Web 2.0 Expo: Enhancing Engagement and User-Experience Beyond the TV Screen: Some Lessons Learned from a Transition to web 2.0

Enhancing Engagement and User-Experience Beyond the TV screen: Some Lessons Learned from a Transition to web 2.0 by Tony Carbone of VH1.

His PowerPoint presentation is available for download in this zip file.

This presentation was good, but somewhat disappointing compared to most others. Most speakers understood that they had to look beyond their specific corporation and look to the abstract ideas that are behind Web 2.0 and make them extend their reach. While this talk did include some of that, most of it was focused on VH1 - to its detriment. But the speaker was good.

Tony Carbone began by talking about viral video brainstorming games. Then asked: What were the two or three most memorable viral videos that you recall seeing in the last 6-12 months?

The lesson is that viral videos increase metrics.

Wikipedia definition of web 2.0:

Web 2.0 is a term describing changing trends in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies…Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users utilize the Web.”

Tim O'Reilly has said:

Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry cause by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform."

"Groundswell: a social trend in which people use technologies to get things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations."
- from Groundswell by Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li

So, 2.0 means for:

• Everyone: more creativity, more collaboration, and better access to information and entertainment
• Users and consumers: Less reliance on traditional institutions
• Traditional institutions: They have a lot of stuff to figure out...

The key is to define your attack plan, define your measurable objectives:

• Increase user engagement, and increase brand and product awareness -- and figure out how to measure them
• Increase revenue and leverage community (members' activities, talents, and ideas)

Lessons learned: You must be able to measure it

• Define measurable objectives - recognize and realize the value of social media and social platforms
• Don't cut corners on reporting functionality
• Reporting and data should influence your technology decisions
• Don't over report
• Research and data are how you assess and meet needs of your customsers
• If you can't measure it, you're only guessing.

Carbone then gave an example of a disparity between search data (for the star Lil' Wayne) and result of highest result of artists.
The fact is that Lil' Wayne went to become as iconic as any pop star or recording artist. So VH1 reached out to Lil' Wayne on advice on stuff.

You can do it: Effective user (activity) assessment = success.
Build your ideas around natural (quantifiable) activities.
Pay attention to the rules of social media and to what's been successful for others.

Embrace it!:

• Sharing, syndication and ubiquity are good, measurable, and monetize-able things
• Use research and data to prove or disprove hunches
• Assess your audience, define your objectives, and execute.

Case study: VH1's Superpoke!Fest - a campaign whose idea is to send it to friends on Facebook and MySpace. Result: 2.500 branded Superpokes were sent resulting in 1,500 new fans for VH1.

Nobody owns the Internet.

• In Web 2.0 everyone can participate
• Communicate and enforce best practices
• Integrate systems and technology

Invest in success (e.g. VH1 blog, Scandalist.com, optimized by posting items to Twitter and iPhone)

Is it working? Your objectives:

• Increase engagement
• Increase brand and product awareness
• Increase revenue
• Leverage the community
• Recognized the value of social media and platforms

Carbone concluded by showing figures illustrating VH1's successful move into the Web 2.0 world.