Shuzak - Good Geeks Get Ahead!

Yesterday we received an invitation to revisit the social network for geeks Shuzak.com. We did a review of the site earlier when it was running on a sub-optimized server, and the resultant problem was a 404 error. I really wanted to see what the community was like and was pleasantly surprised to find the site's founder Jawad Shuaib in chat there. In fact I had a really good time talking with several of the members of this community.

Since the advent of about a zillion gadgets and plug-ins I think many of us have forgotten just how pleasant it can be to chat with a small group of really interesting people. Perhaps we focus too much on all the peripheral noise that so many communities have these days. I know our attention and focus is constantly under a barrage of input and redirection, which leads me to frustration more than stimulation. Face it; people are really more interesting than gadgets when you have their attention.

I had a short Q and A with Jawad concerning just such topics and a few others, and I thought you might all be interested. The Q and A went as follows:

If you could say one thing to every blogger on the planet what would it be?
The usefulness of social networks has not been fully realized. The educational potential is huge. Shuzak is a social network designed especially for geeks - built from the ground up to support discussions relating to science and technology.

What does the perfect Web site have?
The perfect Web site has at least 40% of registered users taking part.

So more users equals more input and user generated content, is that what you mean Jawad?
More users does not mean anything. I believe that you have to engage people into building the community. If they will it's their community, they will add more value to it. For instance, I am giving away the source code for this chat room to a few programmers on here. They can code whatever they like and help make the community part of their vision too.

So the combination of place and people helps provide an environment worthy of visiting often?
Yes, plus, groups are incredible intelligent, often more intelligent than the smartest people in them.

I agree with the quality of the experience over the quantity of gadgets and etc. Most places I visit or review have so much “noise” it is distracting.
Yeah Phil, people are more likely to participate if they feel that what they're doing is important. The problem with choice is that people choose when given a choice!

Yes, given choices people do tend to choose something, and sometimes choose incorrectly because of the nature of selections available?
Correct! People don't like to choose between 200 brands of toothpaste. But if given the choice between more freedom or less freedom, they will always pick more freedom. Sadly, more freedom comes at the cost of noise.

Yes, so the choice after going to a site of watching videos for countless hours or talking with someone who could have an impact on them may lead to wasting countless hours eating the chocolate of dubious video content!
Exactly, and what we are trying to achieve is a community where like minded people can come and feel like part of something, most people going to huge communities are not feeling as if they really have an impact or contributing.

What da ya think?

Jawad and I were essentially in a general chat discussion, so I was amazed at how the other people reacted to this up front form of Q and A between a blog writer and the site's innovator. The people there were very knowledgeable without the smug techno-geek superiority complex we see sometimes.

I talked with the folks there for quite sometime and added them all as contacts. It really took me back to the time when a few strangers became friends in the chat rooms of old, except these people were super geeks.

The Site - As for the site, at first glance the new user will be slightly taken back by the simplistic and somewhat retro look of the community. I had a little quiver of “OMG” when I first got there, but this quickly abated as I began asking around for some general information. Everyone I met was excessively courteous and helpful. Comparatively, the experience was like being expelled from the blogosphere in to wonderland.

The UI at Shuzak could use an overhaul, and the navigation leaves a lot to be desired so far, but the overwhelming experience for me was perhaps made even a little more pleasant by a work under construction. Shuzak is not MySpace, but I don't think that is where Jawad and his community want to go any way. The site could use some of the innovation like we have seen at Tangler and other sites, but Jawad informed me that community members are already at work on some such improvements.

I like this site! I like it because of the people and the free and easy approach to creating a community. What is it that we want from community any way? Do we want 70 million people who never talk to us for fidgeting with gadgets and video? I think not, and now I know I am not alone.

Innovation and tools mean a lot to us here at Profy, but what would any of it mean if we did not have the people? How can any gadget or tool really make a difference in our lives if it does not help us communicate and connect with other people accurately? Any community worth its salt simply has to be built with everyone in mind, and I am not talking about everyone's money or vote either. Have a go at Shuzak and see what you think, be fore warned these are serious geeks.

I promised to make Fibonacci's Wench famous, and geeks could not be more charming really!