invite codes, business models, and community: a historical perspective
In my recent post about Dreamwidth, a couple of people have mentioned the invite-code system as something that makes them uneasy or unhappy. zvi_likes_tv pointed to the DW FAQ on the subject, which explains that the invite codes are being used to ensure that DW does not grow faster than they can support - and of course, the option of a paid account for $3 is always available. But I was around in the invite-code days of LJ, and I think that - maybe paradoxically - the invite code system actually fostered the shift of fandom to LJ, because the LJ-based fandom community coalesced around the relationships built by inviters and invitees.
My first LJ (which I still maintain) was created in 2002 by an invite code given to me from one of a group of friends who used to hang out together on Usenet, back in the golden days of Usenet. A couple months after getting on LJ, I discovered Harry Potter fandom (through web searches that found me fest websites and Yahoo mailing lists), and although I joined several lists and got involved with a few fests, I still liked the LJ-style interaction better than the mailing lists. I poked around LJ and found that some of my favorite writers had LJs; I created this fannish LJ (from my own invite code!) in January 2003 and went about 1) getting to know HP fandom, 2) friending the fandom people already on LJ, and 3) trying to convince those that weren't on LJ to join. Which at that time meant finding them invite codes.
By that point, I think I had a paid account, so I had a bunch of codes to give out. What I did was, when I read a story I really liked, I would send feedback (by email) and offer an invite code. In May 2003, I posted an introduction to one of the people I'd pimped into LJ, and added: And again, let me remind all of you that if you've got a paid account, either through your own or someone else's generosity, don't let those invite codes wither on the vine. Think of it as just another way to encourage good writers. chaos_rose commented that she had some codes she didn't know what to do with, so I suggested she could send them to me, and I'd distribute them. In July, in another introduction, I posted: [I've been going wild lately offering lj codes to writers I like, so expect more of these gushing intros in the future. And a special thanks to chaos_rose for donating a few lj codes to The Cause. Give early, give often -- nothing says "I like your writing" better than thoughtful feedback and the offer of a livejournal.]
And the crowd went wild. A whole bunch of people commented or emailed me saying they'd be happy to contribute to a pool of invites, so I posted:If you would like to be part of the Seekrit Cabal to bring quality fanfiction writers and readers to livejournal, please send two lj codes to me by email - you can find it in my profile. I promise to use them wisely.
And of course, you are all encouraged to respond to good stories (or thoughtful feedback) with offers of codes. And, hey, as long as I'm playing coordinator of the Seekrit Cabal, I'll happily take recommendations from those of you who think a Potterverse writer or reader ought to be on livejournal, but who don't have codes to hand out.
Within the day I had two dozen invite codes and a list of suggested victims recipients. And that was the beginning of what I called Project Tentacles of Livejournal Love. A month later, I'd given out 10 invite codes, and over the next few months I continued to hand them out, and post introductory pointers so everyone (on my flist) knew who the latest HP fen on LJ were, and encourage others to hand out invite codes, until in December 2003 LJ went invite-free.
By then, we had a critical mass of HP fandom on LJ. Drabble and flashfic communities, such as hp100 and 15minuteficlets had taken off. gmth put together the first ever merry_smutmas. People started posting their stories to LJ, and fests started being organized via LJ instead of mailing lists. And the rest, as they say, is history.
LJ (and clones, and forks :-) represents a combination of blogging and social networking that seems quite suited to the combination of production of creative works plus community interaction that constitutes modern online fandom. The invite code system - whether through individual "hey, I like you, wanna join this service?" invites or through a code-sharing setup such as the Tentacles project or the DreamWidth code-sharing community reinforces the community aspect, I think, and helps it retain coherence even as it shifts to another venue.
My first LJ (which I still maintain) was created in 2002 by an invite code given to me from one of a group of friends who used to hang out together on Usenet, back in the golden days of Usenet. A couple months after getting on LJ, I discovered Harry Potter fandom (through web searches that found me fest websites and Yahoo mailing lists), and although I joined several lists and got involved with a few fests, I still liked the LJ-style interaction better than the mailing lists. I poked around LJ and found that some of my favorite writers had LJs; I created this fannish LJ (from my own invite code!) in January 2003 and went about 1) getting to know HP fandom, 2) friending the fandom people already on LJ, and 3) trying to convince those that weren't on LJ to join. Which at that time meant finding them invite codes.
By that point, I think I had a paid account, so I had a bunch of codes to give out. What I did was, when I read a story I really liked, I would send feedback (by email) and offer an invite code. In May 2003, I posted an introduction to one of the people I'd pimped into LJ, and added: And again, let me remind all of you that if you've got a paid account, either through your own or someone else's generosity, don't let those invite codes wither on the vine. Think of it as just another way to encourage good writers. chaos_rose commented that she had some codes she didn't know what to do with, so I suggested she could send them to me, and I'd distribute them. In July, in another introduction, I posted: [I've been going wild lately offering lj codes to writers I like, so expect more of these gushing intros in the future. And a special thanks to chaos_rose for donating a few lj codes to The Cause. Give early, give often -- nothing says "I like your writing" better than thoughtful feedback and the offer of a livejournal.]
And the crowd went wild. A whole bunch of people commented or emailed me saying they'd be happy to contribute to a pool of invites, so I posted:If you would like to be part of the Seekrit Cabal to bring quality fanfiction writers and readers to livejournal, please send two lj codes to me by email - you can find it in my profile. I promise to use them wisely.
And of course, you are all encouraged to respond to good stories (or thoughtful feedback) with offers of codes. And, hey, as long as I'm playing coordinator of the Seekrit Cabal, I'll happily take recommendations from those of you who think a Potterverse writer or reader ought to be on livejournal, but who don't have codes to hand out.
Within the day I had two dozen invite codes and a list of suggested victims recipients. And that was the beginning of what I called Project Tentacles of Livejournal Love. A month later, I'd given out 10 invite codes, and over the next few months I continued to hand them out, and post introductory pointers so everyone (on my flist) knew who the latest HP fen on LJ were, and encourage others to hand out invite codes, until in December 2003 LJ went invite-free.
By then, we had a critical mass of HP fandom on LJ. Drabble and flashfic communities, such as hp100 and 15minuteficlets had taken off. gmth put together the first ever merry_smutmas. People started posting their stories to LJ, and fests started being organized via LJ instead of mailing lists. And the rest, as they say, is history.
LJ (and clones, and forks :-) represents a combination of blogging and social networking that seems quite suited to the combination of production of creative works plus community interaction that constitutes modern online fandom. The invite code system - whether through individual "hey, I like you, wanna join this service?" invites or through a code-sharing setup such as the Tentacles project or the DreamWidth code-sharing community reinforces the community aspect, I think, and helps it retain coherence even as it shifts to another venue.