Community Marketing is an emerging term, and in the spirit of community, I'm going to try an experiment, I'm going to place a smiliar copy in wikipedia, and see how it evolves. Users (like you) can edit and modify this text as your see fit.



What is Community Marketing?

Community marketing is a strategy to engage an audience in an active, non-intrusive prospect and customer conversation.

• Connects prospects with prospects
• Connects customers with prospects
• Connects a company with customer/prospect
  
• Community marketing can be organic (created by users with no company intervention)
• Community marketing can be sponsored (a community fostered and hosted by a company)
  
  

The purpose of Community Marketing is to listen, then take ownership of the conversation in your market

Sponsored: Companies that are community focused
While they may not call it "community marketing" many companies are creating forums, user forums, developer forums and other community driven vehicles. Among them include:

• Sun: Java Forums
• Oracle: Technology Network
• Microsoft: Channel 9 Forums
• Intuit: Developer Network
• Intuit: Support Forums
• Quickbooks Blogs and Forums
  
• Simply Hired: Simply Forums

Organic Forums: Customer created and managed
Users are creating their own in just about every topic, often without the aid of companes:

• Yahoo Groups
• Google Groups
• Acurazine
• BimmerForums
  
  

Community Marketing Forums: Simply Hired & Simply Forums
Simply hired is the newest in job aggregator engines to hit the web. It's 'mashing' job feeds from a variety of sources. (learn more about mashing) They obtain job feeds from all the large job sites and centralize into a single location (learn more about amorphous content). In addition to the job aggregator called 'simply hired' they've created a community based forum called 'simply forums'. New users are often attracted to the glitzy topics about 'simply fired' and the content to tell the 'best fired story'.

Community Marketing Manager: Damon Billian
At the blog business summit, I ran into a friend of a friend, Damon Billian, who was recently hired to manage the Simply Forums websites. Damon, a Community Marketing Manager, has a unique responsibility to build a community around simply hired. So far, he's having a lot of success, creating community, and driving them to the core product set. Drawing from his experience with customer support at Paypal, his friendly, and welcoming posts are building a community around him.

Benefits of Community Marketing

• Customer Insight
• Customer needs identified
• Customer focused Product development needs
• Instant Consumer feedback
• Competitive Insight
• Ability to quickly enter the conversation
• Ability to prime market for market introductions
• Fire Management and Damage Control
• Identify and engage Advocates
• Identify and engage Detractors
• Reduce support costs: Customers helping Customers
• Social Networking: Users with similar interests will connect and grow
• Knowledge Management: Grow body of information about your products
• Owning and leading the conversation in your industry
• The 'place to go' for information about your space - trusted vendor
• Demonstrate openness, transparency
• Demonstrate customer focus

What tools can be used?
Community Marketing occurs when companies talk to their prospects and customers. If it’s difficult and costly and difficult to talk to all prospects (esp in today's globalized marketplace) leveraging web tools are the way to go.

• Online Forums
• Wikis
• Blogs
• Social Networking
• Syndication
• Messaging systems (Instant Messaging, Private Messaging, or Email)
• Any other "participant controlled" tool
• Learn about these tools in my post "New" Web Tactics to Utilize in your Web Strategy
  

Got your own ideas? feel free to edit this copy here:
Community Marketing in wikipedia

Yup, that's Jello to the left. In a previous post, I mentioned I gave a speech called The "Perfect" website has no navigation and no search. This is an excerpt from the first half of my presentation.

1. Content will be everywhere - Ubiquitous Information
As I've mentioned before, the content element is separating from design element. Content is voluntarily being streamed (rss, xml, and other feeds) as well as forced to be stripped, crawled and indexed (by tools like google and yahoo). This content is being reused in mobile devices, feed readers, and published in a way that the users prefer.

1. The web is consumed everywhere with mobile devices such as Blackberries, text phones, pdas, treos, and other mobile devices. I wish I could get a dollar for every mobile device I see being used.
   
2. Any users can quickly copy and paste content into an easy to use blog/forum/wiki, and reuse it, users can call content into new websites, the same information will appear in different places on the web, and even from the same source.
   
3. The Acura RL streams real time traffic and weather data into it's GPS navigation system. Wait until this ties with your pre-ordered shopping list: "Mr Smith cheap gas is two blocks up, and your wife ordered grocieries to be picked up across the street, both are all paid for from your paypal account
   
4. Wireless usage is growing, and fast. San Francisco aims to be the first wireless city, as it's planning on provided wireless connectivity within the entire city. People can access information anytime, from anywhere. Google bids to make SF wireless.
   

2. Content will assume many shapes and forms -Amorphous Display
Not only will internet information be accessible from everywhere, it will take on new shapes and forms. With the advent of syndicated content using technologies like RSS (If you don’t know what this is read my post about Syndication and What you should know) content can be re-purposed into new formats.

Soon, I wonder if web design will be as important as once thought, as users can select how information will appear in their own personal portal, feed reader, or aggregator.

1. The tool greasmonkey, an extention of firefox, can redisplay a site, removing advertisements, add sidebar links, and basically customize your site to appear in a way appealing to the controller, I call this the ‘tivo effect’. Learn more about greasemonkey from wikipedia.
   
2. Users can choose which content to display in their reader, what the font will look like, color, how much text will display, and even rate or remove content.
   
3. Check out my post about media mashing, which will tie location and disparate data sources into a new entity

Key Take Aways

• Information will be everywhere, the browser (or some variation of it) and webservices will be the medium.
• Because users can control what and how they consume information, the participants are clearly taking charge.
  
• For the first time, 'Users' can control their own 'Experience'.
  
  

Wired magazine (thanks Cedric for the tip) had an interesting article in this month's issue regarding WikiNews and that "Everyone's a Reporter". It's a true testament to the changes we're seeing this year, again the Participants are taking charge.
Don't be concerned, as I've outlined "New" Web Tactics to Utilize in your Web Strategy.

Citizens are reporting the news
Check out MSNBC's Katrina blog, intersting to see this as a major transmission vehicle on a usual news site. OhmyNews of South Korea is a citizen based online web system, mainly written by average people and edited by a small team. This article gives the details on OhmyNews, a site primarily written in Korean

WikiNews
A wiki, is a tool that allows everyone to edit a webpage, this tool is great for knowledge management, learn more about these 'new' tools in my recent post. Regular individuals, (non journalists) are taking over the job of professional journalists and posting information about recent and current events.

Citizen vs Professional, What's the difference?
This is different that the current structure, as journalists fact check, but often have to interview citizens. Citizens, are often the first to report breaking news and are first hand sources. Wired pointed out that another strong difference between citizen journalists and professional journalists...Resources. Professionals have access to a variety of tools, marketing, and mediums to get their message out.

Do proffesional journalists do a good job fact checking?
I'm not qualified to say, however Dave Taylor, one of the industry's top bloggers, demonstrates a case when fact checking got the story incredibly wrong about "PDA" in the education system.

Consumer Generated Media is going mainstream
It's only a matter of time however before users start streaming RSS feeds from wikinews into feed readers, or when Google and Yahoo start listing wikinews as a viable source. You'll really know when the citizen journalist is mainstream, when professionals view wikis and blogs for content, ideas, and fact checking...it will happen.

Layoffs at local newspapers publishers in US, is there a connection?
I'm not sure if this is a direct relation to blogging, but the ability for citizens to obtain information without their local newspaper is likely taking a toll on local newspapers. I use a variety of online source such as google news, yahoo news, my personal network, and feed readers to get my news.


Today, the San Jose Mercury announced it will lay off 60 workers. Their not the only ones, other newspapers around the country are cost saving by performing layoffs. Why? perhaps it's because users can obtain news online faster from many sources easier than ever before.

• Blogs, Wikis, and Forums, and other 'new' tools are cutting out the middleman of content creation.
• Anyone can be a citizen journalist with easy to use web publishing tools.
• The citizen journalist can offer opinion, point of view, and first person experience that a journalist may not.
• Citizen journalists are likely to error, and lack resources of traditional press, so read at your own risk.
• Proffesional journalists should consider using my suggestion for 'new' strategies to participate with their audience.

Related Links

• WikiNews
• Wired Magazine: Everyone's a reporter
  

Novatium Corporation of India is engineering the 100 dollar PC, using commodity parts and even allowing methods for the TV screen to act as the monitor.


Here's what's included in Nova NetPC by Novatium:

• Chips $25
• Keyboard and Mouse $10
• Memory $20
• Monitor $25 (or use existing TV)
  
• Misc Parts $10
• Software $0 (open source)
  
• Markup $10

Total Retail Price = $100
(stats from Business 2.0, August 2005)

Someday, we won't even need operating systems, as the interface will be a standalone web browser. The pendulum is swinging back to the centralized computer with terminals, and away from powerful desktop machines.

Take this concept even farther, Scott McNealy says: "PCs are so yesterday".

Perhaps we only need a rich client browser, and robust web services. I suspect it's probaly going to go that way anyways, as mobile computing requires thin/zero client innovation.

Key Take Aways

• With cheap products like this, soon internet access will an opportunity for nearly everyone on the planet.
• PC Hardware and Software will be a commodity
  
• I prophesize: In a few years, users will only need a browser, internet access, and not some bulky operating system.
  

Related Articles

• Cnet: India's Tech 100 Dollar PC
• Business 2.0: The next PC revolution will be televised
• India closes in on $100 PC
  

Text is just the start, Audio, Video to appear on blogs
GM's Vice Chairmen, Bob Lutz, who is already an active blogger for GM Fast Lane Blogs, has released their first audio blog, called a 'podcast', on Sept 22, 2005.

Podcasting
The term podcast derives from users downloading mp3s, playing in ipods and being mobile with them.

Listen for yourself:
Hear the first Podcast from Bob Lutz, Vice Chairmen of General Motors

Jeremiah's Analysis of Bob's Podcast:

• Format: MP3
• Structure: Interview style podcast.
• Tone: Bob speaks naturally, in his own unscripted manner.
• Relevancy: You can hear him take some shot's at Japanese vehicles fuel economy. We all know how painful gas prices are for Americans.
• Positioning: This podcast was not a "GM is the best" commercial, however positioned as customer needs, competitive separation, and corporate openness
• Market Introduction: Feature annoucement for a 'two system' hybrid system, he positions these hybrid as having advantages over Japanese competitors.
• Competitive Differentation: While not bashing the competition, he describes the difference of products, and positions these as features that customers want.
• Conversations with Audience: In two days, there are 14 relevant comments, many praising and supporting his actions.
• Openness: Bob praises blogs as a great way to be open, rather that using biased press releases. (17 minutes in).
• Directness: Bob evangelizes blogs are a 'new medium' that has 'direct access' to customer over conventional media. (19 min)
• Consistency: The same strategies used in blogging are applied here.

Key Take Aways

• Forums and Blogs are just the start for building a conversation with your audience.
• Expanding to richer medias such as audio, and eventually video, will be an effective way to engage your audiences, using a friendly, open, and casual tone.
• GM listens, talks, and engages with their customers.
• In the future, podcast files (mp3) may auto feed to user computers, or mobile devices, these audio clips may be available to audiences on demand.

Other Podcasts

• podcast.net (podcasts listed by directory)
• ipodder.org (podcasts listing)
• Wired Article: The Podcast Gold Rush is on
  

I rarely watch tv, but when I do, I pay close attention to how commercials and tv shows tie in with web marketing techniques such as, links to virals, corporate brand sites, or even interaction where users can gain additional information about tv programs, or even vote for plot changes.

My Observation
I've noticed that in nearly every commercial on prime time and even during the day has a URL involved at the end of the commercial. It's very difficult to find two consecutive commercials that don't have URLs.

Try it for yourself
Try this the next time you're waiting for your show to come on during commercial breaks:




I wish I had some stats to show the frequency of URLs displayed in one hour of prime time tv, or other stats showing what percentages of commercials have URLs

Key Take Away
Web is now a mainstream component of an integrated marketing mix.

Syndicated Content = Accuracy

This ties in with my study that information will be “Amorphous and Ubiquitous”. In simple terms, content will take many shapes, and be available nearly everywhere. In addition to that, this benefit is that content is highly targeted and relevent, the right content is getting to the right person at the right time and right place.

The Big Ideas:

• Syndication is best described as "news feeds", rather than users hunting for information, it's delivered right to them in an experience they control.
  
• Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is an easy way for anyone to subscribe to feeds
  
• Users can consume the content in an experience they prefer, they control design and structure.
• Syndication can equal marketing accuracy.
• Consider syndicating your web content.
• Content is still king.
• All web text can be syndicated: webpages, forums, blogs, and documents.

What is Syndicated Content?
Syndicated content, RSS, Atom feeds can be summarized in two words: "News Feed"

Often, you’ll find small ‘orange RSS" buttons on a site. Users can subscribe by clicking on these icons and subscribe to website content in an experience they prefer, such as myYahoo, and a variety of other tools called feed readers. It only takes seconds to add a new feed to your feed reader. When users visit their personalized feed readers they will see updated content, usually a collection of feeds that they have subscribed to. RSS, Atom, and XML are just formats that are used for users to consume this information. View an example here: A list of all MSNBC's news feeds in XML

"Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a new technology you can use to have information sent to you, rather than having to go look for it. Many Web sites, offer RSS as a way to have headlines delivered to you."

Syndication approaching mainstream
These feeds are becoming more and more common, more sites are offering these free services, and more users are streaming the content. Keep in mind that not only are websites syndicating, but so are forums, and even blogs! See the Atom XML feed for this blog

According to a new survey by Slashdot, RSS usage is about to grow dramatically:
"73% will increase their use of RSS feeds in the next year. — Most users received their feeds through a Web-based RSS syndication service but many users do not use traditional methods to read their feeds, instead relying on mobile and other devices to obtain their feeds. — Receiving feeds through mobile units such as cell phones, SMS messaging, voice mail, WAP or portable audio players will increase. — Technology will improve as RSS use increases, making RSS feeds easier for users to read and for publishers to deliver."

Note to Companies: Content will seperate from your site, regardless
Even if you don’t create an RSS feed on your own, your text content will be stripped from your site. Currently, Google strips content out of PDFs and into text format, as this trend continues, it’s possible for the content on your site to be completely stripped from your site, and displayed in a complete separate design experience.

• View a PDF
• View same document in HTML stripped by Google

Why is this important to consumers?

1. Users are in control: The “Tivo” effect on the web
   I keep on pushing this idea that web managers (like myself) need to adapt as consumers take charge. Like with Tivo, users can control content, they can consume what they want, when they want, and how they want to see it. Users can use feed readers, change the color, font, column width, and even control how much of the post they choose to see.
2. No more hunting and gathering, info comes to them
   It's like RSS Syndication is the digital Pizza Delivery. the goods come to the user, not the other way around. Using RSS, the information that the user have preselected (not forced upon them) will arrive to their reader, they don’t need to hunt for information, remember dozens of URLs, or search as frequently, as they can see their content on demand…in one location.
3. Users can strip out unwanted elements
   As users download RSS articles, it separates the content from the page design…thus banner ads, google related ads, and other elements of revenue generating components will not appear. Again, it’s the Tivo Effect.
4. It's different than an email newsletter
   Email newsletters, sometimes called "spam" are different than syndicated RSS or Atom feeds. Users have only one control over email, "read" or "dont read". Unlike email, RSS allows users to view the information in a format they prefer, often alongside other content they have subscribed to. Users can expand, click, and remove content in RSS feeds that they can't do in an email newsletter.

Why is this important to companies?

1. Syndication= Marketing Accuracy
   For Web Managers and Content Stakeholder this means accuracy, as the interested segment has already committed an ‘opt-in’ to streaming your feed. The right audience is receiving the right information without all the clutter and wayfinding hassle.
   
   See how both Microsoft and IBM have created feeds for users to subscribe to feeds that are relevent to them.
2. Some control is lost
   The downside, is that the separation of the content and display, your corporate web site will not be the only method that users are consuming information. Web Managers cannot fully encapsulate the web experience, as users will consume the information in a format that they prefer…without your brand, look and feel, user interface, or graphics.
3. Content is king…still
   Users come to your sites for content. With syndication and subscriptions, the difference now is, that they don’t need to come to your site to obtain the content.
4. Will web design even matter?
   The future holds that users will consume data in a format that they prefer, without your pre-defined experience…so, will web design even matter?
   
   My answer is, Yes, but it won’t be the ONLY experience to plan for. In addition to planning your corporate site a similar amount of resource and energy will focus on your syndication strategy.

Strategies to Respond

1. Create Syndicated content
   Start experimenting with syndicated feeds in a broad and general manner, start with press releases, news releases or large announcements. Even if you don't create RSS, it's just a matter of time before content strippers crawl, and aggregate your site content in RSS feeds.
   
   All of your web content can be syndicated: webpage text, documents, forums, blogs, press releases. Someday, I predict syndication to include simple style sheets references, images, and other rich media. (give it a few years)
2. Segment and Target by Audience
   Perform an analysis on your user needs, you should be able to answer questions such as “who are my users” and “what content do they want” and begin to segment. Global companies will need to address this need in regional languages. Create custom and focused segments based upon role or subject, allow users to add from appropriate places on a web site as well as
3. Creating an index to view all available feeds.
   Allow users the ability to see all feeds, and select as many or as few as wanted.
4. Measure and Track
   With every web effort, determine how to measure and track user subscriptions, unsubscriptions, feeds, usage, etc.
5. Develop strategy to 'hook' users to return to your site
   Unless you're only after gaining market awareness, consider a method to bring users back to your corporate site from a new feed, add contextual URLs to your feeds, providing ‘hooks’ for users to return to your space. Perhaps creating a standand footer on each post with a URL to link back will improve conversion.
6. Experiment
   Try out different feed readers, and begin to see how your content will appear. Determine strategy for implementing syndicated feeds, using best practices. There are discussions still on the best method of using feeds, and implementation. Still a lot to learn and optimize.

More Resources about RSS

Wikipedia on RSS

IBM: An introduction to RSS News Feeds

Google News Feeds

Yahoo on RSS

MSNBC news feeds

RSS Marketing

About Feed Readers

Find a feed reader (google query)

FeedDemon Screen shots (very robust UI)

I use myYahoo as my feed reader (as it pulls in other data from Yahoo Services)

More of my related thoughts:

• With Feeds and Syndication, Will Web Design even matter?
• The Future of Feed Readers
• Value Added Indexers
• Evolution of Information Delivery
  
  

Attention Companies: The Participants are taking charge!
There's a cultural shift on how information is being published, shared, and consumed in the last few year – and it’s just getting started. Scott McNealy of Sun said it best in his speech about the "Participants Era".

Strategies to Respond
Below I outline just a few of these "new" tools that are being harnessed in web strategies, outlining from my experience and observations how they can best be used in web strategies, which ultimately improve the connection between a company and it's audience.



Please note that the term “new” signifies that many of these tools are not yet mainstream, minus CMS systems and focus sites. Regardless, all of these tools should be considered as part of an arsenal in your web strategy.

A few months ago, I spoke at the "Marketer's Creativity Event" in San Diego, It was a two part presentation with the second half focused on "creative methods to engage your audience"

Here's a few of the tools I analyzed and share for the broad marketing audience:

>Focus Sites
Many companies over the past years have been using focus sites to appeal to a specific demographic or market segment. By creating a unique user experience a microsite can position a company, idea, or product that is relevant to a unique audience.

McDonalds has a variety of Focus sites that cater to specific demographics

• Asian American
• Latino
• Modern Rock
• African American

Great for: Segmentation of audience, “accuracy”, positioning different value propositions using a common product base.

Challenges: May be difficult to advertise or harvest users to a focus site from mass media, so identify where segmented audience consumes specific media and connect. It may be difficult to ‘create these focus sites for every audience

>Content Management Systems
While not anything “new”, Content Management systems allow non technical people to publish, provide an approval based workflow, and can distribute content in a variety of experiences.

Great for: websites that have many publishers, non technical publishers, and general site management. (Large sites will have difficulty remaining on static HTML and includes to scale)

Challenges: Depending on your implementation they can be expensive, may not be flexible, often tied to vendor features. Managing CMS systems in a corporate environment is usually the job of a team. I’ve used 3 different enterprise content management systems over my career, each has its set of challenges and limitations, be very careful before selecting.

>User Comments and Ratings
In early editions of websites, a ‘contact webmaster’ mail to link was displayed on many footers of websites. The “new” internet is creating a conversation on a website, users can share comments, ideas, or share similar information and links at point of consumption. Users can rate content using drop downs, popups, and radio buttons, which is a effective way for a publisher to understand their audience needs

Great for: Engaging a conversation on your website, showing corporate openness, obtaining real time audience feedback. Some vendors use this strategy for consumer generated product design. See Threadless, who lets users upload their own designs and rate for production

Challenges: May require a comment review strategy additional resources.

>Forums / Bulletin Boards
Having evolved significantly from user groups of the late 90s these advanced bulletin boards now give users the ability to create and add to threaded messages, insert rich media.

Users can rate content and participants, which can be used to signify value (or lack of). Users can rate
-other users
-threads of note
-comments

Advanced forums allow users to setup a 'profile' page demonstrating their value to the community. See Acurazine, Bimmer forums, Yahoo Groups.

Great for: harnessing community, creating an online conversation, shifting publishing models away from resource impacted teams. Companies that want to understand their market should scour these communities, learn, and eventually develop strategies to engage. Also a controlled, historical alternative to email.

Challenges: Although users can sort through threads to find value, erroneous information can quickly spread throughout these tools. Creating a ‘golden word’ area using a branded website or wiki can establish a commonly agreed or revered factual area.

>Social Networking
There’s been a variety of social networking tools such as linkedin, plaxo, friendster, myspace, facebook, that allow users to connect to others with similar interests.

Great for: harnessing the power of the network, connecting with others, determining relationships and finding individuals with similar interests.

>User Tagging of Content
Users can apply keywords to content, using terms that they prefer. In many sites, users can upload media to a site, and provide keywords that summarize information see Delicious. Web Tag Clouds are user generated list of keywords that show relevancy, weight, of the community. It can be used as a community based navigation in terms preffered by users. Flickr's Tag Cloud

Great for: Allowing users to find content relevant to them. Users can find information in terms they understand. Companies can understand what’s important to it’s community, as well as build a vocabulary and nomenclature that is user preffered.

Challenges: May not show information that is not popular to a community, as the highest weighted content will be displayed. Users that don’t relate to the community may not share the same terms or relevancy.


>Weblogs (Blogs)
I’ve already mentioned several times below the importance of blogs and how it will change society, business, and how users determine product selection. Blogs are an “online journal” that allows anyone to be a publisher. Often blog features allow users to search, sift, and syndicate content. Blogs often allow publishers to utilize rich media, offer opinion. Blogs are quickly becoming part of mainstream media, even Google and Yahoo are including blog created content in search results. many blogs are listed on the right column =>

I predict the next presidential election will utilize blogs as a strategic communication vehicle. I predict the public will lean on experts blogs to obtain opinion, news and others from the public. The battles will be fought with the participants

Great for: Communicating with your audience at a personal level, documenting the ‘official opinion’ of an individual, putting a ‘face’ on a monolithic company, effective way to control ‘crisis communication’, and have a conversation with your market.

I’ve heard of teams at IBM that utilize blogs for projects, team members would use a blog as the project communication area, ‘short tail’ email was not allowed to be used.

Challenges: The difference between blogs and a news release is that the press is supposed to fact check, and exclude bias. Although blogs can be factual in basis, they also communicate opinion, emotion, and preference. Companies have been sued by comments left on blogs, be sure to have a strategy to review comments before they are posted.

>Wikis
A Wiki (Hawaiian for ‘quick quick’) is a tool that can be edited by all members of a community. The next generation in encyclopedias such as wikipedia utilizes community knowledge, participation and approval and has yielded a succesful model.

Great for: harnessing collective knowledge, great for documenting consensus thought
Consider adapting into your enterprise intranet to harness best practices, policy, and even employee manuals

Challenges: Not everyone agrees on the same submissions, and often ‘discussions’ will erupt. Entries can be flagged as ‘controversial’ which signifies not everyone agrees.
Wikis capture the consensus, forward thinking posts or ‘slanted’ opinions not shared by the community may likely be removed or edited.

>Collaboration, VOIP
The internet will replace phone lines, and be the preferred method of communication in North America. Users can use collaboration tools to ‘tunnel’ in and share documents, screens, and other tools in real time. Although this technology is not new to many toolsets, (windows, sharepoint, and groove have these tools) expect to see more real time collaboration in the world wide web.

Tied with Voice Over IP, such as Google's Skype users can use the internet to talk, replacing phone systems.

Great for: Working groups spread over distance, replacing phone lines, electronic meetings, and creating a real discussion with a customer or prospect.

Challenges: Limited to bandwidth and ‘pipe’ these tools require a fat line to transmit this data, in order to retain a rich experience. Give it a few years, it’ll be mainstream.


>Viral Media
Viral marketing (the spread of media within a trusted network) has been ramping since the late 90s. Companies can infiltrate communities by creating catchy, relevant advertisements, videos, emails, images, and other media. Check out sites such as big boys, and heavy

Great for: Infiltrating the market, spreading brand and or key ideas. Done correctly, has powerful ‘stopping power’

Challenges: May be expensive, uncontrollable, untrackable, and may have ‘short tail’ (only seen a few times) of media consumption. Be sure to consider methods for users to engage you at a preferred online site after consumption, I’ve seen some creative virals that had no tie back to the company, a potential opportunity loss for those who want to learn more. Consumers have been known to manipulate and overlay watermarks on viral videos which may detract users from original creator.


>News Feeds and Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
Many of these above tools and vehicles are separating content from design, users are able to self subscribe to news feeds (such as RSS or ATOM) and import content from their preferred source. They can then consume the data in a method and experience of their preference. Learn more about RSS at Wikipedia, or view a list of RSS News Feeds from Yahoo .

Great for: Accuracy of content to pre selected audience
Minimizing audience time to ‘surf and sift’ through content
Effective method to provided targeted content to pre-identified segments

Challenges: As only text is currently part of the subscription, the content separates from the user experience of the site. Plan a strategy to continue to express your brand, and provide methods for users to return to your site. (I’ll be writing a specific post about RSS and your business in the near future)


>Rich Media, Rich Internet Applications (RIA)
Incorporate audio (podcasts, mp3, music) video (video/webcasts) and rich experiences to engage and capture audiences. Online Videos such as Cnet has many online reviews using rich media product reviews, also see Microsofts Channel 9. Also see Macromedia's Flex, or Google Maps using Ajax technology.

Great for: Consuming mass data, task based efforts (web tools) and creating rich experiences for audiences

Challenges: May be costly, not all users may prefer RIA content, rich media, or ‘downloading/streaming’ content. Carefully extract your audience need and consumption needs before engaging.


Creating your Web Strategy Arsenal
This partial list of tools should be considered in your web strategy. After you’ve thoroughly researched and understand your users, their needs and your business, consider using these tools. Using a combination of these tools, or even as a standalone may yield a relevant, responsive conversation that connects with your audience.

Note: this is part one of three posts of this subject
1: Analysis and Evaluation
2: Implementation (tbd)
3: Post Mortem Analysis (tbd)

This post is very lengthy, as my friend has asked for my notes, I told him I’ll ‘put it on my blog’, regardless, I hope you’ll find this helpful "Hi Jeff!"

Last week, I attended a vendor hosted meeting to discuss solutions to measure user opinion during consumption of a web user experience. Customers such as Sony Electronics, AMD, and Adobe provided product testimonials and best practices. I’m a Web Manager and am looking at this tool as part of a strategy to identify the user experience, it’s only a component that has its benefits and drawbacks. So, I’m not an expert at this, however here’s my analysis before going into it.

What is Measuring 'User Opinion'?
Online User Opinion during consumption is a a tool that lets users provide their opinion during the live web experience. Empowering users, prospects, and customers volunteer to rate a web design, content, or offer an opinion while interacting on a web site . Often a persistent icon is present throughout site to let users quickly offer feedback by using radio buttons, and comment fields. This is not a popup, not a survey, and not a email “mailto”. Unlike surveys or interviews, users can offer opinion while experiencing the site in real time.


It’s only a part of Measuring the complete User Experience
Right off the bat, keep in mind that this is only one tool to measure and observe the complete user experience.

A comprehensive user experience plan would include at least some of the following:

• Persistent Measurement: Web analytics, Web performance, and User opinion
• Ad Hoc Measurement: In depth research UX research, which could encompass surveys, ethnographic research, task based testing, heuristics, and of course interviews
• Market and Business Requirements: Although not ‘user focused’ designing a web experience in a vacuum may lead to gap in business needs. A properly aligned company will have similar or same user and business requirements for web vehicles: Identifying business needs, Looking at the bottom line: conversion and revenue history and needs, marketing changes, competitive benchmarking.

Why Implement Online User Opinion?

Hear the Voice of the Customer

1. Give users an option to 'talk back'.
2. Quickly capturing and measuring the voice of the consumer (takes seconds for users to provide feedback) .
3. Measure real users ‘reaction’, ‘emotion’ and ‘opinion’ (Web metrics can’t yield this).
4. Establishing conversations and trust with your user community (providing
   you take demonstrate action from their opinions).
5. Vendor may offer in multiple languages, great for a global implementation.
   

Measuring during consumption capture experience:

1. Measure user opinion during point of consumption, rather than ad hoc (users may not remember all benefits and detractions during interviews or
   periodical surveys).
2. Quickly identifying issues with your site in real time. (such as broken images, and erroneous content, great for site redesign, or new added sections).

Business Benefits:

1. Measuring Marketing Effectiveness (as long as you allow users to rate message and content).
2. Vendor likely will provide advanced dashboards, benchmarking and other real
   time analysis tools.
3. Harvest and benchmark quantitative feedback (ratings, radio buttons).
4. Allow users to provide qualitative feedback ( open comment section).
5. Data can be collected offsite and aggregated offsite, offloading workload to over resourced web teams.
6. A more appropriate method rather than flooding your 'webmaster' email address.
7. Provide business and product units with real customer feedback in real time.
   

Limitations of Online User Opinion

1. As I mentioned above, this technique is only one component of measuring the complete user experience.
2. User values and motivations : It cannot measure what are the true purpose and needs of the audience.
3. User segmentation difficult. Users may not identify themselves or role, feedback may not be from core audience (recommendation: Allow users to self identify?)
4. Data skew: Only vocal users will respond, likely a after a really good or bad experience.
5. Does not measure the true user behavior, as numbers don’t lie. (web analytics, and or revenue increases)

Best Practices from Real Customers
Please note: I’ve not currently implemented this program, however have capture the following from customer presentations such as Sony Electronics, AMD, and Adobe

1. Direct users to customer support if needed
   If user has product support issue, send them to forum or ticket system,
   ’ your response will be responded to quicker if you advance to customer support site’
   
2. Categorize comments and feedback into subjects
   Allow users to self select a comment category (content, design, findability, etc).
   Distribute comments to the correct owners.
   
3. Positioning of feedback mechanisms can change results
   Positioning the component in a more prominent positing will yield more
   positive opinions. Timing of product launches will increase ratings. Example: placing feedback component at top of site in large fonts will yield a more positive opinion from users.
   
4. Distribute data to business
   Share this data with key business units allow to review and analyze.
   
5. Benchmark using key words in qualitative feedback
   Example: How many times did users use the word “suck” this year compared to last year.
   
6. Review and analyze site in segments
   large web sites will perform analysis based on
   site sections
   
7. Demonstrate to users that you're listning and using their feedback
   Let your users know you're using this to craft their experience -customer focus

Related Links:
View an online opinion tool for yourself

• AMD (see bottom of page)
• SonyStyle
• Adobe
• Vendor: Opinion Lab
  
  

Online Catalog and Cross Medium Emulations
Customers spend as much as 30% more when items are displayed in the context of an outfit or a room. To take this further, etailers are emulating print catalogues in browsers.

Are becoming more popular according to RichFX, (using flash technlogy) Even pure play web retailers are interested. Recently, Amazon released an interactive catalog based on the Scene 7 technology. (read more in July edition of Business 2.0, page 36)

Cross Medium Emulation
Would you ever design a printed brochure to emulate a browser? Probably not. These online catalog's mimic a user interaction with paper. In these early adoption stage users have to learn a new navigation scheme.

Experience an online catalog for yourself

• Wiliams Sonoma:
• Ikea: Catalogue page
• Rich FX: A leading online catalog vendor, see the actual page flipping (use left nav)

eTailers are emmulating print catalogues in web browsers.
The web is not 3D (yet), yet this interaction design suggests it is. There are countless articles and web books that comment about this. The web is a medium amongst itself, however is it possible to confuse or annoy users by imitating print via web?

Do users like "page flipping" print emmulation technology?
A small poll shows that other users dont like page flipping

Reccomendations:
Before you implement a emmulated style of product browsing, be sure your audience will accept, and benefit, here are some potential methods I would seek in order to prepare:

• Perform ethnographic research (observing consumers in natural buying cycles) and determine if catalouges are already integral in buying pattern.
• Perform task based analysis to test if primary audience will accept and benefit from emmulation, measure.
• Create options. Allow users two methods to browse products, one using emmulation, and a second using traditional 'product page' browse structures...and measure.
• Measure revenue benchmarks, compare and contrast.
• Obtain real user opinion via real time opinion gathering, quantitative surveys, web metrics.
• Quite importantly, just ask them!

Will we see more of these online emmulated catalogs?
You betcha, because increase in sales numbers don't lie.

• Product images can be seen on a map, showing the lowest price on a map of local retailers
• Companies can help users plot waypoints in car navigation to find the lowest or most needed products
• Event promoters can broadcast live web cams showing interaction and activity of community driven events
• People can find other people of similar interst in secured mapsI
• ndividuals can broadcast ratings, photos, of their favorite restaurants
• Eventually, these, (and other) browser based application will be handheld, or in car navigation systems....they will be with the users.

Key Take Away: Contextual = Accuracy
In short, as this technology advances, products and prospects can connect faster, using user preferences, historical data, and a variety of other information, we can provide the right information to the right person at the right time at the right place...are you ready?

Sites of note:

• Google Maps
• Geobloggers (Google Maps and Flickr)
• Housingmaps (Google Maps and Craigslist)
• Chicago Crime Maps
• Bay Area Traffic Cams (Locations tied to webcams)

HP Enterprise Blog B2B Microsoft B2B Employee, Product Teams Microsoft blog (all employees can blog freely..as long as they follow guidelines and are civil to others) (product teams blog...and live camera interviews)

Sun B2B Employee, Developers, Engineers (sun blogs...all employees blog)

Yahoo B2B Yahoo Developer blog (Evangelizer)

Business week Article: Blogs will Change your Business

I'm currently the moderator of a great group of intranet professionals, if interested please join this free special interest group that focuses on providing a relevent web experience for intranets.

Intranet User Experience Group
- A Community of Practice and Thought Leadership -

Dedicated to discussion on developing and maintaining effective user-centered Intranets, with an emphasis on user experience design (information architecture, usability, navigation design, information design, look and feel, etc.). Share links, articles, research, studies, white papers, presentations, opinions, anecdotes, or anything that can be beneficial to those developing Intranet user experiences.

So get involved, contribute, and grow!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/intranet-user-experience/