Findability.org and Peter Morville (who cites Gene Smith)
for surfacing a new construct of social
information architecture.
What I find particularly compelling is how softer or more emotional things like identity, group, reputation and relationship
are addressed in this model. When we are planning how to get people
involved in social media for clients (a staple of most Active Branding
big creative marketing ideas) I find it's all too easy to just focus on
the "do" activities or the tactics (sharing photos through Flickr, using Twitter
to tell your friends where you're hanging out), and overlook the more
deeply "human" (less functional) aspects of the behaviors we are trying
to stimulate for consumers with brands.
"How do we get people to
share?" is usually an easier question to answer than "How do we make
people feel good about themselves?" (i said usually - they should go hand in hand.)
I don't have to remind you that people like to feel good about themselves, feel
they are connected to others, and build productive, rewarding
relationships with each other (hello Maslow's hierarchy).
I wonder if there are examples where the
"softer" things are dark green and the traditional "harder" things are
not addressed or are light green - meaning the primary
purpose of the social network is to put people into relationships with
each other, make them feel good about themselves, promote their good
reputations, etc. - and there's no focus on functional stuff like
conversing...although isn't great conversation what builds stranger relationships?? They go hand in hand!
ON: Social Information Architecture
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