Magrathea's Workshop - Pestel Analysis for Noohootoo
Created | Updated Jun 21, 2011
21st June 2011 - We interrupt your browsing with some welcome news:
When you read what's on the Magrathea pages and the conversations here, please remember that they were written while the bid was being worked on, so some things have changed.
We now return you to your original programming
Political
The Coalition's policies have directly resulted in the BBC's 25% cuts in online services and its decision to dispose of h2g2. In theory a community-run h2g2 falls in line with David Cameron's vision of a "Big Society" but unless Big Society initiatives attract grant money it is hard to see how that will help the site.
The Guide will remain explicitly apolitical, and the Community is not overtly political. H2G2 is one of the few sites where political debates are not declarations of entrenched principles. However, religious debates have at times sunk to that level.
[quote from Woodpigeon]
The opinions which emerge in debate tend to be more rationalist than religious, and slightly to the left of centre in keeping with its largely European user base, supporting social medicine for example. We will work actively to keep the focus of any political debate on the debate not the politics by...
Economic
It is now possible to monetise websites and content in a ways which Douglas Adams and Robbie Stamp could only dream of 12 years ago when the site was founded. The community bid pulls on a wide variety of income streams but most of the software development required for the site to fulfill its potential will not be possible without a substantial injection of funds. At present the community is not seeking to raise substantial funding, though this may change.
Our ideal solution is to work with an appropriate business partner, each working to our strengths. In this model the strategic direction of the site would be set jointly; community volunteers would manage the Guide and the community itself while the business partner would manage the financial and technical aspects of the project.
Social
Inaccessible from work
The move from the BBC will render h2g2 inaccessible to a large number of community members during their working hours because we will lose the BBC's privileged position on corporate white-lists. Users will have to make the effort to access from home or using mobile devices, which will reduce the number and quality of posts in conversations. It is harder to predict the impact on writing and editing which should not be happening at work anyway. Being inaccessible from work will also reduce the number of people who come to the site from Google.
Falling student numbers
In its early years, the site had many student members. A lot remain active on the site since they have graduated, but they are not being replaces. Since 2005 students have tended to spend their social online time on Facebook. The transition to college has become less of a tipping point in young peoples' lives. It is rarer for students to leave home with limited web access to join a college or university which provides their fist significant access to the online world.
The approach to rebuilding student numbers is a key part of the task facing the site and will involve continuous reinvention. Facebook will be a vital tool. Writing competitions may also be a way forward. Previous student members included their writing and volunteering within their CVs, particularly those who went on to careers in writing or new media.
Volunteering and personal enrichment
At its best h2g2 is an inspiring and supportive project for volunteers, and for many users their involvement in the site has been enriching, enabling them to develop social, technical, editorial and writing skills. If volunteering is to continue and increase, then we need to ensure that it is a rewarding experience, not one riven with frustration and a lack of recognition.
A caring community
We are wary of speculating about the effect on the site of the current global economy, teeting on either side of recession, but its worth noting that the community has been a considerable source of strength and support form members during difficult personal times.
[quote]
This speaks to the site's eternal dilemma, which comes first, the Guide or the Community? There are now plenty of other supportive spaces on line, but the Guide is unique. It's our belief that the community will continue to be a place where people form lasting and important friendships, but that the site's purpose should continue to be the Guide.
Technological
The move away from the BBC will materially affect h2g2's Google ranking because we will lose the kudos of being part of a major publishing house. This a major concern, and Search Engine Optimization, which is a black art at the best of times, is simply not possible for a site of the scale and complexity of h2g2.
A second concern is the breaking of the URLs, both inbound and internal, which will dramatically reduce our page ranking. A significant part of the technical challenge relating to the move must be to update the internal URLs.
Channels
2011 is not 1999. There are now a wide range of channels which were merely twinkles in the eye of visionaries like Douglas Adams (link to Horizon programme) when the site was founded. These include mobile devices, podcasts, low-cost user-created print publishing, online video, and social media like Facebook and Twitter. Each of these can contribute to the future of the site in different ways. The first and most important will be to create smartphone and tablet apps because the Guide in your Pocket is the simplest way to monetise the content. However we should not ignore traditional media: we'd like to work with Douglas Adams' estate to publish and annual "Best of the Earth Edition" for the Christmas gift market.
Multi-media content
There are exciting possibilities in extending the media to include featured entries in an h2g2 podcast. This project would appeal to new media students, and would attract a new range of readers to the site from services like Podcast Alley and iTunes. We could to compete with YouTube for their vibrant community of video makers, but we should consider embedding videos into pages, either to illustrate them, (Mu Beta's project on [link] "We didn't start the fire" would be hugely enriched by referencing an embedded video of the song, for example), or by offering members a place to present their own videos. It would be pleasing to host media and social commentary projects like Chris's Girl with a Pearl Earring series.
Feeds, subscriptions and syndication
Search is SO naughties... many if not most people find their content now by subscribing to content feeds. We need to join this new world or the site will fold. At the very least we should offer RSS feeds for regular publications like the Post, and functionality like "subscribe to this writer" or "more on this topic". We should also include "like" and "tweet this" "Like on Facebook" buttons. We should let our readers do our promoting for us.
Legal
Libel
There are numerous legal implications for a publishing and networking site like h2g2. The UK's current libel laws make even a successful defence prohibitively expensive, let alone an unsuccessful one. If the site were to be sued for libel the only realistic option would be closure. (This, incidentally, is why it is important to operate through a legal entity which protects its members from personal liability). That being the case, the users need a clear understanding of what comprises libel and the moderation policy should err on the side of caution.
Copyright and licensing
We propose to continue with the copyright and licensing model created by The Digital Village in 1999 and used by the BBC. It has proved successful for the site, though it will be interesting to test this when the site is monetising its content, particularly if it does so by publishing physical books. The world of poetry is full of people willing to have their work published for free, but that may not be true of aspiring prose writers.
Child protection
Child protection is a key consideration for any social website. The BBC imposed an over-16 age limit in [date] which the community would remove. Before the limit was in place we discovered that the site rarely appealed to users under 13 or so. The site does not permit private messaging and at present it does not permit users to delete or change posts in conversations, and those three factors combined with moderation have proved to be an effective constraint on inappropriate behavior. Child protection is a real concern, but h2g2 is a structurally and normatively safe place for a child and we believe that this will continue.
