What Does This Mean to Me, Laura?

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Talvin Muircastle creates assistive technologies for users with disabilities, for the virtual world of Second Life. The text below is adapted from (with permission) and you can read the entirety of his original post at his blog The ScriptAble Project.

You walk into a casino and put some money in the slot machine. You pull the handle. Odds are, you aren’t going to get anything the first time. Probably not the second, or the third. But casinos know that there is a window of opportunity for them: if you don’t see something line up in front of you, if you don’t hear the ring of coins or chips dropping into the till within a certain span of time, you are going to walk away. They set the odds, therefore, such that within that window of opportunity you probably will get a payout of some amount.

Probably not the Jackpot.

More than likely, not even as much as you have put in.

Still, you have to get some measure of satisfaction and gratification from it, or eventually even the Gambling Addicts are going to walk away–or at least try a different game. The level of payout required is determined, not via any intellectual mathematics, but through a sort of emotional calculus that varies person-to-person.

The same theory applies to developing technology for the End-User: if the User starts using your tech and doesn’t get some sense of satisfaction from it fairly quickly, they will decide it is not worth their valuable time. They will view it as “broken”, and they will describe it as such to others. Given that word-of-mouth is still the most potent form of advertising, this can make or break you.

Microsoft learned this the hard way with Windows Vista. They thought that people not only would not, but could not go back to XP. They did, in droves. Apple recognized this when they released Snow Leopard: while Snow Leopard contains some important stuff for the future of Macs, it’s all under the hood. The average user isn’t going to see much of a “payout”, so they priced it really low: $29.

Now add the challenges of Assistive Technology. Most Software Development (sadly) assumes the hypothetical “Normal Person” as the audience. This person doesn’t really exist, of course. We are too diverse. Perhaps we need to reconsider that whole concept, but that is a post for another time, and probably another blog.

My audience is almost never going to fit the “Normal Person” characteristics. The End-User may not use their eyes. They may not use–or even have!–hands. They may have a high level of intelligence yet have difficulty communicating with me effectively due to dysfunction in one part of their brain. They may have a disability “just like” someone else’s, and yet live their lives and deal with the world in a totally different way. It is my job to create technology that will give them a “payout” in their first hour using it. Sometimes, I even succeed.

The moral of this story? IT students should be sure to get a good liberal arts education. OK, seriously: the code you write may look elegant, efficient, and useful–to another scripter. How does it work for the End-User? If they don’t start getting some coins in their till pretty quickly, they are going to stop pulling the handle, and you wasted a lot of time on a work of modern art.

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If your library is on Facebook, Twitter or other social media site, congratulations. You’ve started down the road to helping your library engage in new forms of communication and public relations. However, just being there isn’t enough, and it may not help you in the long run. It’s time to take the next step: building social capital. (Yes, I know, these posts are all about making more work for you, right?)

What is social capital?

Take a look at the Wikipedia definition. Essentially, social capital is connections to others. Not just the number of connections (although many marketers would have one believe that), but the quality of those connections. Numbers of friends/followers can be misleading. If you have a small number of connections and most of those consist of people who connect back and are active, you’re still better off than the company that just bought 1000 followers who don’t give a fig for the company.

Why do you need social capital?

When push comes to shove, it can allow your library to mobilize troops quickly. The Save Ohio Libraries campaign demonstrated this clearly. In less than 3 weeks, the associated Facebook group had more than 50,000 members; hundreds of tweets on Twitter used the #saveohiolibraries hashtag. OLC reported that the legislature had never seen a response as fast and heavy from the public. Is your library planning to go out for a levy? It may be too late this year to really build enough social capital to spend, but it’s never too early to start for the next time. Think of building social capital as building goodwill and direct connections. Not just direct connections into your community, but connections to a wider community that can get the word out for you.

So how do you build social capital?

There are entire books devoted to this topic, and many tips to help you (and maybe I’ll write about some more another day). I’m going to narrow all of it down to two basic things your library needs to do to get started.

Turn the bullhorn around: Stop talking and start listening.* Who do you want to be friends with–the person who listens to all your stories, or the person who only talks about themselves? If your library is just promoting itself and not listening to its patrons, it will not build good relationships.
Social media is about conversations. Start having them. This is really the corollary to #1. Don’t always wait for someone else to ask or comment first. Remember, people put this stuff out into the ether with the hope that someone will comment. Give your library a human voice. A sense of humor is critical.

What does this mean to me, Laura?

Social media is a completely different way of doing PR. The good news, however, is that most of us know how to be human and talk to others of our species. It’s much less about promoting and much more about relating.
Timing is important. When someone asks your library something or comments via a social network, it’s essential that a response be made–QUICKLY. Remember that a lot of this stuff is happening in near real-time. Make sure someone is monitoring your social media outlets constantly. (Remember, real social media is real work.)
Don’t overplan. You don’t plan out every encounter you have with other people during the day; don’t do it with social media.

*From The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt.

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And another quick read to try

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“Winners take imperfect action while others are sitting around perfecting their plans.” –Kevin Nation
Be the voice that is remembered, not just heard.
Don’t take yourself too seriously. Be willing to put yourself a bit “out there.”
Be human. Corporate speak is unacceptable.
Don’t be schizophrenic. Either talk from the perspective of your organization or from a personal standpoint, but not both.
Beta is forever. Nothing is “finished.”
Add value. What are *you* giving to the community? (Nothing? Then you’re a leech.)
Once you know what value you provide, FOCUS on it. Don’t attempt to be all to all.
Who’s the winner of the contest? The one who makes it to the top of the mountain, or the winner who lifted him there? Give props to others.
Nobody likes a braggart. Brag when you have something to share that others can use.
Get the lay of the land. Every community has standards. Even inadvertently violating them can cause you significant damage.
Have an actual social media plan. Preferably a good one. Otherwise, you’re just treading water.
You can’t hide from social media. Hiding hurts situations more than owning up. Know what to do when you get someone mad.
Social media is the new WOM (word of mouth). It’s not only electronic, the speed of information is faster. Much faster. Be prepared.
Weed your friends and followers just like you would any collection. Other people are looking at them just like you are and they’re making judgements.
Social media takes TIME. To build social capital in any signficant way takes MORE time. Know it, schedule it, do it.
Social media is not like the “Field of Dreams” in Kevin Costner’s film: you build it and nobody may come. Keep going.
Grab your namespaces, complete the profiles, but don’t set up a complete shop in a million virtual places. Not every social tool is for everyone. Pick 3 and call it a day.
Tailor your social media work (yes, it’s work!) to each service. The one-size-fits-all approach=#EPICFAIL
Social media is about building connections to PEOPLE. If you’re not doing that, you’re wasting time.

_______________________

With acknowledgement to the article by Mari Smith

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