9.22.11 - Response to Howard

Howard:  Design to Thrive

While we haven't yet heard the parameters and specific task for our next client, I found myself applying RIBS techniques to various strategies that may be employed for Cooper Library. I suppose this serves more as a brainstorm that will need to be tailored once we speak with Micki Reid. ,I hope that it helps frame her presentation in class this evening.

Remuneration should be considered first and foremost. Howard's use of AltaVista v. Google is a good example to demonstrate how critical remuneration is. If users don't gain an experience or a benefit from being part of the Cooper Library community, they either won't join or remain members. Most research can be performed from students' dorm rooms or apartments.What's in it for them to be part of the Cooper Library community? During his presentation about the future of the book Dr. Palmquist discussed that libraries are no longer the first place students go when they have to research something. Their first instinct is to go to Google. Their second instinct is to go to Google. With Dr. Palmquist's point in mind, Cooper Library's community must remunerate its users with experiences that a Google search cannot provide. Humans are social beings. Howard states, "We humans have a deep-seated, primal need to be part of a social experience because that's how we make events meaningful" (56). Thus the remuneration we create for Cooper Library must capitalize on this need. To successfully do this we will need to determine what users of the libraries "want and need to understand and then create an environment so they can socially construct that understanding" (57). Techniques that will support this then need to be tailored to the meaning and experience users seek from the library community and balanced with the client's wishes. I am hoping that a competitive dimension can be introduced based on these considerations.

Once remuneration has laid the groundwork for the business model and how it will function to support a user experience, influence must be considered. Li & Bernoff, Kim, and Wenger help outline what to consider when planning for the various influence needs of community members. The diagrams used to show Kim's life cycle and Wegner's trajectories on page 101 are especially helpful. Techniques will be needed that cater to these various needs. Hello, differentiation. The physical bulletin board on the wall asking students for input about a particular question is a great way to give students influence. This is one component that should be adapted to the online community. I also think it's important to note that due to the nature of a university, we'll be dealing with many outbound members as they graduate. Each year there will also be a mass entrance of novices and/or inbound participants (definite reason to have a visitor's center). Understanding the structure of the university will be critical when planning for the influence needs of community members.

I agree with Howard that belonging allows for the most fun and creativity. Initiation, origin stories, rituals, mythologies, symbols, and protocols/routines/schemas are all important to consider. Certain components seem as if they will work better for a library community than others. It will also depend on what the client hopes to achieve. I see how buzz can be created from well told stories or myths--Youtube video potential? (It could also tie into the contest techniques mentioned under significance.) I also feel it's important to remember that Howard's techniques are not an all inclusive list. Using them as a starting point is wonderful; moving beyond them to create belonging is even better since it can allow for customization to a specific community.

I appreciated how significance has such strong ties to marketing techniques! I feel that creating significance all boils down to branding and how successfully the brand is recognized. The tools used to do this are limitless. The paradox of exclusivity is a definite concept to leverage. The RIBS components should not be treated as silos. Certain strategies can contribute and support several components at the same time. And social capital provides such potential for opportunity. A parallel that may be a successful strategy for Cooper Library is Gmail's kickoff. To create a Gmail account you had to receive an invitation from a member. You then became significant because you could invite a limited number of others to join. Hubs or connectors were critical in disseminating Gmail. Exclusivity was established since you had to know someone and could not just join. Not only was it exclusive, it utilized influentials.