Comments on: Persuading Strangers http://primevector.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/persuading-strangers/ Adrian talks about his adventures and ideas Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:39:17 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Kartik Agaram http://primevector.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/persuading-strangers/#comment-521 Kartik Agaram Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:26:32 +0000 http://primevector.wordpress.com/?p=105#comment-521 I like the way you phrase the question: how can I persuade strangers to contact me? We met at SHDH late last year, I watched your lightning talk (on meditation, I think?), and I've been following your blog ever since. So I'm not sure if this counts as contact by a stranger :) Studies have shown that for every 100 people that read something, 10 may write a throw-away sentence, and 1 person may actually be moved to create something more substantial in response. While such studies are usually in the context of websites rather than blogs by individuals, I think the pattern continues to hold: to get responses from non-friends you have to build something that rises above the chaff and grabs them. Getting strangers to contact you is isomorphic as a problem to building something people want. So keep iterating. Seek after feedback, but don't rely on it for social needs. That's what friends are for. It's the flip side of 'release early, release often': as more and more people release early and often, the bar keeps going up on how 'fully baked' something must be before people pay attention to it without social proof (because that's what attention from a stranger is). I like the way you phrase the question: how can I persuade strangers to contact me?

We met at SHDH late last year, I watched your lightning talk (on meditation, I think?), and I’ve been following your blog ever since. So I’m not sure if this counts as contact by a stranger :)

Studies have shown that for every 100 people that read something, 10 may write a throw-away sentence, and 1 person may actually be moved to create something more substantial in response. While such studies are usually in the context of websites rather than blogs by individuals, I think the pattern continues to hold: to get responses from non-friends you have to build something that rises above the chaff and grabs them. Getting strangers to contact you is isomorphic as a problem to building something people want. So keep iterating. Seek after feedback, but don’t rely on it for social needs. That’s what friends are for.

It’s the flip side of ‘release early, release often’: as more and more people release early and often, the bar keeps going up on how ‘fully baked’ something must be before people pay attention to it without social proof (because that’s what attention from a stranger is).

]]>