Design to Thrive
Creating Social Networks and Online Communities that Last
Published on 22. February 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-0-12-374921-5 (ISBN)
Description
Social networks and online communities are reshaping the way people communicate, both in their personal and professional lives. What makes some succeed and others fail? What draws a user in? What makes them join? What keeps them coming back? Entrepreneurs and businesses are turning to user experience practitioners to figure this out. Though they are well-equipped to evaluate and create a variety of interfaces, social networks require a different set of design principles and ways of thinking about the user in order to be successful. Design to Thrive presents tried and tested design methodologies, based on the author's decades of research, to ensure successful and sustainable online communities -- whether a wiki for employees to share procedures and best practices or for the next Facebook. The book describes four criteria, called "RIBS," which are necessary to the design of a successful and sustainable online community. These concepts provide designers with the tools they need to generate informed creative and productive design ideas, to think proactively about the communities they are building or maintaining, and to design communities that encourage users to actively contribute.
Reviews / Votes
"This book provides the necessary antidote to the thoughtless, random and in too many cases desperate nature of many of today's attempts to build online communities." --Carl Zetie, Strategist, IBM"Howard's theoretical stance is firmly grounded in a lifetime of practical experience which makes fascinating and sometimes very amusing reading. Have you ever wondered why some networks and communities thrive and others fail? Read this book and find out." --Dr. Jurek Kirakowski, Senior Lecturer, Human Factors Research Group, Cork, Ireland"Professionals in technical communication will find this book packed with relevant information, especially given the evolving role of communicators in new media. Writers and editors can put best practices to use in working with their employers, with clients, or within their own professional lives." --Angel Belford, Technical Communication, Volume 58, Number 1, February 2011"This important work fills a gap in the literature in its proposal of methods to fuse technology with practical community growth and sustainability... [Howard] more than knows the subject, considering the very prominent place he holds in the human computer interaction and usability communities... [Howard] very smoothly conveys his thoughts in an eloquent, easily accessible manner that any level of reader would be able to penetrate.... This surprisingly deep yet easily readable book seamlessly incorporates the research of people such as Bruce Tuckman, Leon Festinger, and Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, among others... Highly recommended. All levels of academic and professional readers, especially those who create and maintain online communities." --CHOICEMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
San Francisco
United States
Publishing group
Elsevier Science & Technology
Target group
Professional and scholarly
web designers, information designers, information architects, content managers, usability engineers, web application designers, user interface designers, HCI academics
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 192 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
603 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-12-374921-5 (9780123749215)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
12/2009
Morgan Kaufmann
€33.95
Available for download
Person
With over 30 years of experience researching and effectively applying social networks, Tharon W. Howard is a nationally recognized leader in the field. He is a Professor at Clemson University where he teaches in the doctoral program in Rhetoric(s), Communication, and Information Design and the Master of Arts in Professional Communication program. As Director of the Clemson University Usability Testing Facility, he has conducted sponsored research aimed at improving and creating new software interfaces, online document designs, and information architectures for clients including IBM, NCR Corp., AT&T, Time-Warner, etc. Howard is the author of A Rhetoric of Electronic Communities, co-author of Visual Communication: A Writer's Guide, co-editor of Electronic Networks: Crossing Boundaries and Creating Communities.
Content
1. IntroductionI. Why are virtual communities and social networks so popular?II. History of virtual communities (spans 30 years -- what is fad and what is not)III. Business justification for implementing virtual communitiesIV. Differences between "adhocracy,? a "forum,? a "group,? a "virtual team,? a "social network,? and a "virtual community?? People are often sloppy with their use of these terms, which creates problems for designers. 2. What are the factors needed for sustainable online communities?I. What is a "heuristic? and why do we need one?II. RIBS theory/process3. RemunerationI. What is "remuneration??II. Case studies / popular examples?III. What are some best practice strategies for ensuring remuneration is functioning?4. InfluenceI. What is "influence??II. Case studies / popular examples?III. Best practice strategies for ensuring influence is functioning?5. BelongingI. What is "belonging??II. Case studies / popular examples?III. Best practice strategies for ensuring remuneration is functioning?6. SignificanceI. What is "significance??II. Case studies / popular examples?III. Best practice strategies for ensuring significance is functioning?7. ConclusionI. Summative discussion - lessons learned and how to apply them to designers' workII. How RIBS can be used to think about designing for emerging media and delivery systems-particularly those involving mobile computing and videoIII. RIBS' potential for the future of virtual community and social interface design