Steve Mulder Let the People Speak How users are changing the Web

Meet Pete Blackshaw, new hybrid car owner

The promise: 50 MPG The reality:

What is Web 2.0? Marketing buzzword

“ We are witnessing the Web’s second coming.” The New York Times “The Web has finally matured to the point where it can fulfill some of the outlandish promises that we heard in the ‘90s.” Newsweek

Anything new Anything cool Anything marketing wants to sell Anything someone wants Google or Yahoo to buy

“ When people say to me it’s a Web 2.0 application, I want to puke.” Venture Capitalist Guy Kawasaki

What is Web 2.0? Newish set of guiding philosophies Ratings & reviews Tags Wikis Behavior-driven info architecture Blogs Message boards Social networking Syndication (RSS feeds) Open APIs New content uses Mashups Instant feedback Faster processes More ways to interact Direct manipulation Differentiating experiences Widgets Browser extensions & toolbars Virtual worlds Mobile Television & gaming platforms User Contribution Openness Rich Interfaces New Digital Interactions

The spectrum of user contribution To what degree do you feel the presence of users? Site augmentation Site co-creation

To what degree do you feel the presence of users?

Site augmentation Site co-creation

User contribution: Message boards

User contribution: Blogs

User contribution: Ratings and reviews

Ratings and reviews: Opportunities Products Content Topics Features People Places Companies Events Be aware of external ratings/reviews about you

Products

Content

Topics

Features

People

Places

Companies

Events

Be aware of external ratings/reviews about you

User contribution: Tags

Tags: Opportunities Works better for unstructured content Articles Photos, videos, audio Discussions People Works better for content whose use and classification are constantly evolving Requires users to invest time

Works better for unstructured content

Articles

Photos, videos, audio

Discussions

People

Works better for content whose use and classification are constantly evolving

Requires users to invest time

User contribution: Behavior-driven information architecture

Behavior-driven information architecture: Opportunities Surfacing content based on user actions Most viewed Most sold Most saved Most emailed Most discussed Highest rated/voted for Finding relationships Merchandising and cross-selling based on behavior Collaborative filtering

Surfacing content based on user actions

Most viewed

Most sold

Most saved

Most emailed

Most discussed

Highest rated/voted for

Finding relationships

Merchandising and cross-selling based on behavior

Collaborative filtering

User contribution: User-generated content

Warner Brothers Records Toyota Scion American Apparel Starwood Hotels

Warner Brothers Records

User-generated content: Opportunities Item descriptions Showcase gallery Content for helping users make the right selection Instructions and applications Related content (historical, anecdotal, cross-industry, web links) Help content

Item descriptions

Showcase gallery

Content for helping users make the right selection

Instructions and applications

Related content (historical, anecdotal, cross-industry, web links)

Help content

User contribution: Social networking

The culture of participation The participatory, social nature of the personal Web (blogs, podcasts, photo sharing, social networking) is expected more and more on the business Web Collective intelligence is becoming more credible and useful The work of the few impacts the many “ The likes of Google, Amazon, and Ebay take the intelligence of all their users – and put it in the interface.” Tim O’Reilly

The participatory, social nature of the personal Web (blogs, podcasts, photo sharing, social networking) is expected more and more on the business Web

Collective intelligence is becoming more credible and useful

The work of the few impacts the many

“ The likes of Google, Amazon, and Ebay take the intelligence of all their users – and put it in the interface.” Tim O’Reilly

User contribution: A quick story

Dealing with negative contributions “ Early on we made the decision that if we were to hold this contest,…we would be summarily destroyed in the blogosphere if we censored the ads based on their viewpoint. So, we adopted a position of openness and transparency, and decided that we would welcome the debate…. The overwhelming majority of the 22,000 submissions thus far have been earnest attempts at creating positive advertisements…. Anyway, it sure got people talking about the Tahoe. Which was the whole idea, after all.” Ed Peper, Chevrolet’s General Manager

“ Early on we made the decision that if we were to hold this contest,…we would be summarily destroyed in the blogosphere if we censored the ads based on their viewpoint. So, we adopted a position of openness and transparency, and decided that we would welcome the debate….

The overwhelming majority of the 22,000 submissions thus far have been earnest attempts at creating positive advertisements….

Anyway, it sure got people talking about the Tahoe. Which was the whole idea, after all.”

Ed Peper, Chevrolet’s General Manager

Dealing with negative contributions “By losing that control over the brand experience, Chevy actually brought more people into it.… If you're going to participate as a marketer in the social computing arena, you’ve got to have thick skin and be ready to engage in the messy world of your customer’s opinions. Marketers that have the guts to turn over their brand to the public will in the end win over their customers. ” Charlene Li, Forrester Research

“By losing that control over the brand experience, Chevy actually brought more people into it.…

If you're going to participate as a marketer in the social computing arena, you’ve got to have thick skin and be ready to engage in the messy world of your customer’s opinions. Marketers that have the guts to turn over their brand to the public will in the end win over their customers. ”

Charlene Li, Forrester Research

Myth: People contribute only when they’re negative Molecular research: 60% of consumers contribute more positive than negative reviews, while only 1% contribute more negative than positive reviews

Molecular research: 60% of consumers contribute more positive than negative reviews, while only 1% contribute more negative than positive reviews

User contribution: Implications

User contribution is happening Companies have two choices… Resist it and it will happen anyway elsewhere, outside of your influence Support it, participate, and you can influence it and leverage it for extending your brand 1 2

Companies have two choices…

Resist it and it will happen anyway elsewhere, outside of your influence

We create platforms for experiences, not the experiences themselves

We create design containers for content we cannot entirely imagine

evolve and flexible are that systems create We

To what degree are you ready to let go? Steve Mulder [email_address]