Mike Arauz is a strategist at The Currency of Online Sharing
Content doesn’t spread on the web because of its inherent qualities. We choose to share content because of its value within a network.
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In yesterday's post I argued the importance of designing for networks instead of just groups of individuals. In order for a piece of content to spread on the web, individuals from one network have to choose to take what they've discovered and share it with new networks.
The principle underlying this behavior is that the people who decide to introduce a video or image or message to a new community need to perceive some value in taking that action. Taken from Henry Jenkin's Spreadable Media, there seem to be three elemental sources for this kind of social value.
How will sharing this... strengthen my bond with the other members of this network?
How will sharing this... define our collective identity, helping us to identify who's in and who's out?
How will sharing this... give me status within this network?
If you're creating something that you hope will spread on the internet, you have to identify specific networks of people pursuing shared interests. Then make sure that the people within those networks can answer at least one of these crucial questions affirmatively.
For people who are in the business of creating stuff to spread on the internet (maybe we can start saying that instead of internet marketing), are you already trying to answer these questions with your ideas? Comments welcome.
In yesterday's post I argued the importance of designing for networks instead of just groups of individuals. In order for a piece of content to spread on the web, individuals from one network have to choose to take what they've discovered and share it with new networks.
The principle underlying this behavior is that the people who decide to introduce a video or image or message to a new community need to perceive some value in taking that action. Taken from Henry Jenkin's Spreadable Media, there seem to be three elemental sources for this kind of social value.
How will sharing this... strengthen my bond with the other members of this network?
How will sharing this... define our collective identity, helping us to identify who's in and who's out?
How will sharing this... give me status within this network?
If you're creating something that you hope will spread on the internet, you have to identify specific networks of people pursuing shared interests. Then make sure that the people within those networks can answer at least one of these crucial questions affirmatively.
For people who are in the business of creating stuff to spread on the internet (maybe we can start saying that instead of internet marketing), are you already trying to answer these questions with your ideas? Comments welcome.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
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4 Comments:
Reason 1 and 3 seem more universal than reason 2, especially in an age of hyper-personalised, porous, overlapping "communities": that's not to say in-groups and out-groups don't matter, but members of a network may well not agree on who the out-groups are.
I like the pink (strawberry) starburst flavor the best. ;)
Nice diagram, yo.
And in re: Tom's point above, I have to say I disagree entirely. While the borders of groups that share a collective identity (or imagination of an identity) are hazy at best, they've always been that way, in every community, online and off. The difference, though, seems to be that each tugs at a different motivating element: relationship, identity and status.
That said, I'd love to debate the point.
Tom, I agree that usually members of these various amorphous interest networks don't have clear set-in-stone guidelines about who's in or out. But, they are continually looking for things that they can use to help them figure that out. That's my point. And that's why something that can help the network draw those boundaries is valuable.
One of the most fascinating things about networks (and how/why we share within/across those networks) is that the reasons are the same as the reasons we might share information in a workplace (or on a playground).
The bottom line always seems to be that the internet hasn't changed us as much as we think it has. Our needs are still the same... we're just finding different ways to meet them.
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