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I think I understand your point. If your psyche is such that you value being first in terms of discovering things, and you feel bad if others discover them befo

I think I understand your point. If your psyche is such that you value being first in terms of discovering things, and you feel bad if others discover them before you, a social system that reinforces how wonderfully novel your special snowflake status is will stroke your narcissism, promoting higher retention rates as you continue to come back for the daily affirmation. This is probably true for a lot of people (and who doesn't love non-stop affirmation from others like when they retweet you or favorite a clever tweet?) But it's a hell of a way to live, giving others so much control over your happiness. Systems like that seem to work really well until people just burn out from being on the dopamine treadmill. That can take years, though.

davemel37 15y ago
I think human nature is hard-wired in people and hasn't really changed since the caveman days. While I agree it is a sad existence to give so much control over your happiness to others...I think there is a hardwired element built into our social interactions that revolves around being accepted by your peers, feeling needed, feeling like you are contributing, and that is satisfied by peer affirmation, especially so when you have "Bragging Rights" over your peers. My point simply is that people are looking for peer recommendations to satisfy this emotional need of "not looking like a fool" and to help defend their purchase to others who will questions their decision and "want them to fail"... and not to actually find out if a product or service is actually good, or actually will solve their needs. I believe that search plus your world, and all of these startups and features focusing on having our friends curate the web for us, are missing a crucial understanding of how and why we might care what our friends think, and are many times self-defeating. Just for the record, it is a common truth in the direct response copywriting world that you not only need to sell your target audience but you have to give them the tools to defend their purchase to those who want them to fail, and will question their decision. This fear of making mistakes, and looking like a fool in front of your friends. Just think about the last time you bought something and told someone about it. What details did you share with them defending the decision that you wasn't really relevant. A perfect example is YCombinator explaining the percentage they take. It's a bit expensive for the money, but the networking, the doors it opens, and the validation it offers, so it's a great deal. You don't need to sell me, I wouldn't be applying if I needed to be sold. I need to defend that decision to my brother in law, or my wife or friend, who will ask me why I took such a bad deal. (I really took it because it validates me, the extra benefits justifying the decision, that is to defend the decision. Just to be clear, I do think YCombinator is very much worth it, and a very good deal... my point simply is that it is likely an emotional reason for taking the deal, and the value it offers is what lets you sleep at night and face your friends. I think this is a fundamental in all purchase decisions. There is the emotional triggers, and than there are the justifications. You buy because it satisfies an emotional need, but you won't buy without a way to defend your decision.

davemel37 15y ago

I think human nature is hard-wired in people and hasn't really changed since the caveman days. While I agree it is a sad existence to give so much control over your happiness to others...I think there is a hardwired element built into our social interactions that revolves around being accepted by your peers, feeling needed, feeling like you are contributing, and that is satisfied by peer affirmation, especially so when you have "Bragging Rights" over your peers. My point simply is that people are looking for peer recommendations to satisfy this emotional need of "not looking like a fool" and to help defend their purchase to others who will questions their decision and "want them to fail"... and not to actually find out if a product or service is actually good, or actually will solve their needs. I believe that search plus your world, and all of these startups and features focusing on having our friends curate the web for us, are missing a crucial understanding of how and why we might care what our friends think, and are many times self-defeating. Just for the record, it is a common truth in the direct response copywriting world that you not only need to sell your target audience but you have to give them the tools to defend their purchase to those who want them to fail, and will question their decision. This fear of making mistakes, and looking like a fool in front of your friends. Just think about the last time you bought something and told someone about it. What details did you share with them defending the decision that you wasn't really relevant. A perfect example is YCombinator explaining the percentage they take. It's a bit expensive for the money, but the networking, the doors it opens, and the validation it offers, so it's a great deal. You don't need to sell me, I wouldn't be applying if I needed to be sold. I need to defend that decision to my brother in law, or my wife or friend, who will ask me why I took such a bad deal. (I really took it because it validates me, the extra benefits justifying the decision, that is to defend the decision. Just to be clear, I do think YCombinator is very much worth it, and a very good deal... my point simply is that it is likely an emotional reason for taking the deal, and the value it offers is what lets you sleep at night and face your friends. I think this is a fundamental in all purchase decisions. There is the emotional triggers, and than there are the justifications. You buy because it satisfies an emotional need, but you won't buy without a way to defend your decision.