Fun parks and CBD’s

In reality there are two ways we can define websites. They’re either Fun Parks or Central Business Districts.

Startup blog definitions: 

Fun park: A website which is primarily in existence for the entertainment of its users. A place to enjoy, socialize, have fun and waste time.

Central Business District (CBD): A website which has a commercial function from it’s inception and is essentially there to assist people in trade.

Examples of each include:

Fun parks CBD’s

Youtube

Ebay

Facebook

Paypal

Flickr

Amazon

Hot or not

Lulu

Sure, there’s some overlap, but it’s the insights behind the two variants that matter.

roller-coaster.gif   businessman-drawing.jpg

Fun parks are ‘fun’. They’re easy to use and addictive in nature. They tend to spread quicker and go viral because there’s less risk. We’re not being asked to spend money, just enjoy the rides. So the fun park fills up quickly, gets popular and the owners monetize them by selling advertising billboards to all the eyeballs in the fun park. Eventually the park becomes overcrowded and people start to leave. They tend to have a rotating user base.

CBD’s are useful. Sometimes fun, but usually more serious and offer ‘value’. The commercial function is built in to the site, hence it doesn’t need to ‘monetize’ itself. People tend to investigate more, take longer to put their name down and join site. But once the do, they often become evanaglists and do the marketing for the site. They build more slowly, maybe take years, but usually end up with a more loyal user base. And rightfully end up more profitable. (profit as defined by yield)

Both are valid, both are evolving. If you’re a start up, it just pays to know which category you fit into.

4 thoughts on “Fun parks and CBD’s

  1. Great analogy again Steve….
    I agree that the CBDs are more stable in the long run
    Hahaha the Fun one are just as it is….for fun!
    It is like having a new toy….once a new model is out in the market, the old one is virtually forgotten…..

  2. And similarly CBDs can lose their appeal if the infrastructure is insufficient (i.e. transaction is clunky/unreliable/confusing)… can end up with lots of window shopping but few sales…

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