Archivos de Diario para agosto 2016

jueves, 11 de agosto de 2016

Thoughts on attracting and retaining "power users"?

iNaturalist is growing in leaps and bounds, which is really exciting! The summer of bioblitzes (largely thanks to @carrieseltzer ), the xKCD mention ( http://xkcd.com/1692 ) , #pokeblitz, and then NPR article have all brought us more new users. For those who have been here for a while, it's both exciting and disconcerting.. though mostly the former at least to me.

The iNat admins have done a wonderful job adding features and updating the look of the site. It's come so far since I started using it in 2011 and even more so, i'm sure, since it started. While most of the changes are positive, there is also the hope that iNat remains anchored by our "power users': research ecologists like @polemoniaceae and @erwin_pteridophilos , field-naturalists and land managers such as @cathybell and @ctracey and @botanygirl and @cullen as well as dedicated "pro-amateurs" (people like @erikamitchell and @finatic and @silversea_starsong who aren't trained in or working in the science field but who contribute hugely to our community) and last but not least our very active and wonderful site admins such as @loarie and @kueda who are vital parts of the community not just in the admin work they do but in their observations and IDs as well. (apologies if i mixed up anyone's training or experience above, the point is to illustrate the many different places people start from).

The sense of wonder and diverse views brought by the true amateurs are a crucial part of this community but we can't forget the backbone of the community - those who are adding countless IDs, sharing data from field days and research projects, participating in Google groups, creating species lists, and curating projects. As we grow, in my opinion we need to make specific efforts to attract 'power users' as well as the general public.

I wanted to share some ideas about this, but I'd found that my feedback and participation mostly came in the form of reactionary dislike of change and sometimes poorly thought out and frustrated comments. So I want to start a more meaningful and positive conversation full of ideas. I will share some of my ideas in the comments so my thoughts are not prioritized above other people who wish to post here. If you have thoughts please do share, and also feel free to tag some of the many users I am forgetting.

Thanks for any thoughts!

Publicado el jueves, 11 de agosto de 2016 a las 10:40 PM por charlie charlie | 51 comentarios | Deja un comentario