Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Quora Won't Scale

socialtimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 79 posts

Re: Why Quora Won't Scale

#61

Post by davidgerard »

freework wrote: post #39

This article applies to just about every single internet discussion community I've ever been a part of since I started using the internet back in 1999. First, a community is founded with a small handful of users. Those small handful of users all know the topic well, so good discussion arises. Those small number of users all know each other, and form a bond. Once word gets out that the community is a place where high…

Clay Shirky "A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy" http://shirky.com/writings/group_enemy.html - the classic of the genre.

Re: Why Quora Won't Scale

#62

Post by demione »

the_expert wrote: post #33

Anonymity (pseudo-anonymity) certainly has downsides but over the years I have found the better thoughts come from posters who are _not_ attaching themselves to a Real Name(TM) that is connected to a web site^W business that would love to attract more followers^W customers. Anonymous comments have to stand on their own. They can't rely on name association. The reader has to evaluate them for their content, not their…

This is the best answer I've seen on here so far as to why Quora isn't ready for prime time, and why sites like Reddit will end up delivering better content over time. Sure, all of the atrocities mentioned (downvoting into oblivion, banning, etc) happen on Reddit too. However, when it happens there, I'll remain butthurt only as long as it takes to switch to any of my other accounts. The concept of karma exists there only to validate one's reputation to self, and not to validate one's reputation to others. By creating a more ephemeral concept of identity, Reddit has solved the 'ego' problem.

In the future, I see social networking sites dividing into one of two camps : sites like facebook, which are about vanity, and sites like Reddit, which are about content. It would be best for future entrepreneus to decide up front which camp they're in, long before they face the pickle Quora is currently suffering from.

Re: Why Quora Won't Scale

#63

Post by XiaoPing »

intellegacy wrote: post #27
intellegacy wrote: post #26

Sigh. Here we go - bring it on Quorans... I wanted to like Quora. I really did. Theoretically, Quora should be a wet dream for me: insightful discussions, check. Answers from bright people, check. A place to learn, to read, to spend hours on soaking in information, check. I never could have guessed that spending time on Quora would turn out to be more of a nightmare. As the article points out, Quora is a dictatorship…

Quora has found its niche among intellectuals who don't mind the stringent rules, and that's great. It's just not for me, and I suspect from what I've observed that it's not for a lot of other people too. Which means that "Quora will never grow to to the size of facebook or reddit". Let's temper our expectations, people. Quora is fine for what it is. Are there lessons to be learned from Quora? I think so. I've though…

Quora has found its niche among intellectuals who don't mind the stringent rules,

Try blowhards who like to hears themselves pontificate.

Re: Why Quora Won't Scale

#64

Post by intellegacy »

XiaoPing wrote: post #63
intellegacy wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quora has found its niche among intellectuals who don't mind the stringent rules, and that's great. It's just not for me, and I suspect from what I've observed that it's not for a lot of other people too. Which means that "Quora will never grow to to the size of facebook or reddit". Let's temper our expectations, people. Quora is fine for what it is. Are there lessons to be learned from Quora? I think so. I've though…

Quora has found its niche among intellectuals who don't mind the stringent rules, Try blowhards who like to hears themselves pontificate.

Well I was trying to be kind :)

I agree though. Something about the way responders write just rubs me the wrong way. Like everyone is trying their hardest to sound intelligent. It's just not fun and doesn't seem authentic to me the way HN or reddit do.

Re: Why Quora Won't Scale

#67

Post by XiaoPing »

kimmiller wrote: post #41

People seem to be running in to the same problem everywhere - online communities degrade in quality as they scale. PG spoke of this (an essay perhaps?). Why should we be surprised? Culture is the most important thing in a business, morals to a person. Why would we be able to get it right online at scale without a few hiccups (and a lot of dissent). It's almost a law of social gravity.

Quora entered the soccer mom phase summer of 2011. The quality has plummeted since then.

Re: Why Quora Won't Scale

#68

Post by XiaoPing »

HistoryInAction wrote: post #42
mcphilip wrote: post #20

I'm still unable to get a clear answer to the basic question "Why should I use Quora?" I work at a startup in Austin, I read HN daily, I enjoy news about SV startups, etc. Still, I haven't found a compelling reason to spend any substantial time on Quora. I'm happy to read a particularly insightful answer when I see the occasional link pop up on another site, but that doesn't make me want to search Quora for other inf…

You don't need it, cause you've got StackOverflow and GitHub to build your rep, leaving aside the 'just launch' of putting your own technical talent out there. If you're not in a tech field, say as a screenwriter in Hollywood—excellent Quora use case, btw—it's a great way to build your brand and increase your chances of discovery/personal breakout. Quora helped me launch my career, working with Startup Visa. It's got…

You're joking, right?

Re: Why Quora Won't Scale

#69

Post by qq66 »

mcphilip wrote: post #20

I'm still unable to get a clear answer to the basic question "Why should I use Quora?" I work at a startup in Austin, I read HN daily, I enjoy news about SV startups, etc. Still, I haven't found a compelling reason to spend any substantial time on Quora. I'm happy to read a particularly insightful answer when I see the occasional link pop up on another site, but that doesn't make me want to search Quora for other inf…

Being a tech-savvy developer at a startup doesn't have a lot to do with whether you'll like Quora.

Quora appeals to people whose intellectual curiosity about a certain set of topics is strong enough that they will endure a bunch of crap from egomaniacal Quora power-brokers.

Re: Why Quora Won't Scale

#70

Post by Evbn »

ericdykstra wrote: post #15
wilfra wrote: post #10

Sounds like the author got banned for excessive complaining on Quora and is exceptionally butthurt. I'm a hard core Quora addict and have never encountered most of the things in this post. He's way off about the "elite". Yes there are people who get tons of upvotes and have huge followings but in every case I've seen it's because they are well known off of Quora or they give consistently amazing answers, often both.…

Spot on. Maybe the author got banned, maybe the author just wanted to write an inciteful piece that would get a lot of pageviews. Either way, what's described in the article is nothing like my experience with Quora over the past year+

Nice head fake into correct use of "inciteful".
Post reply on HN