Zeal
launched its community directory in April, 2000, and was acquired by
LookSmart in October, 2000. Since its debut, Zeal has been focused on
creating a world-class Web directory by drawing upon the vast expertise
and enthusiasm of its volunteer community. The members come from all over
the world, and Zeal is a place where they can share what they know, make
new friends, and help improve the Web experiences of millions of other
people. Zeal began as a stand-alone directory, but with the acquisition it
became part of the Looksmart Network, which means that contributions to
the directory now appear on LookSmart.com and all its partners. 

Is
there anything you might compare Zeal to in the “brick-and-mortar”
world?

One
analogy that springs to mind is a museum whose goal is to present
everything that is known about the world. To do this as effectively as
possible, each room of the museum has an expert docent, or guide, to show
you the best exhibits and answer your questions along the way. At the end
of your visit, you’ve learned something new, and maybe you’ve even
become a docent yourself. As the community develops, we want to keep
adding rooms and have a docent or two in each of them.

What
is your business model?

By
constantly improving the directory, the Zeal community is a crucial
element in maintaining its quality and relevance, which makes for happier
users on Zeal, on LookSmart, and on our partners’ sites. At the same
time, the noncommercial content provided by Zeal members complements the
commercial sites that are added through our LookListings service. This is
really the ideal way to create a directory that is always evolving, that
offers a good balance of commercial and noncommercial content, and that is
open to participation by the community.

How
do you compare to the Open Directory Project?

Obviously
we have had similar goals, and they’ve certainly demonstrated the basic
feasibility of a community-driven directory. But I think Zeal has excelled
in a number of ways that are crucial to keeping this type of community
thriving. For instance, the tools and processes on the Zeal site were
designed to be extremely intuitive and transparent to the members. So
it’s quite easy for anyone to see all community activity, such as
who’s adding sites, or creating subject categories, or conversing on the
message boards.

It’s
also easy to tell exactly how much you’ve accomplished at Zeal, because
we have a cumulative point system that rewards contributions, and quality
ratings that show how well you’ve been following the guidelines. And if
you’re a leading contributor, you know it, and so does everyone else,
which promotes a sense of pride and achievement in Zeal members.

A
final point of difference is our team of professional editors, who are
closely involved with the community. They answer questions, make
suggestions, and ensure that new sites are going in the right places, to
name a few. Our editors also deal with all commercial listings in the
directory, freeing the community to find and contribute the best
noncommercial content. The result is the best of both worlds – the
quality and consistency found in an editorial model, combined with the
vibrant culture and nearly limitless expertise of a community.

You rely heavily on your community of editors. 
What motivators (financial or non-financial) have you found to be
most effective?

The
community members are volunteers, so our incentives are of the kind that
the community can appreciate, and we have many of them. For many members,
Zeal is a way to share their expertise on a large scale, and earn
recognition from their peers in the process. We give attribution for
contributed sites and recognize special achievements in our community
center, Zeality.

For
other members, the community atmosphere is a big part of the appeal. 
The members come from tremendously diverse backgrounds and locales, and
you never know when you’ll run into someone who shares your interests,
and just happens to live on the other side of the globe.

Another
compelling incentive for many people is the sheer scale of Zeal’s
distribution. LookSmart’s directory also appears on Microsoft’s MSN,
on AltaVista, on Juno, and on hundreds of other sites. So if you’re a
nonprofit organization, for instance, adding your Web pages via Zeal is a
cost-effective way to get noticed by more people.

Can you name 2 or 3 legal issues that you bump
into with respect to your online community?

We
haven’t encountered any. We’re certainly aware of the legal issues
that other communities have run into, but none are really relevant to what
we’re doing.  Zeal is a
purely volunteer community, and we’re very careful to convey that to the
members, and to give them the freedom and respect they deserve.

What
are other examples of "online group collaboration" in producing
a product that impress you?

Nupedia:
http://www.nupedia.com/ 

You
have to admire the ambition of this project – creating an entire
encyclopedia through the online collaboration of editors, writers,
translators, and programmers.

Craigslist:
http://www.craigslist.org/

A
Bay Area classic. It got its start in San Francisco and has grown to be
one of the region’s most useful community-driven resources. There are
now Craigslists serving several other regions, as well.