Well, if their statements are anything to go by, we can see what they are going to do differently to try and make it work.
They are moving away from the 'provide the platform, get out of the way, let 1000 flowers bloom.' Stack Exchange is going to be launching sites themselves with a more regimented process that (they hope) has a high success rate.
*After seeing Slinkset (I liked that one), these two, Wikimedia etc. have such a hard time getting successful sites going, I have a new appreciation for forums. Forums work. There are a lot of non ghost town, forums started by non social software gurus.
They are moving away from the 'provide the platform, get out of the way, let 1000 flowers bloom.' Stack Exchange is going to be launching sites themselves with a more regimented process that (they hope) has a high success rate.
*After seeing Slinkset (I liked that one), these two, Wikimedia etc. have such a hard time getting successful sites going, I have a new appreciation for forums. Forums work. There are a lot of non ghost town, forums started by non social software gurus.