Friday, December 07, 2007

:: Successful Social Networks Must be Relevant to End-User Goals

The concept of "social networking," "online communities," and "user generated content" has been around for years. It is nothing new. We've had newsgroups, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and multi-user-dimensions (MUDs). There was "Friendster" before "My Space," or even "Facebook"...so why even try to compete in this crowded landscape?

Companies add community-based tools to their websites for various reasons. The worst reason for doing it, however, is because "social networking" is trendy.

Social networks should be created to further business objectives, such as connecting individuals for site-specific purposes...or showcasing user contributions where these contributions will be advantageous to end-users. For example, dating websites should introduce community content to give participants a better understanding of each other prior to setting up dates. Artist portals should provide talent the means to upload and showcase their content. Discussion boards should be implemented in conjunction with content that normally inspires discussion.

The creation of a community for the sake of creating a community is a risky proposition. First of all, generic communities are ubiquitous on the internet. "My Space" and "Facebook" are major players in this space, and provide robust tools for social networking. Competing in the "generic community" category would require massive promotion, viral marketing, and/or richer community tools. Basically, you'd have to convince existing "My Space" and "Facebook" users who have invested time and effort into maintaining their existing profiles, that they should spend even more time and effort creating a new profile on a new, generic community. It is a fickle landscape, too. In 2005, it was tough to find individuals who didn't have a "My Space" profile. Now, it is tough to find people who aren't on "Facebook."

It seems as though long-term success of social networks rely upon their relevance to end-users. Consider "LinkedIn." Networking in a professional context is always important, and makes perfect sense via the online medium. Searching for colleagues, businesses, and professional opportunities makes the perfect platform for a rich community. "LinkedIn" got the formula right, and early enough to gain enough loyalty to make it difficult for existing users to waste time and effort re-creating their profiles on other professional networks. This is the perfect model for successful social networking online.

Jonathan Lupo - VP / Information Architecture - Empathy Lab