Sites must create value for users
http://unclutterer.com/2009/03/30/swap-baby-goods/
This site recommendation falls into my category of “they have a word for that: it’s called Craigslist.” Seriously, there are too many “me-too” sites on the web that don’t add sufficient value to really, deep down, justify the cognitive overhead of keeping track of something new. I’m not saying that a new social network site doesn’t make sense — it just has to provide enough value to make itself a destination. The intersection between with long-tail strategies and network effects is difficult for many people to model. It may be that the capital required to set up a site like this is so low and the ongoing operating costs so tiny that whatever modest conversion there is on PPC ads makes it cash-flow positive. But my question, I guess, is whether the bolt-on features below are so distinctive or important that they make the site better than craigslist for the primary feature: listing your stuff so someone else will take it.
So this site has some extra discussion forums (nothing new there) and list of “deals”, and a critical map/location-based finder for the stuff on there. Of course, there are two columns of ads on some pages (google on one side, yahoo on the other). Kinda funny for a “give your free stuff away” site. The proof is in the pudding, I guess.