Discussion > Better exposure for "Liked" content

After using the site for a month or so now (which I really like, BTW!) I think it would be good to have some improvement in way we can discover interesting content. I'm following a few other writers, which is fine, but I'm reluctant to add too many for fear of creating a stream of content that is far too big to actually read. Consequently, I don't often venture out and look at the bigger picture of what other people are contributing. I suspect the same goes both ways -- I get a good stream of "likes", but it tends to be the same half dozen people who are my subscribed readers.

I propose that you add a section on the front/index page showing a dynamic stream of "Recently Liked" and/or "Most Liked in Last 7 days", or something like that. That would be a good way for some of the more popular entries to filter out to the wider community of site users instead of getting lost behind the "walled garden" of one's immediate cluster of readers.

What do you think?
January 4, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterphilosophical_zombie
I understand what you're after, but we need to be careful that TypeTrigger doesn't create a self-fulfilling system of promoting popular content which increases exposure, which makes it more likely to be popular, which makes it promoted... I agree that discovery will be troublesome, especially if a lot of folks contribute to each trigger (can we really expect a lot of views of the poor suckers on the 6th page or in position 62 if it's just one long list of contributions?)

So maybe the system gets a little fancy. TT knows who YOU like based on your actions (you follow a person or seem to "like" their stuff often enough that they are in your top 5). And you know who your "liked triggerers" like best based on hovering over the user name and seeing their top 5.

The problem is that unless we are especially adventurous, we don't see what those folks who are most liiked by our favorite triggerers are writing. What if Typetrigger had a view or method of showing the last pieces that the best liked writers of your favorite writers have produced (whether the piece has 0 likes or 25 likes). Its a social filter based loosely on your tastes and strongly on those whom you have admired most. Friend of a friend might be my friend style.
January 5, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterIvanThinking
Great thoughts, P_Z and IT! Sorry for the delay in responding. "We" have been busy busy trying to get ready for the public launch. Your thoughts about discovery processes on TT are really relevant, and we are trying to figure out how to finesse this as we grow. We didn't want to create a system that is too leading, especially since we are relatively small now and it wouldn't be very meaningful. I think both of you have hit the nail on the head. We do want to help people navigate to good/interesting content here, and while popularity is not entirely reflective of worth, it is often a good start, and it gives newcomers a quick glimpse of what is going on. We are planning on adding an "editorial" view of TT in the coming months, which will include some short Top Five lists (such as top 5 fiction/nonfiction/poetry pieces of the week--which will rely on people tagging their work to be eligible), which will highlight popular content. We also are interested in getting other perspectives on the site highlights by inviting guests to select favorites for our podcast, which will be recapped on the site. This will allow pieces that are not necessarily most popular to get recognition, and it will tie some explanation to why the guest favored a piece.

I do like your idea, IT, of having a view of the favorites of your favorites, though I wonder how relevant it would remain as one added those users to one's own list.

I am very curious to learn how people are using the Following features on the site. Since I currently read every single piece on the site, my perspective on this is not always the best.

Let's keep this discussion going; I think there are endless ways we could play with this, and I really want to be able to reward popularity without having it become totally cyclical. There is so much writing on Typetrigger that appeals to different people, and I want the best of lots of little groups to bubble up so that we can be obviously relevant to readers and writers of all stripes.
January 10, 2011 | Registered CommenterTHE
Good points. I think a list of the ten (or 20) most "Recently Liked" items would be the best way to get content spread around quickly while playing down the "self-perpetuating" aspects you guys mentioned. It's true there would be a random element, as it would purely depend on when you visited the site as to what you saw, but that's okay, because at least you're still getting exposed to new content that at least someone else has enjoyed. It would also be a great way of getting older content re-discovered from time to time.
January 14, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterphilosophical_zombie
Maybe the Ten most recently liked items displayed in list format: [item 1] (Trigger) {first x words}... <next line> [item 2] (trigger) {first x words}...

Click navigates to that trigger with a focus on that item for user to read. The trigger/words serve as an enticement to click. I know I often try to lead with some special phrase to draw in the reader.
January 19, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterIvanThinking
It may seem cheesy, or even overused, but would a "Random Trigger" button help rotate material? Simply click the button and a random trigger from the entire archive, regardless of popularity, would appear. This would satisfy those that want to explore without intense digging around and allow entries an extra boost of random exposure. You could also include a next and previous component that will allow casual browsers to randomly cycle through posts.
January 26, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterAmos
I like that too, Amos. There are so many possibilities, and we want to encourage random browsing as well as assist new members in finding writing that resonates for them. In the next few months we will be working a lot on these aspects of the site.
January 27, 2011 | Registered CommenterTHE
Amos has hit it perfect. A random button with a next/previous is a magnificent thought. I'm currently reading the old posts and it takes ages to get to the last ones. Perhaps an archive button too with a flip down thingy indicating the previous month's triggers.
June 25, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterslippers
Thanks for the thoughts, everyone. We continue to work on how to implement the random in a good way!
July 8, 2011 | Registered CommenterTHE