Everyone seems to be jumping on the social media bandwagon, but few are doing it well or thoughtfully. As Design to Thrive argues, it’s simply not true that “if you build it, they will come.” As Tharon Howard writes, the “field of dreams” approach to designing social media “may have worked for Kevin Costner and baseball fields in Hollywood’s version of an Iowa cornfield, but it doesn’t ensure success when you’re developing the architecture for an online community.” Design to Thrive offers an effective blend of academic theory and applied, practical advice, based on the author’s deep experience building and testing online communities. The theory is important and not at all dry. You have to understand why some online communities thrive while most wither on the vine. The practice is the fun part, and Howard draws examples, many illustrated with color screen shots, from a wide range of online communities, from academic associations to World of Warcraft guilds.
The heart of the book is the RIBS framework, a discussion of the four key elements necessary for the success of online communities: remuneration, influence, belonging, and significance. Each of these concepts is developed in a separate chapter, and the result is a solid framework that can be used to design, build, and test online communities of many different flavors.
I work in publishing, and have already been cribbing ideas from Design to Thrive to use in conversations with our new media and marketing teams. I find myself frequently citing Howard’s vital distinction between social networks and online communities, two very different things that most folks I know tend to confuse. Whatever your role, if you work in media, publishing, or web development, you will find useful strategies and ideas in this book. If you’re serious about doing social media right, this book can provide you with a framework, practical strategies, and a language for talking with your peers.
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