How to Treat Customers
My friend Austin Hill has a new blog, Billions With Zero Knowledge [http://www.billionswithzeroknowledge.com/]. He’s got a really good post up “Crowdsourcing or Community Production – An Interview with Hugh McGuire from Librivox.” [link to http://www.billionswithzeroknowledge.com/2006/10/30/crowdsourcing-community-production-hugh-mcguire-libribox-interview/ no longer works]
What’s most interesting to me is how new companies are trying to tap into customer enthusiasm to build not only value for their customers, but a community. The companies that really succeed at building a community will find it a double edged sword–their communities will be their biggest asset, and the hardest thing to change. At the same time, it’s done great things for companies like Flickr, and it’s a welcome change to be treated as a person, rather than as a monetizable eyeball.