Is Mahalo too big for any one person to influence? Can't @jasoncalacanis impact the trajectory of this cool website? Can't others?
My first thought was that it was nice that he would make such a modest, self-effacing comment. That was followed immediately by the thought that there is no way that that could be correct. I wrote out a response, clicked "submit", then realized it was a question that should have its own thread. I'm interested in your thoughts, but to start the discussion, here's my response:
I'd like to agree with you, Jason, but I'm not sure I can. I think Mahalo's community managers (I'm including Lon in there, but I'm not sure if he ever held that title ) have made considerable impacts on the trajectory. (All to the positive.) I think some of Mahalo's top members have even impacted the trajectory.
And, certainly you have the power to make the biggest changes to the trajectory. And, as you are fond of saying, this has been an ever-changing experiment - often reactionary, often visionary. You have made decisions that raised the trajectory and helped Mahalo get to its peaks. And, you have made decisions - maybe even somewhat forced into some of them - that have negatively impacted the trajectory. Heck, you can even impact the site by how you relate with people. Sometimes, your personality has helped, sometimes it has needlessly driven people away.
It seems to many people - including me - that you had options as to how you could handle this latest mega-pivot. Many do not think that you dealt with it in a very productive way for Mahalo - and that that will bring the trajectory down. Maybe, maybe not.
But, to say that the possible loss of Jeff (I'm still not assuming anything) doesn't "change the trajectory" (in effect, blowing him off) is wrong. And, your comment may actually be further proof that YOU can "change the trajectory" - if you effect Jeff's decision on his future plans AND those of people who respected him and/or became valued Mahalo contributors partly because of him.
You're in a position where you need to try to maximize your positive impacts on the trajectory and start eliminating your negative impacts. Because you DO have the most ability to make this site soar or nose-dive!
*****
Soooo, your turn! Can ANY of us influence Mahalo's success or failure? Does Jason have the MOST impact on this company's trajectory? Is Jason's humble comment too modest to ring true? Am I way off base here? (Is THIS enough questions for a concluding paragraph?)
* http://www.mahalo.com/answers/if-jeff-hoard-leaves-mahalo-what-will-mahalo-lose
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M$4 Answers
So his statement is a little more charming than realistic. As far as ANY of us, I think it is going to become harder and harder to directly impact the site as one user on any major level. No one will ever be able to direct the site down an exact path they want it to go, you can just add small unpredictable changes into that path. Even Jason cant change the fate of mahalo into exactly what he wants it to be.
This does not mean we cannot impact the trajectory, if you are an active member you are doing this already. It is just a measure of how much. Even the "bad" and new users are effecting the trajectory, every time someone asks or answers question, the site is slightly altered.
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M$I do not even think Jason could pull the plug of the Mahalo project any longer.. if even he ever had that ability. When Jeff Hoard was replaced as Community Manager by Corey Hartford the game was getting big and with the hiring of Jason Rapp as the president of the Mahalo.com universe Jason has effectively handed over what control he did have to the new guy, Jeff was the last of the RFTGs and Mahalo.com was now an in house operation and the investors have the rest of the control.
Truth is I bet Mahalo has snowballed to so big in size that I would imagine that there is almost nothing a single individual could do to stop it or change the direction of the human powered search engine experiment. The changes and the evolution of Mahalo is what defines this project so while the Mahalo.com we will know next year at this time will likely be hardly recognizable in comparison to the Mahalo.com we know today this progress will be at the mercy of we the users and the group message we express collectively to the officer infrastructure of the corporation.
I think we as an entire group are Mahalo and not one of us could change much without using the power of a very large percentage of the entire group and to do that would mean some sort of magical online political coup on a scale I have not seen before... or someone could unplug the internet... but in the move War Games W.O.P.R. keeps playing the game.. until it comes to the conclusion "The only winning move is not to play".. respectfully so, Jason is now the Dr. Falken of Mahalo.com
personal opinion
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M$
Sorry, budda buddy, I don't think I posed the Q clearly enough.
I am not asking whether we are "replaceable" - I agree with you that we are. Even Jason is. But, as Goatead indicated in his answer, if Jason sold Mahalo it would certainly "influence the trajectory." Jason's original quote was about "chang(ing)the trajectory" (aka "impacting"). And, yes, if you and/or I left, there would likely be other mm's and budda's to have this - or, at least, a similar - discussion.
Pulling the plug on the site is also not what the question is asking about. Your scenario is much more extreme than that which the original (anonymous) questioner and Jason were addressing.
And, I STRONGLY disagree with your positing that Jason "effectively handed over what control he did have to (Jason Rapp)". Jason (C.) remains the "Mahalo Founder and CEO"*, he remains the public voice/face of Mahalo and continues as its visionary.** HE certainly thinks that HE can achieve his vision.
I appreciate your analogy to War Games (page not yet created), and the super computer. But, I don't think that it works. Mahalo is not a super computer - it is an "experiment" that is being run by very human leaders; it is being programmed by very human users; it is funded by very human investors. It is VERY susceptible to being unplugged or re-programmed (i.e. shut down or pivoted).
And, by the way, Dr. Falken (along with Matthew Broderick's character) influenced the computer - and saved the world - by forcing the WOPR to play tic-tac-toe. While the new Guides are not playing tic-tac-toe, I have little doubt that it was Jason who made the decision to make this pivot. Thus, "chang(ing) the trajectory" of Mahalo.
*As he put it in his thread announcing the major changes last month. http://www.mahalo.com/answers/important-and-exciting-announcement-from-jason-for-mahalo-contributors
**He noted in that thread - and in other comments/interviews - that his vision is to get Mahalo to be a Top 25 site. "At the end of the day I'm in this for the thrill and challenge of building a top 25 site, with epic content made by thousands of well-compensated writers."
Thanks, @budda buddy. I DID post this question with a strong opinion already in mind. HOWEVER, I remain open to considering others' perspectives, and reconsidering my opinion based on them. You, for example, have frequently prompted me to re-think my positions; for that, I thank you. Others at Mahalo have been influenced by your comments, and others here at Mahalo have also influenced me. In fact, I hope that I have impacted others' opinions just a fraction of the times that you have!
That said, I respectfully disagree with you on this issue. Your hypothesis that Jason's influence on Mahalo is in any way/shape/form proportional to the influence that you/I/other users have strikes me as very wrong. As CEO/founder/decision-maker/vision-setter/public-face-and-marketer, Jason has been the primary setter of Mahalo's trajectory and can change that trajectory on a daily basis. There is no correlation between our influence and Jason's.
The example of selling Mahalo was one I borrowed from goatead. On the face of it, it might not be the best example. BUT, if you dig a bit deeper, the sale example does hold up. Because, Jason has FAR more influence on Mahalo's trajectory as the CEO+ than he would have as the "founder/previous owner".
@jasoncalacanis, thanks for chiming in. I greatly respect your hope that a "shared vision and contribution" drives Mahalo, and that you want to "build something bigger than (your)self!" However, I think you have missed a good chance to put those hopes and wishes to the test!
Now, I know that there are a LOT of pressures on you (and Mahalo) that we do not see on this side of the website. You have to deal with investors, Google, employees, bankers, others on a daily basis - and many of your decisions are made based on those dealings. And, I am sure that you believe that you have tried to implement your decisions in a way that you feel best listens to the contributors and users on this side of the website.
However, I really think that you have frequently under-factored in your contributors/users into the decision-making equation. And, I really think that you have frequently under-estimated the intelligence and the value of the contributors/users. Whether it is publicly insulting power contributors ("p.c.'s"), or pivoting on a dime without seeking out opinions, or routinely (publicly) changing your facts/opinions (key e.g. you want contributors who want to make $ vs. you don't want bores who are just in it for money), you have shown that you are not moving toward or motivated by a "shared vision".
I guess we should address who you intend to share the vision with. Is it investors, contributors, users, others - or, some combination thereof. Because, I think that investors and power contributors DO have the same vision as you - making Mahalo one of the top sites on the internet for information. Everyone would maximize their monetary and non-monetary benefits by reaching that type of goal, too.
So, if you agree that power contributors do share that vision - and you want to move towards building something bigger than yourself - I think it is incumbent upon you to deal with that group in a more consistently constructive way. You do it from time-to-time, but then you alternate it with high-handed dismissals, disses, and disregards.
So, your major opportunity to achieve your hopes this summer was to:
--more fully plan the changes (comments/efforts days before the announcement strongly indicate lack of full planning)
--effort to seek input from p.c.'s (looking at rev share numbers and/or Craigslist responses don't make the cut); and
--better communicate the decision (quantity of communication was good, but quality sucked - "exciting announcement", "donate it to charity!", etc.)
To use goatead's descriptor, your words are "charming". And, I hope to see clear evidence that the esteem in which you hold your contributors increases to the point that we can believe that you share the lofty vision that many of us have held for Mahalo.
@doubleminaz It seems to me you have answered your own question and already feel Jason and others in primary positions of power can greatly change Mahalo but I feel even if it were sold today to let's say KFC.. it would still be a Q&A site .. just with a lot more questions about chicken, gravy, and mashed potatoes.
What I am trying to say is change is relevant and the tiny changes we as singular users could make would be nothing more than changing this page for instance.. adding thoughts by typing letters, words, and sentences and by that relative measure the changes Jason could make would be similar in proportional scope.. he could sell Mahalo but at its nature Mahalo.com would still be a Q&A site with a search engine with a new owner ... still the same in nature.
Interesting comments, but for the record I'm still in charge of Mahalo ultimately--and will be for a looooong time. My goal is to build something bigger than About.com. We've got a long way to go before we pass them.
It's probably beyond any one individual user's ability to change the fate of Mahalo... however, as an employee you obviously have a lot more influence. Hopefully mahalo keeps growing to the point at which a shared vision and contribution drives it... not me or any one individual.
I'd like to build something bigger than myself!
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M$
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M$
thanks, this is a pretty interesting topic here. I like your enthusiastic opinions.
Thanks, goatead. And, thanks for "enthusiastic opinions", too. I'm gonna have to find a use for that one!!!
Nicely put, goatead. "More charming than realistic." I like that. (I had thought of using the term "false modesty", but yours is far nicer.)
And, I like your statement that "even Jason cant change the fate of mahalo into exactly what he wants it to be."