2012/Positive Arguments

 Positive Arguments for the Indie Web  was a session at IndieWebCamp 2012.

Notes from etherpad: https://etherpad.mozilla.org/indiewebcamp-mrx

When: 2012-06-30 14:00

Positive Arguments
Non-negative reasons for the indie web (it's a marketing problem not a technical one)

Presented by: Brett Slatkin http://onebigfluke.com Hash tags: #mrx #indieweb

Survey results presented:
 * https://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/view?survey=bthtoflmqfy3u&question=1&filter=&rw=1
 * https://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/view?survey=wjq533toracp6&question=1&filter=&rw=1

Positive reasons

 * Customizing the look & feel
 * Makes it easier to search through your content
 * Professionalism
 * Easier discovery -- e.g. avoids multiple profile confusion
 * personal brand; design skills; nunchuck skills
 * No Censoring - say whatever you want!
 * autonomy, nobody can stop me from what i'm doing; different than anonymous
 * Something you identify with
 * especially email – instead of being "Jan of Gmail", which is endorsement in a way; use own domain for content and email – even if you route it to Gmail
 * (What your email address tells about your computer skills: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/email_address )
 * 5 whys:
 * autonomy; you're in control of it; you can take it with you; number portability; email portability; strategy for email migration; archival of content is the problem
 * affiliation with the company; often linked with autonomy
 * Is there a positive affiliation? Captain planet
 * more like external; show someone else you're affiliated; where as autonomy is internal; that you are in control
 * appreciation; i have to keep updating my address book
 * status; perceived as cool
 * (the sixth why) privacy
 * Metrics; who checks my site?
 * Ego; status
 * Why don't you get this for Facebook?
 * Hosting your own analytics software (e.g. piwik) for control over your data
 * Being on the forefront of something new
 * Freedom to upgrade to the latest thing, not restricted by devs elsewhere
 * Equally, freedom *not* to upgrade
 * E.G. public outrage at FB ui+ux changes
 * Personal & personal brand
 * Technical: Convenience for hosting a page; technical freedom
 * similar to email, even when you’re on Github pages you can use your own domain to hide the fact
 * Animated gifs!!!
 * Personal expression; can't set background color like myspace, embeds; can't type more stuff
 * customization; feel
 * Discovery; Facebook page can't link to everything; personal site can; central hub for you
 * Pulling responses to content from around the web back to the original, all in one place
 * See http://indiewebcamp.com/backfeed
 * life stream
 * Freedom to choose monetization (or not); how people pay for the content
 * could pay myself; or pay to tumblr
 * Flattr?
 * Family sites
 * extended family sites
 * age-independence; kids can participate
 * computing eduction benefits: educates kids about the web
 * multiple people participating together; collaborative site; part of a group
 * firstname.familyna.me, firstname@familyna.me
 * Archivability; static site generator; value in private mirrors; always have a copy
 * Learning experience of creating a site; Ham radio argument
 * bicycle maintenance
 * cooking
 * When you die; you can say who gets your data
 * put your domain name in your will
 * memorial experience on facebook
 * Ownership
 * artistic: People are proud of what they own
 * date: People own their copyright
 * Part of a cool club: it’s hard but you can do it
 * Fixie bikes
 * You can sign up for IndieWebCamp
 * We all met

Other stuff
Reading List: Where can we refer people to (apart from IWC Wiki) for good reasons for #indieweb?
 * http://NoMoreSharecropping.org
 * http://waterpigs.co.uk/articles/chopped-up-cloned-you-choose

Use five core concerns to build better relationships.
 * Express APPRECIATION – listen to your coworker’s perspective, find merit in it, and communicate your understanding.
 * Build AFFILIATION – look for ways to connect; face challenges together, side-by-side.
 * Respect AUTONOMY – be careful not to tell the other what to do.
 * Acknowledge STATUS – respect the experience and expertise of the other; when status is recognized, people feel more calm, relieved, and relaxed.
 * Make ROLES more fulfilling – help people craft roles that are meaningful and effective.

– from Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro, Beyond Reason: Using Emotions As You Negotiate http://alexlinsker.com/82/

5 basic User Experience principles, fulfilling the human needs for
 * autonomy
 * competency
 * stimulation (self-oriented)
 * relatedness
 * popularity (others-oriented)

Improvements to the Survey questionnaire:
 * question: Do you know what a domain name is?
 * every question should have one free-form field
 * "How much do you spend a month?" should have 0 as choice