I call it Engagism, you call it "Communitainment"

Let's NOT call the whole thing off.

Piper Jaffray, the enormous investment and banking behemouth, recently came out with a report entitled "The User Revolution." In it, they argue that through the Internet, the activities of community building, communications and entertainment have merged, creating this new area of "communitainment". This trend, according to Piper Jaffray, involves consumers moving communication beyond the exchange of information to the exchange of content, ideas and entertainment in an online social context.

Perhaps most important, they argue that Usites (i.e., sites where users can provide content) are "... the Internet's democratized version of the reality TV trend with users in control of content creation." The point here is that "communitainment" is less about shifting traffic patters and ad buys and more about the way consumers view content and information as a free-flowing part of the communications spectrum in which they can and should be directly involved.

The smart folks at Piper Jaffray (hey, since they agree with me, they're smart), seem to recognize what so many businesses must -- in order to be successful in the next several decades, we must understand that our audience, whether consumers, employees, advocates or policy makers, expect to engage in a meaningful and substantive way in the issues that matter most to them.

And then, it's up to us to help them find ways to do just that.

More information on the Piper Jaffrey report here
Great article on this report here

Engaging the 5% That Matter

Forum One Communications recently held a fascinating dicussion on web usability, focusing on engaging the 5% of users who will really focus their time and attention on a particular site. Key points from the discussion:

Think Quality, Not Quantity: While, of course, all the people that take time to come to our sites our important, the truth is that only a small percentage will truly "engage" with the information you're providing. Forum One says 5%, I call them the Powerful 1% -- we're probably both making up numbers (at least I know I am). The point is that we can't be all things to all people, and it makes sense to focus our efforts on those users that really, truly want to get something from the interaction.

Know Your Audience: Clearly, in order to understand that 5% (who they are, how they think, etc.), you have to do some research on your audience. In fact, Forum One experts and the panelits all agreed that it makes sense to start with understanding user needs, use that information to create a positive online experience in a way that accomplishes the mission (as opposed to just foisting a bunch of "stuff" related to your mission on a website and hoping the audience uses it.)

Cultivating the 5%: Users will find your site useful if it maximizes the following characteristics -- valuable, useful, desirable, accessible, usable, findable, credible. The key is to understand user expectations -- and to update your understanding of those expectations over time.

How does this relate to engagism? Well, since more and more people expect to engage when they come to a site, one of the ways you will capture their attention is if you provide them with that interactive capability (blogs, surveys, vlogs, virtual assistants, etc. etc.). Perhaps most important, that interactive capability has to be provided through means and on subjects that are meaningful to THE USER, not THE WEBSITE DESIGNER (yes, I did mean to shout at you). So think less about what you, the organization, wants to get across and more about what your users wants to understand. That's the key to success in an engagist culture.

The Kids These Days ARE Politically Active...

... just not in the same way you used to be. The Washington Post had a great peice recently highlighting the activity on Facebook for presidential candidates. Consider a medium where you can, in one month, gain access to over 278,000 rabid fans... That's the power of Facebook and sites of its ilk (MySpace, Meetup, LinkedIn, etc.). And if you can do that for presidential candidates (even someone as charasmatic as Barak Obama), imagine what you can do for something people really care about. Like video games. Or cars. Wow!

The Techpresident site has taken this idea one step further by keeping a running total of how various candidates are doing in terms of the number of friends they have online. Not to be political here, but the Dems seem to have WAY MORE FRIENDS than the Republicans. Maybe they're just friendlier people :)

Digging through Wired: Meganiches

I dug through my big pile of back issues of Wired (hey, between the holidays and vacation, it was hard to gt to them all). It was time well-spent as I ran across a number of interesting engagism-related articles. I'll highlight a few in the next few posts.

In the November edition there was a great overview of the "Meganiche" phenomenon. This describes the idea that with a billion people online, even the most targetted sites can grab the attention of a hige number of people (often over a million). The examples in the article point to the increasing desire of users to interact with others and to provide their own content. For example, Gaia Online exists for anime fans that want to get creative -- it's not just about watching anime, it's about what users can create. Or consider YTMND, short for "You're The Man Now Dog," which allows users to combine video, audio and text to make some point -- sometime funny, often odd. The main lesson the article makes is that with so many people online, all with different interests, it is possible to have limitless "niche sites" serving hundreds of thousands if not millions of souls who share the same strange interest.

It seems to me that a side lesson (or from my perspecitve the most important lesson) is that these sites experience success only when they allow users to truly engage in the developing content and sharing with others. In other words, it's not enough to just identify a weird obsession that people have and put up a site about it. In fact, a site serving a meganiche is useful to its visitors only if it allows them to engage fully in whatever it is they're passionate about. In some ways, that's why the meganiche sites that rise organically, i.e., from real people that feel strongly about a certain topic, tend to be among the most successful.

Second Life Metrics and Mockery

The Second Life blog has some interesting (and some may say scary) information on its users -- a census, if you will, on the population of this new virtual world. Some stats:

As of January 28, 2007 there were 3 million registered accounts in Second Life. That's equivalent to a major US city

In November 2006, users spent a total of 6.4 million hours "in-world."

70% of Linden Labs revenue is coming from the "land sales" in Second World

Perhaps what's most interesting is the growth rate. In 2006, Second World experienced growth rates of 10% to 30% per month for premium users. the number of all registered users more than doubled in four months (between October and January). More interesting Second Life stats can also be found at Wikipedia

All this activity in a virtual world has some people wondering whether we've forgotten about good old Terra Firma, a.k.a. Earth -- you know, that bright sunny thing with the air and dirt that you notice if you go outside? Thanks to a friend from Business 2.0 magazine for making sure I saw www.getafirstlife.com, where, believe it or not, people MOCK the wonder that is Second life. They seem to feel that people should spend more time being a person and less being an avatar. I tried to interact with the site, but the navigation links didn't work :)

Hey, what's not to like about Second Life? Increasing land mass, increasing populations and no global warming. Sounds like it's going to give the first world a run for its money (or Linden dollars, as the case may be).

Engagism and Consumers -- Bridging the Disconnect

I think one of the most interesting (and perhaps frustrating) things about engagism is the fact that very few people understand the magnitude of what's going on here (and believe me, I'm not saying that I'm one of the few that do). Couple examples:

First of all, I noticed with interest recent finding about the disconnect between what companies are spending their advertising dollars on, and what types of things actually influence consumers. For example, 42.6% of consumers are influenced by word of mouth when making a decision about electronics and home furnishings. Yet advertisers in those arenas spend exactly 0 on that specific area of advertising. Granted, it's difficult to generate positive "word of mouth" buzz, but it can be done. As the researchers associated with the report noted, "... new media options such as online search, blogging, email, texting, video streaming and social networks . . . have expanded the Word Of Mouth universe and made traditional advertising less relevant for many." (more at Big Research)

Speaking of over 40% of consumers, did you know that over 40% of consumers agree that a frustrating online experience would make them less likely to shop at that retailer's physical store. What does that mean? If your web portal isn't very user-friendly, you could be losing brick and mortar customers. It's rare that the link between the online world and the physical universe is so clear -- and so important for any business seeking customers to understand.

Several cool things

Cool thing #1: If you're interested in ideas on using technology to actually teach people something, check out the Golden Swamp blog from Judy Breck, author and general connectivity guru. She argues, rationally and with a great deal of authority, that we are experiencing a new golden age as the result of the Internet and that, in fact, many Web 2.0 tools can be used to truly engage the younger generation in learning on whole new levels. Technology used to motivate and inspire instead of anesthetize -- who'd have thought?

Cool thing #2: My first car was a Plymouth Duster, and boy was it hideous. Plus it didn't really run very well. But now I wish I had pictures of it because no one would believe I owned it. Plus, there's something nostalgic about your first car -- especially if it was a muscle car that all the boys drooled over. The folks at Pontiac are offering the opportunity for a new generation of car fans to use Web 2.0 tools to express their fanatacism to the world. At the new Pontiac Underground site you can blog or post pictures / videos about your car. Not only is it somewhat interesting for the true fan, but Pontiac is doing a great deal to build fan loyalty (a la the Mini Cooper clan). What's most interesting is that both companies are applying these techniques to a truly "brick and mortar" style product -- the car!

Cool thing #3: Move out of the way television. Recent research shows that Frequent YouTube visitors watch less television. OK, so if you're one of those people who think that any time spent in front of a screen is inherently bad, this may not be good news. You'll think "oh, we're just exchanging one axis of evil for another." But the interesting point here is that people are starting to choose user generated content over network generated content, a trend that will only continue!

How Much is That (fake) Doggy in the (fake) Window

I hate to admit that I'm old enough to have had a stuffed animal that didn't do anything. It didn't move around with a remote control. It didn't have an embedded voice system. It didn't do flips spontaneously. No, it just sat there, mocking me. If I wanted to, for example, pretend that we were all having a tea party, I had to physically carry the thing over to a chair and then supply all the voices.

Thank goodness today's children don't have to suffer with such passive toys. An article in today's Washington Post ("Teddy Bear, Version 2.0") tells us about Webkinz, a new concept in kid's toys from Ganz toys. Basically, these toys combine old-fashion "brick and mortar" style toys with the Internet. A cuddly webkinz stuffed animal comes both with the standard fluffy fur as well as a whole online persona. Kids use the special code that comes with their animal to logon to the Webkinz site -- and a whole new world. Here, their animals can frolic with others, buy clothes, attend parties -- even participate in chats.

Perhaps what's most interesting about this concept is the audience being targeted. This site and its highly interactive, social networking features are for the 6 year old crowd. While some argue this reliance on techology is starting just a little too young, it is clear that this trend isn't going away. People are starting from a younger and younger age to use technology to engage in whole new ways. We adults need to understand what's going on here -- or get out of their way when they turn 12!

Engage in a Protest From the Safety of Your Couch

Being in Washington, DC (and being somewhat old), I remember the days before the Internet, when people actually physically drove (or flew or walked or biked) themselves down to the Capitol Mall to take part in a protest. Apparently, this is not the case anymore. While it is true that some large-scale events can garner some warm bodies (such as a recent rally on the mall in opposition to the war in Iraq), it turns out that many people prefer to participate in cyber protests.

In a recent Washington Post article (Where Have All the Protests Gone? Online), writer Jennifer Earl discusses this issue, noting that the Internet has become a powerful organizing tool for protests. Not only does it help provide logisitical support for the old fashioned approach (directions, downloading signs, providing travel information, etc.), but it has, perhaps more important, become a critical new venue for registering discontent.

Advocacy organizations need to consider these new approaches when figuiring out ways for their members to participate in any type of activism. And we're talking more than just sending e-mails here. The world of online activism is filled with all kinds of social networking activities -- online activities that often lead to offline action.

Exercising and Video Games

Most people think that the ideas of physical exercise and video games are mutually exclusive. But the new input format of the Wii video game controller is actually turning these traditional ideas on their head. For the uninitiated, the Wii controller is very different from the traditional joystick and buttons method of inputting commands to a video game. With the Wii, users undertake the actual movements envisioned by the game, such as swinging a tennis racket, or bowling. Of course, this is all done with the controller in had. No one has yet developed a format where the player uses a real racket -- oh wait, they have, it's called tennis.

Nevertheless, in a weird "couch potato meets exercise guru" way, the Wii is being used by some as a tool for physical activity -- and are actually losing weight and meeting personal goals. A recent Washington Post article "Exercise, It's All Fun and Games" highlights this trend. Take the example of Tom Klimchak, an overweight gaming enthusiast who has lost 16 pounds in the last month by, in part, playing a Wii boxing game which requires his active patricipation in punching and swinging at the set. In fact, there's so much potential here that the website Traineo.com is starting to develop exercise programs for the Wii. Some schools are even including Wii-based programs in their Phys Ed class. Imagine that! Having to by a Wii to do your homework!

This is just the latest in a series of arguments against the accepted tenents that video games make you stupid, lazy and fat. Steven Johnson laid aside the first two arguments in his book "Everything Bad is Good for You." Now we've laid aside the "video games make people fat" argument to rest.

What's next?

Don't Send a Carrier Pigeon: IM Them Instead

As I've mentioned previously in this blog, sending an e-mail to anyone under 25 is like sending a carrier pigeon. They are all about the IM. Click here for an interesting insight from a College freshman about how he uses IM to communicate with his friends. It's formatted as a conversation with his grandmother who, umm, sounds a lot like many of us. A couple interesting insights:

Some Conventions in IM May Seem Rude to Traditionalists: Our young friend notes that not answering someone else's IM when you're busy, or even leaving a message that your not available is standard practice in the IM world. But traditionalists, especially those who think you have to answer the phone whenever it rings, might think it rude. If you're going to IM, it's important to understand the rules.

You Can Express Emotion While IM'ing: The grandmother type in the story seemed very concerned about not recognizing people's facial expressions. She notes that it's hard to tell how people really feel if you can't see their face or hear the tone in their voice. But with IM'ing shortcuts, such as emoticons and abbreviations, some expression is possible. Plus, as the author of the article notes, once you get to know someone's IM'ing style, you can tell their emotional state -- especially if there are changes. For example, a normally gregarious person who suddenly answers in one word answers might be down about something.

You Actually Have More Control Over IM Conversations Than the Telephone: This was an eye-opener for me. Personally, I hate the telephone. It's so insistent (and loud). Even if you don't answer it, your day is interrupted whenever it rings -- you might stop what you're doing to check messages or just check caller ID. With IM you know instantly who is trying to reach you and can make a decision about whether you have the time or inclination to chat with them. It's also not considered rude to put up an away message it you're working on another project or just don't want to chat.

IM'ing Facilitates Focus: Again, a really somewhat counter-intuitive idea, but our young friend notes that in having several conversations (and at least one major project) going on at once, IM'ing helps him make decisions about what to focus on. At one point he might decide to have a somewhat meaningful conversation with one of his friends, but if a main priority -- such as getting a paper done, or watching a favorite program on TV -- suffers, he can always tell them that he's "G2G" (got to go). In a sense, this format makes it easier for him to decide what and who should garner his attention at any given time.

Hmmm, using technology to figure out how to spend one's time and attention. Sounds like engagism to me!

Tags Are the New Bookmarks

To anyone who has just figured out that you can "bookmark" your favorite pages on the web, I have bad news. Bookmarks are passe. They are so last century. Now it's all about the tags. What are tags? Well, the short answer is that they are user generated keywords that describe things the user has found on the internet that they like. So if you like, for example, a really interesting blog on engagism, you would simply go the site and tag it with words that YOU would likely remember relate to engagism (such as cool, hip, edgy and brilliant -- just some ideas). All you need to do is go to a site like Del.icio.us and download a couple buttons that will let you tag merrily away.

Why is this so important? Well, like all the other UGC stuff out there, tagging is growing. According to a recent report from the Pew Internet and the American Life Project, almost one in three Web users organizes the materials they care about on the Internet with tags. That number is likely to grow in coming years as users take more control in how they access and organize information. And in true Web 2.0 fashion, users can share their tags with others, creating a whole new system for searching the Internet. So, if you tag a really cool picture of "tropical fish" (sorry, my mind is still on my Polynesian vacation), you can search on sites that enable tagging, like Del.icio.us and Flickr, for other "tropical fish" tags.

All this user generated content makes it sound a little like the inmates are taking over the asylum -- and now they're taking over the search tools as well!

Have Video Camera, Go to Super Bowl

Advertisers have figured out a great way to use this engagism stuff to their advantage, especially when it comes to that premier advertising venue, the Super Bowl. While the cost of airtime from the networks is still astronomical ($2.6 million for 30 seconds), the costs of putting together the ads has come done quite a bit -- from over 1 million dollars to just about $12.79.

In fact, at least one of the ads in this year's Super Bowl will be from a strictly amateur videographer who entered Doritos' "create an ad" contest. A pretty smart move on Dorito's part, who saved tons of money on the ad itself and has generated all kinds of buzz for its brand by the 1,060 people that entered the contest. In providing consumers with an opportunity to substantively engage in the development of the brand, Doritos is applying a key principle of engagism to its marketing practices -- and reaping the benefits. More information in the Washington Post's article on this topic.