3 steps to a perfect social network. Laura Fries laurafries.com • laura@laurafries.com web director, association of alternative newsweeklies

should you add social networking to your site?

defined. Social network individual profiles of preferences, linked to other users to provide in-network benefits, forming a social organism with benefits for all.

rethink. Social networking determine what value you can provide for your users at the individual, shared, and community level.

workshop three questions.

consider 3 aspects. what value can you give the individual user? what value can users get from each other? what value can a user get from the social community?

what value can you give the individual user?

what value can users get from each other?

what value can a user get from the social community?

individual what value can you provide for an individual user? how do you make your site more useful to one person? [ or, brainstorming features for your user profiles ]

what value can you provide for an individual user?

how do you make your site more useful to one person?

[ or, brainstorming features for your user profiles ]

individual . site organization H ow can you help your user organize, archive, access & find: content that’s relevant to them past site interaction preferences for receiving information

H ow can you help your user organize, archive, access & find:

content that’s relevant to them

past site interaction

preferences for receiving information

individual . tools What tools can you give an individual that will make your site more useful to them? How would a user want to use your site content elsewhere? How can you make it easy for them to do so? Think “their” yourbrand content.

What tools can you give an individual that will make your site more useful to them?

How would a user want to use your site content elsewhere? How can you make it easy for them to do so?

Think “their” yourbrand content.

individual . promotional How might a user want to use your site to promote their interests? Make new contacts? Drive traffic to their own site? What tools can you give them to help them achieve their goals without obscuring yours?

How might a user want to use your site to promote their interests? Make new contacts? Drive traffic to their own site?

What tools can you give them to help them achieve their goals without obscuring yours?

individual . pull mechanisms What content pull mechanisms will be useful to your users? Predictive content, based on past browsing? Newsletters? How would your users like information to come to them outside of the browser experience? How can you make this easy for them to manage?

What content pull mechanisms will be useful to your users? Predictive content, based on past browsing? Newsletters?

How would your users like information to come to them outside of the browser experience? How can you make this easy for them to manage?

shared what value can users provide each other? how does your site make it easier to share with other users? [ or, brainstorming user interaction mechanisms ]

what value can users provide each other?

how does your site make it easier to share with other users?

[ or, brainstorming user interaction mechanisms ]

shared . How can you facilitate: • social recommendations of site content • serendipitous finds of friends’ site content • browsing site content via friends’ interaction • intra-network contact • sharing of personal preferences

How can you facilitate:

• social recommendations of site content

• serendipitous finds of friends’ site content

• browsing site content via friends’ interaction

• intra-network contact

• sharing of personal preferences

what value can a user get from your community ?

community . How can micro-actions (like tagging, rating, linking) provide cumulative benefit to the community? How can aggregate user data give useful popularity metrics? How can community action uncover trends? How can community interaction spur real-life actions?

How can micro-actions (like tagging, rating, linking) provide cumulative benefit to the community?

How can aggregate user data give useful popularity metrics?

How can community action uncover trends?

How can community interaction spur real-life actions?

adding value on the individual, shared, and community level creates smart social networks.

Laura Fries web. aan .org laurafries .com • laura@laurafries.com web director, association of alternative newsweeklies

Laura Fries

web. aan .org

laurafries .com • laura@laurafries.com

web director, association of alternative newsweeklies