Here’s a quick bullet-point summary. You can watch the video, view the presentation slides.

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#1. Ego

1. Ask yourself: Does this feature increase the users self-worth or stoke the ego?
2. If a user is contributing to my system, what emotional rewards do they walk away with? What (visible) rewards will they receive?

#2. Simplicity

1. Stop over building features
2. Pick 2-3 things to focus on
3. Ask yourself: Is there anything I can take out of this feature?

#3. Build & Release

1. Stop thinking you understand your users
2. Learn from what they’re actually doing on your site, not what you think they’ll do
3. Decide on what you’re going to build… and build it (avoid analysis paralysis)
4. Build, release, iterate, and repeat

#4. Hack The Press

1. Invite only system (Pownce, Digg v3)
2. Talk to the junior bloggers
3. Attend parties for events you can’t afford – network w/influencers, bring a demo

#5. Connect with your community

1. Start a podcast (it’s OK if not everyone listens)
2. Throw a launch party, then yearly/quarterly  events – invite the press/influencers personally – don’t tell the bar
3. Engage w/the community, be an active participant your own ecosystem

#6. Advisors

1. What technical problems are you going to have?
2. Advisors can be helpful in a whole slew of areas (marketing/hiring/bizdev)
3. Stock compensation, typically not a board seat, solid advisors help during fund raising

#7. Leverage your userbase to spread the word

#8. Does your product provide value for 3rd party sites?

#9. Analyze your traffic

1. Install Google analytics
2. Entrance sources (search?)
3. Paths through site
4. Top exit pages

The Video

Feel free to share your answers to these questions in the comments below. We’d love to hear your perspective.

What advice can you give new web entrepreneurs?

1. A great way to gain traction and get coverage for a new web app is approach a well known person and offer them something valuable in return for trying out your service.Example: Tumblr asked Gary Vaynerchuk if he would use their service if they gave him a spot on their home page.
2. Have your 30-second pitch perfected so when you get a chance to meet an influential blogger or member of the press, you can communicate the purpose of your app succinctly.
3. Attend conferences and throw little parties around the conference. Do it on the cheap and just get people mentioning your app like: “Hey, I’m heading to the YourAmazingApp party. Are you going?” This is much easier because of Twitter as news of small ‘lighting-parties’ can spread quickly.

You’ve managed to raise your profile in the industry. How did you do this?

At digg we didn’t focus on getting press coverage. We just focussed on making an amazing product and believing people would talk about it if it was truly great.

When we started getting press enquiries, we focused on telling a bigger ‘human-interest’ story to the publications, which were much more likely to get front-page coverage, instead of a simple mention in a small column.

The lesson is this: figure out what makes your app interesting as a news story.

Should start-ups create a videocast like you’ve done with diggnation?

Absolutely. Every company needs a spokesperson who is willing to be the public face of the company and participate in the community.

As the diggnation podcast started to grow, digg fans began to make it their goal to get a story mentioned in the podcast. This increased the prestige of the site and also fan loyalty.

How do you balance marketing with working on the product?

That’s an interesting question. Earlier today I was running off to another interview and Daniel Burka (the lead designer at digg) showed me a couple designs as I was walking out of the door. I didn’t have time to properly sit down to discuss them and Daniel said “Kevin, can we please just get you in the office a bit more to discuss these kind of things?”

It’s a tough problem and I still battle with it at digg. I’m not sure I’ve gotten the balance 100% right yet.

What do you want to be remembered for when you die?

I want to be remembered for being a part of the web revolution that really changed the way that humans consume media and news.

I’m also hoping to launch my own tea range and be known as a connoisseur :)

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Photo Credit: flickr.com/photos/thomashawk

The video interview

The Future of Web Apps returns to Miami, February 23-24 2009, with speakers including Michael Arrington, Daniel Burka, Jason Fried, Joel Spolsky, and Gary Vaynerchuk.