Major cities are the ultimate in commercial convenience, providing its occupants with arms-length access to every product and service they need. With transport options, medicine and health services, friends and family just down the road, stable and reliable infrastructure – cities undeniably have it all.
So why would you choose to leave the city and move out to the countryside? Cities are the evolution of small villages – so it would seem you’re taking a step backwards in history for what you deem to be a better life?
Yes while cities do indeed have it all they do have their downsides. Crowded, noisy places where everything is happening everywhere 24/7. The stress and pressure and rush gets to you and you just need to get out for a breath of fresh air.
So to take this example onto the web, why would startups like Vimeo even think they have a chance when there are well-established giants like YouTube already dominating the market?
Because in a user-generated content network like YouTube if you haven’t already established yourself as a presence then you’re going to have to work damn hard. The network is already saturated with videos – and yes while the majority of them are low-quality with little general interest they’re still there, taking up space, grabbing attention and you’re just one person in a crowd of thousands, millions. The flow of content is mind-boggling, like a torrential cascade and you only get one chance to say “Have a look at my new …” before you’re washed downstream by the next new upload.
Hence why I believe that the creation of a low-noise low-traffic new network is in itself a niche, just like the establishment of countryside estates and beachside apartments. Yes while such startups need to strive for content in pursuit of revenue (as most revenue models are directly or indirectly related to the quantity of content) they can market themselves or at least be recognised users as a quiet corner of the web where their presence is unchallenged, where they can start building their empire.
// purecaffeine.com: user experience design, social experience design, social media, Gov 2.0, design thinking and service design blog by designer Nathanael Boehm, Canberra, Australia. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Australia License.
