Social Networks and Web Communities

The traditional approach to web has been top-down, authoritative and single-way. Websites dictated the way that visitors could approach them.

Newer thinking harnesses social networking and community structure to generate a more equal relationship between site and visitor- which is often more satisfying, engaging and productive.

Community Features

Web communities are very popular with many internet users and often cluster around interests and hobbies- these offer opportunities for users to discuss and organise collaboration.

If your business is customer focussed, you can use social tools to develop a firmer userbase- people who respect a communicative relationship and would be prepared to invest deeper loyalties in you than your rivals.

Communities have also found uses in education and distance learning, where there is benefit to the kind of peer support structures offered by traditional learning environments.

We can offer advice on web community development to help prevent yours from becoming stale or unpopular.

Web 2.0

‘Web 2.0’ is a buzz-phrase which encompasses a visual style and functional approach to the web. Of these, the functional approach is likely to be far more enduring.

Essentially it promotes openness in the way users can interact with a site, encouraging feedback and discussion. It also facilitates communication between services on different websites, allowing data to be mixed in useful ways; these are known as ‘mash-ups’.

Harnessing Social Networks

Your project may benefit from integration with an existing social network structure- some of the larger services, such as Facebook, allow the development of applications by third-parties. This can be a powerful way of reaching users effectively, and we can develop stand-alone applications or ones which tie-in with your website content.