Social bookmarking, social networking, and Twitter are definitely ruling webspheres in 2009, aren’t they? In short, social media is the focus of most trend and traffic conscious internet entrepreneurs.
At the same time WordPress‘ influence as a force by itself is also on the rise. When you combine the hottest social bookmarking site concept with the coolest and greatest blogging platform ever (individual opinion applies here), what do you get? WpVote!
Visit WpVote now: http://wpvote.com/
Mind you, WpVote is a “Digg site for WordPress fanatics“, it is a social bookmarking site for any story related to WordPress only. WpVote is based on Digg’s voting system but totally powered by WordPress. WpVote has been totally redesigned since August 2008, and now integrates a function for users to share the stories they like through Twitter. So basically the formula for WpVote would equal:
WordPress + Digg concept + Twittering function = SUCCESS!
OK, maybe I have overhyped the success part or maybe it just too early to predict how successful WpVote will be. However, I am pretty sure that the owner’s decision to breathe a second life into the site and hang on to it is right, especially when the economy is bad, recession will devalue the price of the site in the market if he had chosen to sell it instead. Besides, as news related to WordPress continue to grow exponentially (again, am I boasting? you decide), WpVote will serve as a good repository for WP fanatics to find and read only the best and most popular stories.
How could WpVote improve further and become more popular?
I don’t mean to say that WpVote is currently not popular, it already has over 250 RSS subscribers. But I see the potential for this site, or rather this idea, to grow mainstream and attain at least a fraction of Digg’s popularity among web users.
For minor improvement, it would be easy for anyone on the street to suggest. Integrate more social bookmarking/networking buttons, promote it through established sites like Facebook (create a group or something), create a contest, a chain and viral twittering campaign, create press releases, give away some freebies, etc.
To achieve a major break though, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Jung should consider approaching prospectful investors, even big names in the web industry like Digg owner Kevin Rose and other internet entrepreneurs. Offer them a percentage of future profits or ownership or give the contributors a permanent individual page each at WpVote or something.
I think that’s about as much suggestions an insignificant (The)ContestBlogger like me could give. Good luck and I certainly hope to see a site gets its major breakthrough in my very eyes, it will be a great experience. Allow me to add some parting words to Mr. Jean-Baptiste Jung:
“You have stumbled upon a goldmine, now mine it the best way you could”