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Stepan StepanovCreator of the LiveJournal community paparazzi.
Date of Birth: .
Country:  Russia |
Content:
- The Genesis of Paparazzi: A Conversation with Stepan Stepanov
- The Birth of paparazzi
- The Name's Origin
- Anniversary and Evolution
- Expansion and Platform
- Website Benefits
- 2. Create a database of press releases
- Purpose and Impact
- Awards and Recognition
- Continued Growth
- Competition
- International Comparables
- Success Factors
- Maintenance and Moderation
- Joining Procedure
- Membership Restrictions
- Stepanov:Yes, of course. These are people who do not speak Russian.
- Contact Database
The Genesis of Paparazzi: A Conversation with Stepan Stepanov
On November 20, 2006, a discussion was conducted with Stepan Stepanov (ZurFreude), the creator of the LiveJournal community paparazzi.
The Birth of paparazzi
Interviewer:Good day. Please share the story behind the inception of the paparazzi LiveJournal community. What events prompted its creation? Are there individuals whose contributions were indispensable to paparazzi's success?
Stepan Stepanov:Good day. I'm not trying to be immodest, but the idea for a journalists' community on LiveJournal was not conceived by a team. I created the community individually. Kirill Kutalov (kirill) guided me on which buttons to click, and he also suggested the first userpic.
I "voluntarily" included the first ten members to avoid it being empty. The rest joined out of their own volition. The creation of the community was primarily a personal step for me as I explored the capabilities of Livejournal. Many people create communities, and I was one of them.
Concurrently, in "real life," I was participating in several PR campaigns, and I needed copywriters and text creators in large numbers. The intersection of LJ's capabilities and my professional needs sparked the idea for a community FOR journalists.
The Name's Origin
Interviewer:What inspired the name paparazzi?Stepanov:I enjoy coming up with captivating, vibrant, and evocative names.
Anniversary and Evolution
Interviewer:When does paparazzi celebrate its birthday?Stepanov:Let's just say that due to my lack of organization, paparazzi doesn't really celebrate birthdays... The official date of the community's creation is November 19, 2001, which means it recently turned five.
Interviewer:Congratulations. Has paparazzi remained unchanged throughout its five years of existence, or have there been adjustments to its design or format?
Stepanov:paparazzi was created within LiveJournal, utilizing its default style. The format of the community was defined from the outset and has remained consistent.
In my opinion, the fundamental, default style of each platform is the most versatile and user-friendly for the majority of potential users. Therefore, my personal preferences were set aside.
Expansion and Platform
Interviewer:LiveJournal is popular in Russia, but there are also other blogging platforms. Do you have any plans to create a mirror of paparazzi on platforms like LiveInternet or [email protected]?
Stepanov:I'm indifferent to that. In my view, paparazzi can no longer be categorized as "one of LiveJournal's services." However, that was never an issue. The community is built on the platform of one of the blogging services—so what? The platform is easy to use, the service is widely accessible, and to join the community, one only needs a LiveJournal account.
Complicating the system by creating "mirrors" would, in my opinion, increase the community's vulnerability from a technical standpoint. That's my personal view, and I haven't received any such requests from community members or colleagues.
However, the question of a website as an extension and development of the paparazzi format arises from time to time.
Interviewer:Would that involve gradually "migrating" community members to a website?
Stepanov:No, there are no plans to "migrate" readers to a website. I would like to create a website to complement the LiveJournal feed.
Website Benefits
Interviewer:What benefits could a website offer in this context?Stepanov:A website would allow us to:
1. Organize the most frequently requested information in the community
2. Create a database of press releases
3. Potentially create a database of paparazzi members (except for those who wish to remain anonymous)
4. Accomplish specific interactive tasks that are difficult to implement within the LiveJournal feed format
Purpose and Impact
Interviewer:What was the purpose of creating paparazzi? Who was it intended for?
Stepanov:The community was established to provide a platform for professional exchange among journalists, whether it be sharing information for article creation, finding or offering job opportunities, or seeking sources of information. Any exchange that could have practical value. That has remained the case from the beginning until today.
Currently, I would position paparazzi as the largest Russian-language professional platform for journalists on the internet.
Awards and Recognition
Interviewer:Has paparazzi received any awards or recognition?Stepanov:No, it hasn't.
Growth and Traction
Interviewer:How was paparazzi promoted in its early stages? Was it difficult to gain traction and respect within the community? Can you acknowledge individuals who assisted paparazzi's survival in its early years?
Stepanov:I didn't undertake any specific promotional campaigns. When the community was created, the entire Russian-speaking LiveJournal segment consisted of, I believe, around 2,500 people. As a result, all new additions to LiveJournal, including each personal diary, automatically became the subject of general interest or lack thereof.
Earning respect was also not necessary. Individuals have self-respect, and by joining a community, they bring that self-respect into the community as both a right and a "membership fee."
The first 20, 50, or 100 people in paparazzi were pioneers of Russian LiveJournal, those interested in the service's new features rather than casual self-expression in inappropriate settings. After that, the community's character was shaped, and new members adhered to established norms – otherwise, why would they have joined? ...Of course, occasional incidents arise, but that's inevitable and natural.
There was no targeted promotion, so I consider the participation of the earliest community members who ensured its viability to be the most significant assistance. Unfortunately, I no longer recall who was first, second, or second and a half. Kirill Kutalov, Anna Platonova, and Olga Sumina were definitely there from the start... But in all fairness, I should remember a few more.
Continued Growth
Interviewer:Is paparazzi still being actively promoted today?Stepanov:Yes, there is no targeted promotion or advertising beyond the natural mechanisms of LiveJournal and internet search engines.
Competition
Interviewer:Does paparazzi have any competitors? (For example, ru_smi?)
Stepanov:Small, niche communities centered around specific journalistic interests have existed for a long time and will continue to emerge. However, they can only compete with one another.
For instance, if two news digests differ in their principles and sources or two communities focus on glossy journalism but have distinct "circles," it's unlikely that a genuine alternative can be created for a community based on inclusiveness and being the only one of its kind.
International Comparables
Interviewer:Are there any international equivalents to paparazzi in terms of scale and spirit? Do you look to these communities for inspiration?
Stepanov:Unfortunately, I do not speak foreign languages, so I don't follow international internet services.
Success Factors
Interviewer:Can you identify the key "secret ingredient" that has contributed to paparazzi's success and popularity?
Stepanov:The most important factor is the perfect alignment with LiveJournal's format as a tool for journalists working online. The match is not absolute, but the community's format provides journalists with what search engines cannot. A search engine combined with paparazzi becomes a virtually complete and versatile tool for journalists to use the internet.
A simple yet major key to success has been the basic set of community rules, which prohibits the instigation of ideological battles, self-promotion, negative advertising, and trivial content.
Finally, the fact that the community was created as—and remains—moderated is a significant factor.
Maintenance and Moderation
Interviewer:How many people work on supporting paparazzi?Stepanov:paparazzi has three moderators... Of course, all of LiveJournal's service departments also contribute to maintaining the community.
Joining Procedure
Interviewer:Please describe the process of joining paparazzi. Are there a lot of applicants? On what grounds might you deny access to the community?
Stepanov:Those who wish to join the community must have a LiveJournal account and follow the inclusion instructions, which consist of two notification steps (to the moderators and to the system itself). The community rules and the instructions for applicants are written in such a way that those who are "not suited" for the community do not feel like joining.
As a result, there have been almost no instances of denied access, with the exception of a few cases where individuals were simply unaware of what they were getting into and withdrew their requests after understanding.
There have been instances of suspending violators, but they are usually temporary. It's simply to stop the violation without cluttering the community feed with discussions about it.
Membership Restrictions
Interviewer:Are there any individuals who will never be granted access to the community?
Stepanov:Yes, of course. These are people who do not speak Russian.
Content ManagementInterviewer:Are promotional and non-conforming posts a problem?
Stepanov:The percentage of non-conforming posts is minimal. The moderators simply remove them, and the authors are warned.
Contact Database
Interviewer:In order to register for paparazzi, you require applicants to provide personal information. You must have amassed a substantial database of journalist contacts. Do you share or use it in any way? I mean, not by selling it on the market, but, for instance, helping someone find a specific person in the database upon request?
