Starting Your Own Community Driven Website?

ST asks: "I've had a couple of excellent ideas for community-driven websites (a la Slashdot), some excellent enough that I would really like to put money into and start up, but my abilities can only do so much. Where does one go to look for people to collaborate with technical (hosting, DB management), artistic, and web design help? What have your web site startups been like, have you any advice to offer? Any horror or success stories you would care to share will be welcomed!"

Comments

Start small, think big

[yog]

You've gotten lots of advice already so I'll just stick to the questions no one else has answered so far. You asked what kind of people to go to. There are hundreds of web design companies around the country (I assume you're US-based) and probably thousands of individual web designers. They charge money to set up sites, so it might be worthwhile to get two or three quotes and see what kind of bucks you'll need to lay out. You can just cold-call some people who advertise in your local newspaper, or you can go to one of the various tech networking events around town; just stand up and announce you're looking for a web designer and they will flock to you like flies to honey. I agree with those who recommend open source, apache/mysql/php based solutions that you can easily modify and admin without paying someone.

If you're really looking to save bucks and start small, put up an ad at the local community college or university in the computer or web design office and get a student. They're eager to add more sites to their portfolio and will probably work for either free or minimal bucks. Many students have grown up with computers and are pretty adept, but make sure you interview them thoroughly and check out some of their existing work. If you find a rising star, it's a win-win situation.

There are lots of sub-$10 a month hosting companies out there and you should choose one with a wide range of bandwidths and colocation options, in case you grow quickly (a nice problem to have). Don't start with a tiny ISP that can't handle your growing pains.

As others in this forum have mentioned, you should focus on the business plan (whether or not this is a for-profit operation) and make sure you have a way to spread the word and draw people to your site. I disagree with those who think there's no more room for new online communities; if you have a great idea, go for it and ignore the naysayers. Their ancestors also said the world was flat and men would never fly. Good luck!