Space Mountain
Ha! Got your attention! Sorry, but this article isn’t about the Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom (or any of the knockoff rides at other Disney parks) but about FriendFeed.
Wait.. what?
I’ll break it down. FriendFeed is a space mountain.
To wit, interacting with FriendFeed is like interacting with a mountain in space, in that it takes an enormous amount of effort to get the mountain to do anything, but once you have it moving, it’s not stopping anytime soon.
In metaphorical terms, that is what is required to really appreciate FriendFeed as an experience. To extend the metaphor further, we could say that the space mountain (or asteroid, perhaps) isn’t frozen out in deep space. It’s more like a solar comet, spinning about a trajectory closer than Mercury. This mountain is active. It is almost paradoxical that a place that is so overwhelmingly active can start out being fairly slow going for the noob.
So, keep this in mind. We can’t all be Mona — don’t give up if you aren’t a FriendFeed hero overnight.* It’s best to start putting in your effort steadily, in the form of following interesting people, commenting on entries, showing yourself through stuff you find online via the bookmarklet and feeds. But most of all, interact.
Comment and like. A lot. At first, you won’t get a lot of response from anybody. But keep plugging away, and people will notice, and the discussion and interaction will start happening.
Consider this: Even the least liked people on FriendFeed are well known simply by dint of their diligent effort. Oh, they enjoy their status as underdogs, but the point is that even with many many people blocking them, they still generate conversation due to their notoriety.
So, buckle up, be patient, and enjoy your ride.
* Tamar Weinberg on FriendFeed follower activity level.