Hi Dave,
In terms of amount of activity, I believe that the GA Alumni
Association group will not be a success. However, I think that
quantity of activity is not the only measure of success.
My view about the amount of activity is based on the decline in the
number of discussions and messages over the first four weeks. (I'm
leaving out the relatively small amount of activity on the Pages and
Files sections of the group.) Here are the statistics, arranged in
the format [date]: [number of discussions started on that date] --
[number of messages in those discussions]
Nov. 29: 1 -- 4
Nov. 30: 13 -- 121
Dec. 1: 10 -- 131
Dec. 2: 3 -- 11
Dec. 3: 9 -- 58
Dec. 4: 8 -- 98
Dec. 5: 2 -- 19
Dec. 6: 6 -- 73
Dec. 7: 3 -- 24
Dec. 8: 6 -- 90
Dec. 9: 2 -- 20
Dec. 10: 3 -- 20
Dec. 11: 1 -- 5
Dec. 12: 4 -- 33
Dec. 13: 0 -- 0
Dec. 14: 3 -- 25
Dec. 15: 1 -- 18
Dec. 16: 2 -- 21
Dec. 17: 2 -- 15
Dec. 18: 1 -- 5
Dec. 19: 4 -- 18
Dec. 20: 0 -- 0
Dec. 21: 2 -- 13
Dec. 22: 2 -- 7
Dec. 23: 2 -- 13
Dec. 24: 0 -- 0
Dec. 25 (so far): 0 -- 0
I think we can leave aside November 29, which wasn't a full day of
activity; and December 24-25, which coincide with Christmas. Perhaps
we should also ignore November 30 and December 1, which represent an
initial burst of activity.
In any event, there seems to be a dividing line between the period up
to December 8 -- for which 6 or more new discussions and more than 50
messages for those discussions were common -- and the period beginning
with December 9 -- for which the highest number of discussions is 4,
and the highest number of messages for those discussions is 33. (In
focusing on the date of the initial message, I'm presuming that most
messages in a typical discussion are posted within a few days after
the initial message, rather than spread out over a longer time. My
browsing of several discussions indicates to me that this presumption
is reasonable.)
If the period starting December 9 is representative of the group's
future, it seems there will be about 2 new discussions per day and 15
or so messages in those discussions. I suppose that's not bad for a
group of 79 members -- but not a quantitative success either.
(Incidentally, the size of the group has expanded by only a few people
since December 9.)
But quantity is one thing ... quality is another. I think that people
interested in Google Answers will tend to have a similar high quality
of discussion in a public discussion group as they would on Google
Answers itself. (In my view, the current discussions on gaAlumni look
like some of the more informal -- and enjoyable -- questions and
comments on Google Answers.) If even a few people benefit from these
discussions, that would be a success for those people -- even if it's
not a widespread success.
- justaskscott |
Request for Answer Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
30 Dec 2006 14:22 PST
Scott,
Sorry...that answer is completely unacceptable, as it doesn't allow me
the option of endless clarifications.
Please start up a new, professional, very respectable yet tons of fun,
Q&A service, so I can post the question anew, give you another crack
at it, and ask for more info ad infinitum.
With affection, to you, all the other researchers, and everyoneelse-ga
in the brand new year ahead.
Dave
|
