Ten Commandments of Social Interaction Design

THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS

© 2010 IDEA. All rights reserved.
OF
SOCIAL INTERACTION DESIGN
(SxD)

Monday, May 31, 2010

CHRIS PITRE
Social Marketing Strategist, IDEA

LAURA VERBLE
Senior Strategist, IDEA


ABOUT IDEA

Digital agency in Houston & Seattle

100 employees

UX // Strategy // Technology // Creative // Account Services


THE 10 COMMANDMENTS


#1
KNOW THY USER.
ALL OF THEM.

(ALL ABOUT THEM.)

DEFINE USERS
Social butterﬂy

Critic

Harmonizer

Rebel

Lurker (stalker)

Status seeker

Creator


KNOW USER ROLES
Who’s coming?

What do they want?

What do they need?

What do they do?

When do they do it?

Why do they do it?


GIVE ___ TO THE THEM
Build the experience around them:

Interests // Likes

Needs

Wants

Friends // Enemies

Ego


FACEBOOK OPEN GRAPH

If a user opts in and agrees, why not tailor the experience to their
likes, events, interests, friends, and digital footprints?


BEGUILED WITH BEYONCE

on...I p romise)
ealthy o bsessi
(h

YOU HAD US AT HELLO, CHRIS. WELCOME BACK.


#2
THOU SHALT NOT HAVE
CONTROL.


USABILITY FINDINGS

it!!
wa nted
, re ally
y re ally
The

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Fully explore and communicate the impact of social endeavors.

Embrace the connection between you and your customers.

You can’t ﬁght it – you can only funnel it.


#3
HONOR THY AUDIENCE.


It’s all about us...cause we’re awesome!


SEARCH ENGINE STAT

57%

of all internet users have
searched their name
-Pew

THE SALESMAN


YELLOW CAB HUNTING



Give users a reason to interact with you and don’t send them on a
scavenger hunt.

Clearly communicate where and why you want them to go.

And when they connect with you, give them something to do that
matters and leaves a lasting impact.

Recognize and reward behavior.


#4
THOU SHALT RESPECT
PRIVACY.



Users are ﬁckle.

Trust must be earned, nurtured, and protected.

Sharing and Privacy go hand in hand. They can build you up or

tear you down.

Privacy settings should be transparent and personalized.


#5
REMEMBER THY
PLATFORM AND KEEP

IT HOLY.


FACEBOOK


YOUTUBE


GRADUAL UPDATING

Roll out updates gradually.

Test major functional changes thoroughly.

Have buy-in from your largest supporters and partners.


#6
USERS ARE JEALOUS.
STANDARDIZE THE

EXPERIENCE.

WORD OF MOUTH STAT

500

billion inﬂuence impressions
are made each year
-Forrester

COME AGAIN

500 billion experiences
are shared directly and
indirectly across social

media each year

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Users expect to have the same experience as their friends.

Users will tell referring friend and all others about disappointment.

Standardize the experience to the fullest extent possible.


#7
THOU SHALT NOT ABUSE

COLLOQUIALISMS.


COLLOQUIAL = EXCLUSION

Only niche audiences understand certain regional or esoteric
terminology.

Immediately restrict audience size

Limit growth potential (in some cases)

Confuse (and frustrate) the masses


THE YBF


#8
KNOW THY SOCIAL
TOUCHPOINTS.


TARGET SOCIAL
Listen to users.

Let your users tell you where and when they want to socialize in
the experience.

Don’t over do it.

Every piece of content does not require a reaction or sharing.

Keep it active.

Stale activity discourages new participation.


TIME & PLACE

Does every experience have to become a social one?



Select places in your experience for social.

Understand that all experiences aren’t made for social.

Know users’ level of comfort in the degree of social engagement.


#9
THOU SHALT MAKE AN
ALTAR FOR BOTH GOOD

AND EVIL.


ALL ABOUT POSITIONING


REACTION SITE

MEMORIAL SITE FOR VICTIMS

FACEBOOK LIKE PAGE


It's all about positioning.

Make it constructive and actionable.

You can't funnel everything, but some is better than none.


#10
HONOR FUN IN YOUR
EXPERIENCE.


THE FUN THEORY

Hypothesis: Can you make users do something mundane or
overlooked by making it fun?

Watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw



Make the mundane fun.

Use but don’t abuse humor.

Delight users with the unexpected.


AMEN.


REACH OUT:

chris.pitre@idea.com
laura.verble@idea.com

idea.com | facebook.com/ideainteractive


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