Recent Blog Entries
Analyzing 9rules
Written by Mike Rundle on February 22, 2006
Today at Business Logs I wrote an article called “Guarding The Gates: Web 2.0 Barriers To Entry” and it talked about how new companies popping up need to essentially answer these three questions:
Are we actually useful or just fun to play with?
Are we actually innovating or just mashing/copying?
Are there barriers to enter our market, or can anyone be us?
In the article I hypothetically answered those questions for Meebo, 43 Things (43 Things’ response), and the online calendar space. Here I’ll answer them for 9rules.
Analyzing 9rules
I believe that 9rules is actually useful, innovative, but that our market may have little barriers for entry. I would say that 9rules is useful because 1) we’re trying to guide users through the infodump of the blogosphere, and 2) at the same time help the smaller, independent writers gain a foothold. It was about this time last year when Paul pitched me the idea of 9rules over dinner, and the #1 reason he gave for starting a weblog network like 9rules was to highlight great content because it’s sometimes tough to find the really good stuff you’re looking for.
If there’s one thing we pride ourselves on at 9rules, it’s that we always try to innovate and never rest on our heels. We’re constantly brainstorming with our members about what would make us better, tweaking features to make them more useful, discussing new functionality that isn’t around anywhere else, and so on. I think the biggest reason we try to innovate instead of follow others is that 9rules is in a unique situation — we have to provide tremendous value to our members, but we also need to provide that same value to our readers so they continuously view the 9rules Network as something they’d wish to join someday.
In general, anyone can start a weblog network for there are few barriers for entry. If you’re following the WIN-model of blog networks, then all you need to do is start a few blogs and get some people to write for them and you have a blog network. The difference with 9rules is that we don’t pay our members to join and maintain their sites, writers join us because we offer a community-like atmosphere, more visibility, and a “seal of approval” that deems their site as high quality to their readers. I’d go out on a limb and say that starting a weblog network in a 9rules-style is slightly more difficult, simply because you have to provide value to the members that doesn’t involve money per post or per month. When we started 9rules we asked our friends to join since those were the people who knew what we were trying to do and trusted us, but if you don’t have a large enough network to tap into from the get-go, it’ll be an uphill battle as you try and build your reputation. 9rules is doing well now with hundreds of sites trying to join our Network each round (and dozens more sending us emails every week!) but that’s because we’ve gained some momentum — the toughest part about 9rules was trying to convince new members while we were just starting out 
February 22nd, 2006 at 5:57 pm
There is a huge amount of value in that “Technicolor Leaf”. It is a badge worn by quality content (great design obviously helps too!). The “Leaf” is why I wanted to join the Network. I wanted to hang it on my blog. It represents positive recognition by a community of individuals who know the field inside and out. I do believe the latest efforts extended by BOTH the leadership of 9rules (Paul, Colin, Mike, and Tyme) and the members (the vast majority of the rest of us) to protect and substantiate the brand is a testament to its inherent value. 9rules has succeeded in investing value into it’s mission - which is quality content. The members and those who want to join the Network have picked up on this mission and work together to increase the value of the brand. 9rules is not only an incredible success story of value investment, but also a living “How To Article” on communally contagious value investment. I think that’s a seriously firm foundation for a blog network. 9rules has an incredibly bright future … Good work.
February 23rd, 2006 at 4:47 am
9rules Network is a Bit Like College for Bloggers
I actually came across the 9rules Network through one of my favorite web blogs: Creating Passionate Users. The 9rules Network is an elite group of blogger devoted increasing the quality of blogs on the internet. Essentially the group recruits a cert…
February 23rd, 2006 at 4:47 am
I actually wrote something similar to this a while back. Allow me to throw a trackback your way.
February 23rd, 2006 at 1:11 pm
[...] nted to post about this. Is the 9 Rules blog private? I posted a commet yesterday on thier Analyzing 9Rules post. You can see from this image my comment went to coComment and I saw it on [...]
February 23rd, 2006 at 6:14 pm
What 9rules is accomplishing is incredibly necessary and is one
of those ideas where you think “wow, why aren’t more sites doing
this?”. I think a couple of the reasons are a mixture of
convention (relying on statistics or machines to divine what to read) and scalability (human parsing takes time). Whatever the case, this bold endeavor has something others are trying to accomplish through complicated technological efforts - the recommending of quality content.
I think one way 9rules is getting through these issues is that
it’s establishing itself as a beacon of quality. The bloggers come to you instead of you to them. The infamous ‘barriers’ become your buzz and create a fervor to ‘get in’ thus driving more people to the site. This is preferable and more
manageable than navigating the blogosphere alone, or making it a free for all and letting the machines sort them out based on statistics.
On the issue of statistics being used to divine sites one should
read, 9rules compliments this, if not trumps it. Through close
examination and hand-picking 9rules has resolved itself to a slower, more methodic approach to finding and selecting quality content to promote. While some find this impossible to implement with all the sites out there, it truly is a more reliable model. It’s also deliciously methodic, it keeps people antsy, glued to their chairs waiting to see when the next round of submissions is. But beyond that, being methodic, detailed, is a hallmark fo quality. So it makes sense to be a site that promotes quality not just through content, but through it’s selection process as well.
February 23rd, 2006 at 6:14 pm
I definately view 9 Rules as the cream of the crop of bloggers. If I see that badge somewhere I know the content is good. I think 9 Rules was an excellent idea too, and personally, I set it apart from all the other blog networks by the quality of members sites, and by the fact that these people aren’t doing anything they didn’t do before. The content hasn’t changed, they are just recognized for the quality of thier content. They don’t get paid to write that content, they would do it if they had that badge or not. I view 9 Rules more of an elite(wrong word maybe?) club of bloggers than a ‘blogging network’ … a club any independent blogger should be impressed to be asked to join. Keep up the good work guys =)
February 24th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
Yeah, I’ll agree with the above poster - 9rules is a consistent source of quality reads. Its a site that definetely changed the way I use the web, or rather, what sites I spend time on.
I used to read a lot of “official” news-sites, but since I came across 9rules, I have spent more and more time reading news and entries from selected sites in the network.
That has also proven to be a lot faster when it comes to being informed, that the big news-sites.
I used to check a few select news-sites 4-5 times from work, on a daily basis. That is down to 1 or 2 times a day now - as I have already read most of the stories they post about.
… on the 9rules network.
That is nothing if not impressive. Really. That the posts also have a much more appealing human touch to them, is an added bonus.
February 25th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
From my perspective, 9rules is not only about great content but about great design as well. Typcially I find that the two go hand in hand. I appreciate what 9rules does for the bloggers out there who otherwise might not get read too much.
February 27th, 2006 at 4:25 am
I personally believe that 9rules is a group of really good people. There’s something inside of me that tells me that these people are genuinely good people.
Good people make quality content and create a wonderful community of quality bloggers. That’s what I think.
February 27th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
[...] ) But folks can share the clips with others. (yeah!) Â Â Â 9rules gave away a little of their business plan last week. The “Good Housekeeping” Network [...]
February 27th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
I would argue that both models are difficult, for different reasons.
1. Quality: you have to find quality sites and persuade them to join. We have to find quality writers and persuade them to join.
2. Management: You need to stay on top of your content and ensure it always reflects who you are. Ditto for us.
3. Value: While you don’t pay people, you need to continue to provide value in the form of a community, traffic, etc… Something we do while paying people.
Personally I don’t buy the “it’d be easy to build a WIN” argument. Primarily because I know that we AREN’T a WIN, and it takes us about 60 hours per week in management to run b5, nevermind the hundreds of hours of blogger time.
It’s not easy, and while the barrier to starting 2-3 blogs is low, once you get into the 10-20 range it starts to grow exponentially.
That said, great piece
March 1st, 2006 at 8:47 pm
First, I want to apologize for being duped by the scumbar David Krug, who said he was going to pay me, and who gave me a list of people to go ahead and flame.
Paul S. was on that list, as was 9Rules.
Second, what can I do for you to make up for my rash and unfair attacks?
Third, I am starting a new network, but it will be major players only, not people looking for “exposure” but already exposed blogs looking to make $$$$.
ping me soon
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