Fliva is a new application that enables authors to help readers better comprehend who they are. Similar to LinkedIn’s Q&A feature, Fliva poses a series of questions to users and then allows them to answer them. Those answers, along with the questions, are then visible in an embeddable Fliva player [see mine here] that can go on most websites.
Oftentimes, readers read the writing of most bloggers without knowing anything about them. Most often, only a sparse bit of information is provided in the about section of a page, such as prior credentials and experience. That section on most websites is dedicated to more professional information. Fliva aims to make it easier for users to share information about themselves . My Fliva, for example, tells you about my favorite foods, where I’d like to visit next, etc.
One of Many Question and Answers on my Fliva
The key to almost every Web 2.0 application is its ability to go viral and get thousands of new users in a couple of days. Fliva offers users many options to embed their Flivas all over the internet. Users are given the ability to direct link to their flivas, as I’ve done throughout the article, and then they’re given the ability to embed it. Quick settings are given for platforms like MySpace and TypePad, while those using unsupported CMS’ are given HTML code they can paste in.
Fliva also attempts to use a Digg-style voting system to find a user’s most popular Fliva’s. When users like a response or a choice, they click the “flove it” button in order to signify their approval. This helps users not only realize the author’s likes and dislikes, but the readership’s interests as well. It’s an interesting measure for blog authors and readers alike.
The Flove It Button, Provided on Every Post
I think Fliva’s an interesting application. That said, I really don’t see it serving a purpose for lots of users. In my brief experience using the site, the only purpose I can see it being used for is as a new “about” section on a website. Why use an application for that purpose that dynamically displays questions and answers when they can all be displayed at the same time or written out more concisely on a single page?
Then again, I fail to get Fliva’s point. Still, I have not seen widespread adoption of Fliva, and that’s key for an application like this. During Twitter’s beginnings, people decried the service as the beginning of useless microblogging. After the tech elite joined the service, however, Twitter’s seen a surge in users to beat competitors like Jaiku that are better featured and easier to use. Fliva’s seen no such userbase gain. What do you think? Does Fliva have a place in our Web 2.0 ecosystem?
