Where better to learn about FriendFeed room creation but from the creator of the top four popular FriendFeed rooms, Zee (Ziad M Kane). I interviewed Zee to understand how he has started, grown and used FriendFeed rooms to extend his social profile and engage so many active participants. There are some great take-aways from his responses.

SWBN: As the founder of the two most popular FriendFeed rooms at this time can you please explain what was your initial motivation was for starting them.

Ahem, four of the most popular Friendfeed rooms But my motivation stemmed from the moment I realised I was spending a lot of time on FF purely for the fun of it and that wasn’t likely to stop. I thought about it and wondered how I could use FriendFeed both for fun and for my work/professional career…and the answer was rooms! If I created rooms which were specifically orientated around the business I am in (web/tech startups) then I can at least feel like i’m working on some level

SWBN: Has the purpose of the rooms evolved over time into something more or different?

Hmm, I wouldn’t say so no. The purpose was to stir up discussion and hear about news as soon as possible…and I’m confident that both the purposes and the rooms goals have been met.

SWBN: How involved were you with the growth of the communities that inhabit your rooms? Did/do you steer your community in any particular direction?

I’ve been heavily involved in the communities of the rooms I’ve launched, particularly at the start. In terms of steering the community, it varies between rooms but above all I just listen to the general feedback from people in the room. I also maintain a few rules/guidelines such as no duplicate posts, no aggressiveness and only posting your own content if it’s genuinely relevant/of interest to the room.

SWBN: Have you noticed any explosion of member numbers, or has it been a gradual climb. If there was an explosion, was there any event that precipitated it?

With Friendfeed I would honestly say the growth has been gradual but relatively fast – this in large part due to passionate “heavyweight” users such Robert Scoble, Louis Gray, Steve Rubel and the many highly active users that spread the word on a daily basis.

SWBN: For the “average” social networking type user out there, what advice would you suggest in starting their own room

1. Find a topic you are deeply passionate about.
2. Ensure there isn’t a room already set up like it
3. Create a decent logo, Room Name and Description
4. Set up some guidelines/rules
5. Make a list of people to invite who you know will be interested in your room topic.
6. Get posting! And only manually post don’t put RSS feeds in there!

SWBN: On a day to day basis, do you find you need to disengage from social networking to “get things done” or have you absorbed the activities into your work flow

Good question. During the day I’ll only focus on activity in certain rooms (not only my own by the way). Rooms which are focused on startups, technology, Google and alike – that way I’m only reading about information relevant to my work. I tend to not keep the browser window open, i’ll just get notifications via FriendFeed IM and respond via there too. I also use a private FriendFeed room with my work colleagues – so it’s not just ‘subject areas’ that I use FriendFeed rooms for.

SWBN: What are your thoughts on “monetising” social media streams and feeds

Well FriendFeed is going to need to do it at some point and advertising is bound to be its revenue source – I think with ‘rooms’ they’ve got a fantastic way of bringing targeted advertising/sponsorship on board. I don’t think many people would pay for tools such as Twitter – although I could be wrong – so currently advertising is the only proven source of revenue. It’s going to be interesting to see the reaction though when services like Friendfeed/Twitter introduce it.

SWBN:  Making a living in the internet – do you think their are any success routes/roadblocks that are specifically gender based?

I’m clearly a man, so my answer is going to be based on my own experiences – but no, I don’t believe your gender does or should have any impact on your route to financial success online. I think the internet is fantastic in that respect…we are (nearly) all given the opportunity illustrate our knowledge & interests for a particular topic. And I truly believe anyone with true passion for their niche can make a name for themselves and (financially) profit from it…of course, with time, thought & a fair bit of effort.

SWBN: Thanks Zee, much appreciated and some great tips for our readers .

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The SWBN has its own Friendfeed room and we would love you to come join us : SWBNetwork