Platinax reviewed

[Brian Turner]

Just thought I'd mention that I paid for a review of Platinax last month, and here it is:

http://www.johnon.com/260/platinax-internet.html

What really struck me is how John Andrews focused on the forums as the source of value, but not so much the rest of the site:

There’s value in the Platinax forums for small business owners because guys like Brian take more advanced information on other sites and bring it into the forum, where they also make themselves available to support a discussion. For that reason I’d recommend it if you are a small business working online, and looking for a community experience. I’d also recommend it if you are a wanna be consultant with some decent experience under your belt. You can join and establish your persona helping the community without the crowds you find on the bigger forums.

The omission of the rest of the site features really struck me as perceiving these as low quality.

Yes, it's true I don't keep the Platinax blog updated regularly, because I'm normally trying to create strong signal via articles rather than actually treat it as a blog - but this is obviously going to devalue this section in terms of user perception.

Also, the news section does indeed read as generic - there's a mixture of reporting by myself and a tech journalistic I've brought on board, but the aim here has been to work on an objective standard in the mould of a news site, rather than the personal voice of a blog. But again, I think this is really in danger of creating a perception of low value when authority voice exist elsewhere - CNET, The Register, BBC, etc.

What I find ironic is that the news section is one of the most updated areas of the site - but probably least used by regular members.

I've also had Aaron Wall encourage me to sell the site better via the homepage.

Overall, I think the criticisms, real, implied, or imagined, are very valid - I personally consider Platinax a successful failure - it is successful because it is profitable, but a failure in that the key purpose of providing an authorative site of value for small business owners has largely gone unaccomplished.

I've been thinking a lot on the site over the past few days, and what I need to do - I need to find a way to make the site much more useful for SME's in general.

I need to set up information and articles on taxes and accounts - I need to swing the news section to also reflect these issues and cover basic business operational issues, rather than new tech, which is where it has drifted to.

I also planned to extend the forums to cover emergent technologies as well - the impact of IPTV is something I pushed for coverage on the news section because it is going to have such a huge impact on how business is done online - we're basically looking at the reinvention of the TV, as it integrates with the internet - and all the accompanying repercussions.

I also should look at general blogging coverage on the blog - not simply a blog to be a repository of articles, but also a general high-signal blog on general events. I also have it on my wish-list to make it a co-operative blog, where other business owners here can also use Platinax as a platform to promote themselves as an authority.

My day job is SEO via Britecorp, and Platinax has an excellent natural organic link profile that has set it around the PR6/PR7 boundary - but for me to really make a success of Platinax, I absolutely have to push on the core issues - creating a site useful for any SME owner who has the technological know how to pick up a mouse - from the beginning, the aspirant, to even the corporate project manager (I'm currently pushing my own business development into stats tracking and analysis, which from experience is over the heads of most SME owners).

Anyway, back to the point - John's review has served as a nice catalyst to make me rethink Platinax as a site and resource, and I've realised - really realised - just how much it's flagging and how much it needs to improve.

Aside from content changes, I also need to get the message out more as well and push on the networking - because I simply cannot make a real success of Platinax unless I succeed with the core aims.

So - if anyone should wish to make any suggestions as to what you want to see here, you're more than welcome - I feel I've neglected the place enough, and all criticisms are invited and welcome.

ADDED: I'm also going to give Platinax a new site design - the version we're running may only be new, but I think the site in general needs a sleeker and less cluttered look, with a more traditional approach as found on other similar sites such as start-ups.

I've also baulked at buying up other smaller business forums, not least because a number of these have been generally US-centric in terms of tax and accounts advice - but webmastering and the challenges of doing business online are global and applicable regardless as to whether in the UK or US, so I'm going to try and be more bold here. The Platinax forums themselves have felt diminished recently, partly because I've been here less - but a shed load of new content and new members can only help bring extra momentum into here.

[john.andrews]

I'm still a big fan of specialization when it comes to the web. If it's fast and easy and very, very specific it will be remembered by those who value it. If it's broad and takes effort to go through, it is a low priority for busy people.

So a general small business forum is a very tough thing to create. A forum for one specific thing is very useful.

And my favorite past-time is listening to the market as it says what it wants... if you follow that, you leave behind your own vision but you create something the market wants. I think blogs have succeeded largely because they do that (discussion on the spot, on a specific topic) and blogs that require sign in fail, blogs that don't provide a means to stay involved in the discussion fail to foster the discussion, etc.

[Brian Turner]

Agreed, John, and welcome to Platinax.

I think the key challenge is to not simply provide value for busy business people - but present that value in an easy to find manner.

[Gary]

I find the review a little harsh, however I'm glad to hear your not resting on your laurels and considering on producing a section covering taxes and accounts it should give Platinax a much broader spectrum......anyhow chin up old boy.

[kundalini]

Originally Posted by Brian Turner

Agreed, John, and welcome to Platinax.

I think the key challenge is to not simply provide value for busy business people - but present that value in an easy to find manner.

I think that's right. And yet incredibly difficult to do. I've been visiting Brian's forum for a good few years, even before it was named Platinax, normally at perhaps 6 monthly intervals. There's some good information here but obviously not enough to make me a regular repeat visitor.

If I'm thinking about a topic that I'd like to learn more about, and with the internet there are so many different issues, both new and old, that could be of value, then I wouldn't really think of visiting Platinax.

Sometimes I visit WebmasterWorld; mainly because I get regular emails from them and when I eventually get round to reading a bunch then one or two articles might get me interested enough to click through.

Anyway, glad it is making money but not sure there's an obvious way of making it a must visit site.