I have taken part in a lot of social applications and sites. Some have turned out to be a long-term association, where as others have been a “try and drop”. What I think is essential in any successful application or site is an easy way to connect with others and share experiences within the application.
From Wikis to forums, project blogs to micro-blogging, shared bookmarking to shared reader articles, you have lurkers and you have active participants. You need to actively listen to what people are saying, whether you are face to face or in a virtual conversation. Equally, and often harder, is the need for active participation as well.
So, where I am going with all this is that words like trust and cooperation express what community members behind a social site are relying on to get a positive experience from the site. I can safely say that the best experiences I have had are where I have received a lot of cooperation from other people trying out the application, and participating in the idea.
Social site developers, your goal is to make it as easy as possible for people like me to want to participate and cooperate with others on your social application.
Social site users, your goal is to be active participants where you listen and open your virtual mouths to speak
Technorati Tags: social
by hoshposh at December 30, 2008 06:46 AM
by del.icio.us at December 29, 2008 03:12 AM
by del.icio.us at December 23, 2008 03:01 AM
Finally! I’ve got what I hope to be a decent prototype for a Drupal Information Card module. I’ve made huge changes to the user interface on this one, and as a result, I hope to have streamlined the process for framework owners. What I haven’t yet got, is a lot of eyeballs from a lot of people on different platforms, in different situations, and with different frames of mind. If you have 5 extra minutes, please check out my example site. There is a poll there to let you give extra-fast feedback, and there is a feedback form if you want to address a specific finding.
Here’s a quick summary of the new features:
User Card Management
Lost Card Recovery
Purple “i” means Selector launch
Minimum clicks
Developer Improvements
WordPress users: I’m upgrading that plugin right now to use the same flows — so if you don’t like them, speak now!

by Pamela at December 22, 2008 06:36 PM
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