What is it all about? A pretty simple question, yet one that stops my fingers from typing as I try to come up with an equally simplified response. Do I want to go deep, and start talking about the site, why I decided to do it, and my vision going forward? The personal motivation to create this site runs much deeper than I think most people realize. Do I want to keep the view high, and just give a simple explanation? To not disappoint, the simple answer is Seussi is about the cycle of sharing and learning. Because this is worth doing the right way, it's important for people to understand that Seussi was not designed to be like other social networking sites, and explaining my founding motivations will help others understand this point.
It all started with dissatisfaction, like most new ideas. I have over 500 online friends, yet I find that I'm no more social than I was before, and no closer to any of my best friends. The online social networks I belonged to didn't even come close to strengthening the relationships I had with my friends. Living away from most of my closest friends, I knew I couldn't replace the social interaction that I had with them in person, nor did I want to. I did though feel that online social networking could provide an experience that increased social interaction, while allowing connected friends to learn more about each other.
A Clevelander by birth, and a New Yorker by adoption, I found myself living in downtown Chicago. Away from my family and friends, I was amazed at how social networking had failed me. I was living in an urban area, with tons of restaurants, bars, and retailers, yet I was working surprisingly hard to find events to attend, in my own back yard! This is where the community aspect of Seussi was created. And by the way, the information I was looking for was all social in nature, so why wasn't it already part of a social network?
Seussi's community feature allows business to post information directly on the site, and it's free within the business's immediate neighborhood. Not only does this benefit the users who live or work within range, but it also helps local businesses make affordable announcements. It was a win for the user, the business, and the site, as it provided a revenue model that eliminates the tacky side bar advertisements that most other sites use.
The second part of Seussi has to do with creating, maintaining, and strengthening relationships. Going back to having hundreds of online friends, I felt like my online relationships remained stagnant. I wasn't growing closer to anyone, mostly because I did not learn anything new or personal about them. We lost talking about the little things; people change over time, and you don't always have the time to talk about all the little things from the occasional phone call or meet-up. The user profile is a conversation starter, a way for people to learn new things and get back to talking about the little stuff in life. The friendship radar also helps show users which friends are drifting away.
The last major part of Seussi is the sharing features. We are all constantly learning, and what do we do with this new information? Do we just tell a few people about it, if we remember? How can others benefit from our experiences? The sharing features explain themselves, they allow people to share their knowledge, experiences, opinions, and possessions with others. Sure, blogging is nothing new, but condensing blogging with other features allows people to share their lives in a more organized way. At the end of the day, reviews and recommendations mean more coming from people you know. How many people would ever think about trying out the new egg salad recipe I just posted, or avoiding it, but that's the point.
