Week Eleven

Assignment: Howard 167-196

As soon as I began reading Chapter 7: Significance in Howard's Design to Thrive, I knew it would be relevant to the current project we are working on with the Oconee Humane Society's website.  According to Howard, the definition of a "significant" network/community is one that is:

• well recognized
• established as the "go-to place" for users
• valued by both frequent users and visitors
• populated by people who are serious and passionate in their field
• distinguished as a reputable brand

These characteristics are exactly what my group hope to make evident on the OHS's website.  The chapter first discusses the paradox of exclusivity, which is actually something we are taking into consideration already.  We just didn't have an actual name for it!  We have suggested to the OHS to allow people to sign up for weekly (or even bi-weekly) emails that will have up-to-date information on volunteer opportunities, product needs (food, cleaning supplies, etc.), and new, adoptable animals.  These emails will allow people to participate exclusively in the overall animal network in the Oconee area.  In other words, people who sign up will have important information before anyone else.

The next section of this chapter that I related to the OHS project was the idea of quality versus quantity. Right now, the website has a great deal of information on the home page and looks busy.  However, our plan is to re-arrange the information in a way that gives the home page more quality and allows people to navigate more easily.  All of the same information will be there, but in a completely different way.

The "influential theory" that Howard discusses can also be applied to the OHS website.  For example, people who seem to know everyone, or "connectors," will contribute to more visitors if they promote the website.  The "mavens" or "salesmen," or animal enthusiasts in this case, will probably be volunteers and workers who want to tell everyone they know about upcoming events and get them to join in.

This reading assignment came at the perfect time in the semester and I cannot wait to implement the ideas presented as a way to promote the Oconee Humane Society overall.

Week Eight

Assignment: Heath & Heath 25-97

Chapter 1 in Made to Stick focuses on simplicity and finding the core, or "stripping an idea down to its most critical essence," and making it compact. Finding the core is the first of two steps in making your ideas "sticky."  The second step is to translate te core using the SUCCESs checklist, which is discussed later in the book.

Through an array of examples, from war plans to an airline company's mission to political campaigns to  journalism, this chapter really gave me the insight to making ideas stick through simplicity.  Also, instead of the typical definition, I  realized that simple doesn't always mean "dumbing down" and that it requires strict prioritization.  I can easily compare what I read to this year's mission of the Clemson University yearbook.  Our editor-in-chief's mission (or the "Commander's Intent") is to focus on the spirit of Clemson tradition.  In other words, when the staff is writing stories for the book, the focal point needs to be what makes Clemson different than other universities and that's what I think about when writing.

After giving a lot of examples, the authors compare the idea to proverbs and The Golden Rule, explaining that ideas should be "compact enough to be sticky and meaningful enough to make a difference."  This comparison stuck out to me because it shows that making ideas stick can apply to any aspect of life, not just businesses.

I also liked how the authors explained a few things to avoid, like "burying the lead" and "feature creep."  Basically this means to not focus too much on the details.  This idea has been evident to me for several years when writing for the high school newspaper or, more currently, the Clemson yearbook.  You only have about a couple hundred words to talk about a big topic, like the College of Business and Behavioral Science or all of the famous speakers who come to campus.  Therefore, you really have to figure out what is the most important.  Also, headlines and photographs are very  important.  When someone is flipping through the yearbook, they are more likely to stop and read a story if either the title catches their eye, or the photographs interest them.

Week Seven

Assignment: Howard 129-165

This week's reading about the idea of belonging was very informative and gave lots of great, real-life examples.  Howard begins by showing how a sense of belonging is created and then moves on to discuss several successful techniques as to how to incorporate belonging into an online community. Initiation rituals, stories of origin, leveling up, mythologies, symbols, and protocols are all important to any community as a way for people to fit in and learn about the group.  When I read these sections, Tumblr kept coming into my mind.  A great deal of people on Tumblr remain anonymous and have to kind of prove themselves in order to gain popularity (unlike with Facebook and other online communities), kind of like an initiation process.  It takes time and consistency to gain a lot of followers and to "level up."  For example, I have been on Tumblr for about three months now and I am just now starting to get a good number of followers based on the content I post.

The techniques that Howard suggests to use implement what is discussed in the previous section.  The technique that stood out to me the most was to establish routines and protocol.  In other words, create rules for the club or community.  Howard compares this to the movie Fight Club, in which Tyler Durden blatantly spells out his set of rules.  Some routines and protocol can be unspoken and simply understood based on knowledge and experience.  For example, referring back to another part of the chapter, the members of the Red Hat Society (as well as many non-members) are already aware of the protocol to wear red hats, purple dresses, and whatever flashy attire they can find.  However, the Red Hat Society also has rituals, mythologies, symbols, and other protocol that (mostly) only members know about.

After reading this chapter in Design to Thrive, I definitely feel like I understand more of what RIBS is all about; all of the components are beginning to come together to form a cohesive idea of what a successful online community consists of!