I forgot two main ideas I'd like to incorporate into FanConcert on yesterday's list.

The first is internationalization (aka I18N), localization (aka L10N) and translation of FanConcert. I'd like to try something different than most sites: a collaborative approach to translation.

How will that work? Every string used in the FanConcert UI will be translatable, and people will vote on the translation for a given language. Just like voting on object attributes, the translated value with the highest score -- based on weighted votes -- will be used.

This means that the translation is not only flexible but probably more pedestrian. It also means that phrases may not necessarily be correct but errors will probably be glaring to a native speaker. FanConcert would need to make it easy to submit and moderate translations, so that incorrect phrases are replaced quickly and easily.

As well, since FanConcert will be added to regularly throughout it's lifetime -- a competitive advantage of an agile process and unit testing -- quick translation of new features will also be important. I could add a new feature and it would use English everywhere by default until it is translated. Obviously some English phrases in the middle of another language would be glaring, and users of FanConcert in that language would have some motivation to translate it as quickly as possible.

This also solves another problem with translation: it can be expensive. Not only am I not paying people to translate FanConcert but I also won't have to speculate about which languages to translate to next in order to get into emerging markets for FanConcert. When enough Japanese people start using FanConcert in English, they may translate it themselves over time into their native language for native Japanese speakers.

Translations would happen as they are needed and would vary in quality based on the number of people using FanConcert in that language because more peer review can produce a better product. There are a lot of technical obstacles to this approach to translation but I believe that it will give FanConcert a very serious competitive advantage.

Artists, concerts, venues, albums and record labels are from everywhere on the globe, so it makes sense to facilitate all of the possibilities not just from a completeness standpoint but also because of the new market possibilities it opens up -- and here's the very important point -- with very little additional work on my part.

The other main idea is making FanConcert a social website. That's as simple as allowing other users to communicate with each other and share their musical preferences and ideas on a limited basis. There are already music websites that do this but it's a natural fit to have these features in something like FanConcert as well.

Besides that, people just want to have the ability to reach out. We are social animals and we like to interact. People are fascinated by other people's thoughts as well as sharing their own opinions, so having a way for people to share will help grow a significant userbase that likes that functionality, which in turn leads to more content and higher quality content because there are more people moderating.

I'm hestitant to jump on the "social software" bandwagon but I do see value in a lot of the common features. FanConcert's priority, I believe, should still be information but some social aspects certainly can't hurt things and in fact probably help quite a bit. Thanks to everyone that's been pushing me on this aspect, it's been helpful.