Very interesting read. Thousands share years of memories with this product. I met friends from across the country that I eventually hung out with irl. Habbo connected like minded people regardless of location far before the idea of social media gained momentum. Over the years Habbo's core has greatly improved but not at the right pace. There have been so many stalls and attempts to jump bandwagons. So it sits in a place of uncertainty. Logging on to Habbo for a teen now a days isn't anything special, it's actually quite unimpressive. They've stripped a majority of sophistication from the product. To the point that they are merely peddling a bunch of cutesy graphics. Some of the problems include:
- Updates aren't thought out, left incomplete
- Staff interaction is one of the most outdated 'features'
- Lack of objectives
- Missing target audience
- Hodgepodge interface
- IP integrity lost
Indeed. But even back then users wanted more ways to connect. So they started creating forums & websites to support their communities. Habbo does little to nurture groups or any type of archived history. It's literally a sandbox where in a second beautiful creations are flattened or left to blow away in the wind.
YouTube. The board should sit down and redefine what direction their product is going in. Someone has to take control. The entire platform needs fixing before trying to entice new users. According to the ancient http:// prophesies success is most definitely still possible.