Showing posts with label social. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social. Show all posts
Jan 4, 2011
Dec 23, 2010
Aug 20, 2010
Aussie election goes social - but still isn't interesting
Australians are getting ready to go to the polls to decide who gets to call the shots for the next few years.
In the past few weeks we've been bombarded with political ads and the requisite debates by what has to be the dryest, stiffest and most boring set of politicians I've ever heard. (I thank the powers that be that Gruen Nation keeps us awake throughout the process).
This time around, both major parties have taken a leaf out of the Obama campaign book and embraced social networking as part of the campaign strategy, so I thought I'd take a quick look at what they've done.
The incumbent ALP has integrated a custom built platform into its website that provides a range of tools to help visitors rank, comment and share information throughout the site. However, there is a lack of ability to be able to share any content directly from the home page as we'd normally expect.
The Labor Connect feature is a walled community (built by a social networking software provider, Community Engine) where you can form groups, connect with local representatives and chat to other community members. It doesn't seem to enable connectivity to other networks such as Facebook. The things that I don't like about this feature is that it firstly keeps the community locked away and in doing so, puts up a barrier to participation - why do users have to register and provide so much information just to collaborate? Annoying.
The Liberal Party site has a very similar approach minus the 'Connect' type tool. In what I think is a slightly more subtle implementation of social tools, their site keeps all the collaboration on the top layer and not hidden away in a private network. They connect with Facebook well and unlike their opponents, have the ubiquitous 'Like' button. It also has a cleaner feel and appears a little less cluttered. A reflection of their policies perhaps? Who am I to say?
I think at the end of the day, even though the ALP has put in place what is probably a first in Australian politics with their custom community feature - my vote goes to the Liberals and their softer, more familiar and more accessible implementation.
Remember kids, there's nothing social in a walled community.
In the past few weeks we've been bombarded with political ads and the requisite debates by what has to be the dryest, stiffest and most boring set of politicians I've ever heard. (I thank the powers that be that Gruen Nation keeps us awake throughout the process).
This time around, both major parties have taken a leaf out of the Obama campaign book and embraced social networking as part of the campaign strategy, so I thought I'd take a quick look at what they've done.
The incumbent ALP has integrated a custom built platform into its website that provides a range of tools to help visitors rank, comment and share information throughout the site. However, there is a lack of ability to be able to share any content directly from the home page as we'd normally expect.
The Labor Connect feature is a walled community (built by a social networking software provider, Community Engine) where you can form groups, connect with local representatives and chat to other community members. It doesn't seem to enable connectivity to other networks such as Facebook. The things that I don't like about this feature is that it firstly keeps the community locked away and in doing so, puts up a barrier to participation - why do users have to register and provide so much information just to collaborate? Annoying.
The Liberal Party site has a very similar approach minus the 'Connect' type tool. In what I think is a slightly more subtle implementation of social tools, their site keeps all the collaboration on the top layer and not hidden away in a private network. They connect with Facebook well and unlike their opponents, have the ubiquitous 'Like' button. It also has a cleaner feel and appears a little less cluttered. A reflection of their policies perhaps? Who am I to say?
I think at the end of the day, even though the ALP has put in place what is probably a first in Australian politics with their custom community feature - my vote goes to the Liberals and their softer, more familiar and more accessible implementation.
Remember kids, there's nothing social in a walled community.
Mar 31, 2010
Crowdsourcing turns 10
Threadless is one of many online retail success stories. While there's stacks of Tshirt etailers, these guys have distinguished themselves by being the best example of community sourcing or 'crowdsourcing' when it comes to ideas for a new designs.
The idea is simple, ask customers to submit a design idea, put the design to a vote and make the best ones. You kill two birds with one stone - the users do all your design work and, cause they all voted for the best one, they'll then buy it from you. Brilliant.
They've done a fantastic job of building a community around their product. You can recommend or advertise your new purchases to your friends via Facebook Connect, go Threadspotting where you can submit photos of designs spotted 'in the wild', speak to the designers, watch Threadless TV or simply interact in the forum.
These guys started up 10 years ago this year and have been going strong ever since. They are now a multi-million dollar business and have started to spread their wings into other areas including thongs (flip-flops for your northern hemispherians) and even wall decals.
Aside from the business model, one of the main things about Threadless that I've always admired is their clean and powerful user interface. This is no wonder considering that they were originally a web design company that started to make the odd in-joke and industry related Tshirt. They make great use of the latest web technologies to give a really tidy experience.
My favourite is not only being told how many items of a specific size are still available, but also getting email alerts when something in my shopping basket is about to run out of stock. Why don't more retailers do this??
Good work Threadless. May you keep me clothed for many years to come :)
Oh, btw, check out the book if you want to read more about the Threadless story: Threadless: Ten Years of T-shirts from the World's Most Inspiring Online Design Community
Feb 16, 2010
Flattery
From one of the founders of The Pirate Bay, comes a new concept in paying for content. Flattr is a social micropayments system that lets you pay for content as you consume it.
The idea is pretty simple. You decide how much you're willing to fork out for content each month. Then you just click on the icon in the content, for instance at the end of this blog post ;) and at the end of the month, your contribution is split evenly around all those that you've clicked on.
It raises some interesting questions around honesty and whether people will pay at all - when you can still get it for free. But it will be an interesting social experiment nonetheless...
The idea is pretty simple. You decide how much you're willing to fork out for content each month. Then you just click on the icon in the content, for instance at the end of this blog post ;) and at the end of the month, your contribution is split evenly around all those that you've clicked on.
It raises some interesting questions around honesty and whether people will pay at all - when you can still get it for free. But it will be an interesting social experiment nonetheless...
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