Developers understand that the most important way to build hype for your product is to build a community around it, helping others connect over their shared love of your game or service. Getting people talking will draw in others within each person’s sphere of influence and lead to greater adoption through positive attention.
However, in today’s glutted media market, it can feel impossible to craft a genuine connection between users and the brand without it feeling fake. This is why many are jumping back into the Internet’s very first online social network, which has been a critical part of gaming’s evolution: Usenet. In this article, we will investigate what developers can learn from Usenet in order to boost their own brands.
Exclusivity Can Be a Good Thing
Usenet is well known for its staying power, having been around since the early 1980s and still being a vibrant community. Part of this is a fascinating look into the human psychology around marketing: exclusivity.
At first, exclusivity seems counterproductive. After all, you appear to be limiting your reach by keeping out a portion of the marketplace rather than inviting everyone in. However, exclusivity builds brand loyalty and encourages a closer-knit community; think of how Apple has such fanatical devotees because of its high pricing or how Nike’s limited edition releases lead to huge lines at shoe stores.
This is true even if the barrier to access is relatively small. Usenet is easy to use and quite affordable; users simply sign up with a good Usenet provider, such as those found on top10usenet, and immediately access everything that it offers. However, feeling like part of an elite clique makes people feel as if they are special, which drives loyalty and also makes them more likely to talk about the service because they want to appear important to others, too.
Free Speech Is Critical to Community
Free speech has become a flashpoint in recent years, especially on social media platforms. It is no secret that companies such as Meta and X, formerly known as Twitter, engage in widespread censorship, such as shadowbanning users who go against the grain and immediately removing messages that contain certain words. While a level of moderation is necessary to keep people safe, this requires human discernment and collaboration rather than algorithmic tinkering, something that social media sites ignore.
Usenet is a bastion of free speech because Usenet providers do not censor anything that is sent to newsgroups; instead, some newsgroups have their own active moderators who will intervene should they see something that is genuinely threatening. This is part of the reason that Usenet has maintained vibrant communities for decades now: people feel safe to express dissenting opinions, which leads to more gripping dialogue between articles.
Developers should nurture spaces where everyone is free to disagree and engage in spirited debate, as this gets people more invested in the conversation than if everyone is tiptoeing around serious concerns. The more that people want to express themselves, the more they are thinking about and engaging with your product, and the more willing they are to continue using it long after the original hype has died off.
Insightful Discussion Builds Connections Better Than Casual Chatter
There is no denying that gamers love to dissect their favorite franchises or the future of their hobby, such as how advancements in technology will change the way that people engage with the art form. These gripping conversations build an investment in your game or product more than people simply saying that they like the visuals or they enjoyed a certain level, which is exactly what you want.
When you consider some of the most enduring franchises, you see this principle at play. Pokemon, while it originated as a simple children’s game, has captured the world’s attention for two decades because it combines two things: ease of play with complicated mechanics under the hood. Completionists love the challenge of filling their Pokedex, while those who want to excel in every bout examine which moves to harmonize best with each individual creature. Most players are captivated by how to find the right combination of Pokemon type and move against a given opponent to win.
The amount of conversation surrounding this particular franchise could fill an entire library, and it all comes down to the richness of dialogue that was built on places like Usenet, bringing players back again and again. You can tap into this by fostering places where gamers strategize together, drawing others into their orbit through their passion.
While the gaming industry moves at a fast pace, just like the rest of the modern world, there’s much to be learned from more traditional tech like Usenet, which has helped to foster some of the fiercest brand loyalty. By signing up with a Usenet provider and exploring this underappreciated space, you can find new ways to build a following and reach the highest peaks of success.
