Ever seen a web community fall out of favor and watch its users leave in mass exodus for other destinations?\u00a0Ever see a popular blogger begin to hemorrhage RSS readers?\u00a0Being active on many message boards, social networks, blogs, etc. I have seen this happen time and time again.<\/p>\n
The web\u2019s users are surely a fickle bunch, and you can lose visitors even without any wrong action \u2013 people\u2019s tastes and desires change.\u00a0There are usually underlying reasons, however, that certain destinations fall out of favor suddenly and quickly.<\/p>\n
What exactly is a web wasteland? It\u2019s a once fertile web destination which was previously popular and teeming with users, and is now for all intensive purposes a desert.<\/p>\n
Reasons why sites become web wastelands:<\/p>\n
Administration change<\/strong> If, however, the new administrator is someone that the site\u2019s loyal visitors already dislike, or the new administrator starts doing things that alienate that site\u2019s users, your traffic could be in jeopardy.\u00a0If this occurs, immediate action should be taken to alleviate the situation and remedy what is upsetting them.<\/p>\n There are always other options online, and users that leave may never return.\u00a0The users on your social site are in many cases the destination itself.\u00a0They make up all of the compelling content there.\u00a0To do something to intentionally upset those visitors can potentially turn your site into a ghost town.<\/p>\n New, yet unintuitive site design<\/strong> You can add features, sure, but removing things which were popular or useful in the previous version just proves that the site owners don\u2019t understand their users.\u00a0And if it seems like owners don\u2019t care (even if they do in actuality), you\u2019re going to lose your group sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n No updated content<\/strong> Too many new features on a social network, too many forums on a messageboard, or too much updated content on a blog<\/strong> Adding too many forums too quickly to a web board is never a smart move.\u00a0 You can expand slowly as user demand dictates (if there are a lot of people asking for a new forum, by all means create it), but you can destroy much of what makes an internet community special by segregating it.<\/p>\n Too many features or apps added too quickly on a social network is definitely a bad idea, as Facebook proves time and time again.\u00a0I hardly use the site anymore, as the basic functionality of the network is pretty much gone completely.\u00a0Being bombarded with app requests, event requests and fan page requests is enough to steer me clear.\u00a0There\u2019s not much point, other than to annoy and upset those who are probably most likely to spread the news of how bothersome your service has become.<\/p>\n To MySpace\u2019s credit, at least it started as a mess of a network \u2013 Facebook (to those who remember) actually started with clean design and functionality.\u00a0They\u2019ve lost a great deal of that since then. A site should be designed to become more useful, not less.<\/p>\n Seriously Facebook, I have 106 \u201cother\u201d requests.\u00a0Yeah they added an \u2018ignore all\u2019 button (thank god) but exactly what is the point of all these apps?<\/p>\n I\u2019m not suggesting Facebook will necessarily become a web wasteland, just providing a personal example of how they have lost many, previously loyal users (I am one of a vast amount of people who don\u2019t find Facebook apps to have any particular use at all).<\/p>\n I read a post the other day about how Seth Godin doesn\u2019t\u00a0use social networks.\u00a0Although I do happen to use social networks, albeit infrequently,\u00a0Seth\u2019s reasoning makes a pretty good point on not using them (although I still think for research purposes, it\u2019s important to be on there):<\/p>\n \u201cFirst, I don\u2019t want to use a tool unless I\u2019m going to use it really well. Doing any of these things halfway is worse than not at all. People don\u2019t want a mediocre interaction. Second, I don\u2019t want to add a layer of staff between me and the tools I use and the people I interact with. I think both of these ideas go together, and unfortunately, they\u2019re also a paradox. If you want to be in multiple social media and also have a day job, you\u2019re going to need a staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Someone does it better<\/strong> You are wise to listen to what your users are saying to keep them happy and coming back.\u00a0Your most frequent and most vocal visitors, even if they do not represent the viewpoints of everyone on the site, certainly carry with them a weight with their opinion.\u00a0Each user is also an important personality within the micro-culture created on your site.\u00a0Once the most vocal and loyal users leave and the traffic slows down, it is a slippery slope as the lurkers probably won\u2019t stick around without any action.\u00a0There\u2019s just too much else going on.<\/p>\n A blog post which disagrees with your reader\u2019s worldview<\/strong> How to avoid becoming a web wasteland, and keep your users happy:<\/strong><\/p>\n Ever seen a web community fall out of favor and watch its users leave in mass exodus for other destinations?\u00a0Ever … <\/p>\n
\nThis is one of the leading reasons a message board or social destination may fall out of favor.\u00a0New administrators coming in aren\u2019t necessarily a bad thing, if they have a good understanding of how that community works, what the loyal users expect, and why people visit the board in the first place.<\/p>\n
\nIf you\u2019re going to update a site design, beyond just the aesthetics, don\u2019t remove any features which are popular on the site.\u00a0I\u2019ve seen this done before, and it just doesn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n
\nThis is mostly true for blogs \u2013 (popular) message boards and social networks have constantly updated content.\u00a0People don\u2019t subscribe to a feed to look at the same three posts sitting there all week.\u00a0That\u2019s wasted RSS space, and in many users\u2019 minds, it\u2019s prime real estate for exciting new sites which provide a fresh stream of content.\u00a0You don\u2019t have to post every day, but if you\u2019re serious about your site and want to keep the conversations and interest going, you should be adding content at regular intervals.<\/p>\n
\nYes, I know it sounds weird, but you can actually update your blog\u00a0too<\/em>\u00a0much.\u00a0Your loyal readers don\u2019t want to miss a post, however they have lives too.\u00a0Keep a steady stream of content, but it is no good to overwhelm visitors with superfluous amounts of new posts.\u00a0They\u2019ll go to traditional web publications for that.\u00a0Personal publishing platform content should be special, well thought out and useful.\u00a0It should also be deep enough that it needs time to soak in.<\/p>\n
\nThere is fierce competition online for eyeballs and for users for every network, blog, and forum.\u00a0No doubt, that someone is attempting to attract those who are currently your\u00a0vital visitors.\u00a0If they\u2019re smart, they\u2019re probably active on your site and carefully making notes on what you\u2019re doing both wrong and right, and working on a solution which is potentially better than yours.<\/p>\n
\nYour blog has readers certainly because they agree with the worldview your content represents and enjoy the perspectives of the stories you tell on your site.\u00a0If you post something which is a 180 on your reader\u2019s anticipated worldview and goes against the point of view normally presented on your blog, you may alienate readers.\u00a0They may think you have lost the picture and seek out sites which speak to them more personally.\u00a0All it takes is one wrong piece of content.<\/p>\n\n