about starting and managing a business that it terrifies me. As I embark on a new self-funded start-up venture I'm trying to implement one of the best thing that I've learned from Facetags.

That would be: A good product/service sells. A great product/service tells compelling stories that the user wants to participate in.

 

In many ways it is like asking someone to play a game. Users will ask themselves a few questions before they start like:

1. Does this look fun?
2. Who am I playing with?
3. Why do I care?
4. What is my immediate result?
5. And most important, what is my long-term end goal?

(Don't think we ask these questions with games. Look at Xbox achievements and think again. Or for a physical sample look at the death of bored games.)

 
In good product sites we see that questions 1-4 are answered. The answers are mediocre, but passable. The interesting part is that the quality of the product here (and the mood of the person using it) is all that matters in defining the result. A sample would be:
 
1. Does this look fun?
Sure.

2. Who am I playing with?
People who like this product.          

3. Why do I care?
Looks neat/affordable/unique/useful.          

4. What is my immediate result?
I get the cool thing I wanted.

5. And most important, what is my long-term end reward?
Um….Nothing! (The product is long forgotten or discarded)


 
Facetags did shockingly well even though we had an average product. Why?   Because we stumbled upon stories. The first four answers are nearly the same, but the big rewarding changes are seen in number 5. Here is one sample of how our conversation went:
 
1. Does this look fun?
Yeah, once they get the application launched. Neat stuff now.

2. Who am I playing with?
People who like this product.          

3. Why do I care?
Looks neat/affordable/unique/useful.          

4. What is my immediate result?
I get the cool thing I wanted

5. And most important, what is my long-term end reward?
To get my design added to their selection/ To share with the community/ To enjoy the unique designs/ To help out the founding gamers.
 
 

Wow. Instead of no answer for number 5 we got a list. Sure most of the items they listed were vaporware, but it proves that you can build a story with only an impression of things to come.
 

Compare this to a service and you begin to see how stories are even much more important. Let's analyze YouTube for a minute:
 
1. Does this look fun?
Hell. Yes.

2. Who am I playing with?
Tons of people of varied interest.

3. Why do I care?
Free, fast, easy to use, and catering to my interests.

4. What is my immediate result?
Whatever I want to watch.

5. And most important, what is my long-term end reward?
To get my design added to their selection/ To make friends and be part of the community/ To get my video to earn a high rank/To get up on the front page
 


While the answers to 1-4 are more enthusiastic because it is a unique idea, the clincher is that number 5 is filled. Not only is it filled, there is a hierarchy to the game. There are multiple stories in play each with their own end result.
 


In YouTube's case:
Rank 1: If I participate I'm in the community.
Rank 2: If I make a good video I'm an elite in the community.
Rank 3: If I do great I will be famous within the community.
 


Digg has a strong story as well, but it is completely different. The community members aren't as highlighted and touted as is the community as whole. Instead of Joe Blow being recognized for his great find like on YouTube, the content and culture is celebrated. Digg-ing an item means less that you love Joe, and much more that you support what Digg stands for. Their hierarchy would look like:
 
Digg:
Rank 1: I joined! I'm part of the fold
Rank 2: I'm noticing trends in activity and users. I'm a pretty dedicated user.
Rank 3: I know these folks and respond with vitrol if a story goes against the grain of our culture. I know that my vote counts and will spread the word.

 And if we count lurkers as members of the community still actively gaining something (which they do) then is less a hierarchy than a ecosystem! Each member is actively benefiting an environment in unique and unseen ways. I'm doing my best to keep this idea in mind for my newest project, Sketchd.com.