Community at work. Content as byproduct

Johnnie's The success of an ugly make-up site leads to Umair at bubblespace who

"draws attention to the success of MakeUpAlley. Here's a nice irony: a site about cosmetics that looks pretty scruffy but is hugely effective - because it provides a simple way for its participants to connect about something they're passionate about.

Umair sees big lessons here for VCs and geeks, and I see big lessons for marketing. What a stunning example of the declining value of pretty packaging and making yourself look good, in favour of helping your users look good.

Umair says

Check it out. If you're part of the Valley kru, I'm sure you'll be aghast. It doesn't have Ajax, it doesn't have gradients, it doesn't have a clever name, it doesn't even have anything resembling a design (the horror). But not so long ago, it was one of my absolute top acquisition recommendations to a Very Big Corporation.

Why? What it does have is a very, very, very deep understanding of what consumers in it's vertical value, how to connect them into a coherent community, how to manage and regulate this community, and how to translate those connections into deep and shallow value creation. The MUA guys have a very, very, very deep understanding of the edge. Much more so than, despite all the (well-intended) conversation about the edge by the usual suspects, almost anyone in the geek world.

In short, they're doing for cosmetics lovers what MySpace has done for insecure, acne-ridden teens. But how many geeks or VCs can you imagine discussing a play like MUA? Clearly, not many - because it requires deep understanding of the very different world of real consumer culture.

And I have another one right here which, if anything, may be even deeper. My wife uses the net all the time for work; email, running her courses on WebCT, buying books etc. But she has always used it because she has to, there is no great pleasure in it, a lot of frustration and some swearing, usually beginning "why on earth would ....". Like an idiot I try to find answers to these rhetorical questions.

But her life away from the University has all sorts of stuff in it, me, 2 dogs, and a passion for embroidery and sewing clothes.

Then she found SewingPatternReview and something changed. Here is a woman averse to things Internet who now spends hours online, reading rating and reviewing patterns, asking for help, taking and uploading photos, chatting with other sewers (OK, you can laugh if you like) all over the place, getting a kick out of the feedback and generally donating her time and skills to a community of people that she knows only from the neck down in photos of garments they make.

Apart from the content being created by the community, for no cash and payment in social capital, I'm damned sure its serving a good purpose in providing feedback to the pattern and thread makers, sewing machine and needle people and all manner of potential clients of the site's business plan.

I asked her, from a professional perspective, why she was prepared to do it and so far the answer is, "I don't know". I know that she's involved, enjoying the whole thing and actually spending less time sewing than before while she does stuff online.

Here's an even more interesting example of Community at work. Content as byproduct.

The people who "make Trade Me what it is" have hit out at the $700 million buy-out, fearing it will ruin New Zealand's most popular website.

[Read this twice} The site has become more than an Internet auction house with an online community of thousands of people regularly holding cyber discussions on anything ranging from music to dealing with depression.

These people come here to buy and sells stuff, where do they get off holding online conversations about everything from music to dealing with depression? Don't they know the web is about monetising something or other? Where on earth is the value in all this blabber? Well, they are doing what happens in every genuine marketplace in the world, where the trading is only half the reason for being there; and the value approximates $700 million of Fairfax money somehow

Yesterday the message boards were running hot on one subject - Trade Me's new owner. Some even threatened to boycott the site. One message read: "Now we have a corporate owning git and things will never be the same!! Good for you Sam, but I will never use this site as I did before."

Chief among the fears were the future plans of the new Australian owners Fairfax, removal of message boards, advertising levels and a hike in the fees. "Actually I think we should get a reduction in fees, as we ARE Trade Me!! Without us there is nothing!" read one message.

[Now read this twice] Trade Me members have become increasingly powerful in the running of the website. A decision whether to remain global or become New Zealand and Australia only was put to the vote and owner Sam Morgan went with the majority. Another decision on whether concert tickets should be sold online was also left to members.

But many of those people were yesterday afraid that the takeover by "Fearfax" would change that. "I hope it still stays a Kiwi thing, I think TM is a Kiwi icon," said one message. Others were angry at the sale. "Nothing is sacred when wads of filthy lucre are waved under your eyes," said one.

Most, however, were supportive of Mr Morgan, with many messages of congratulations for his achievements in building up the site over six years. Michael Carney, author of Trade Me Success Secrets, believes the fears are largely unfounded. Fairfax had bought a "significant and successful operation and they would more than tinker with it at their peril". Among those who could be most affected are the growing number of full-time professional traders. But Mr Carney said the sale would be a positive thing for them, with better resources leading to greater improvements such as making it easier for people to sell in larger volumes. "Some of the things in the 'we wish we had time and money to do that basket' are likely to get done now," he said

This is going to be a major test. They have sold the "brand" to a media business that can't build communities around its own assets. Will it take into this deal the same sensibilities that it has from all its other online faces, or will it try to learn from a successful outsider and migrate that thinking back into the rest of the business?

It ain't cutting edge, but as Umair almost says, its roots go very deep.