So I’ve been reading Grown Up Digital by Don Tapscott ( amazing book!) and have just finished the chapter on “The Net Generation as Consumers” where in one section he spoke about companies becoming essentially friends with their target consumers. Reflecting back to companies I’ve dealt with the news aggregator site Reddit comes to mind. I’m a big fan of this site and have often either forwarded links from this site or shared it with my friends and I do this not only because I enjoy the content on the site but because the site creators have essentially become my friend and have befriended the rest of the website members. Here are some of the simple yet significant ways that they manage to do this:
Interacting with members outside of the site: The creators of this site not only interact with members through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter ( ex: @ kn0thing) they have offline meetups! I’ve met with them personally last year during their Drankkit World Tour where they went to major centers and sat down and had drinks with members ( a few pics of me at that event included) but they even do it randomly including having dinner with a Reddit member who just asked if anyone were interested in going out for dinner.
They personalize: The Reddit alien is a big part of the personality of the website, almost every day a new drawing of it is posted up depending on current events or project of the site. From time to time as a result of already mentioned meet ups or requests of members the Reddit Alien is redrawn or the Reddit logo even contains relevant pictures. As well the website is in a constant state of change( much like Gmail its in constant Beta) if there are enough user requests certain aspects of the site are changed.
Not only are they creators, but they are also users: They don’t passively watch the site or attempt to moderate it , they are fully involved members. They aren’t afraid to get in there and post a comment or link and create discussions with other users. They also start side projects that encourage further member collaboration. Sometimes it can be silly such as Mr.Splashypants but even in more serious matters such as Reddits Feed A Need campaign where users are encouraged to lend their skills and time in helping out a not for profit organization.
Overall I have a major heart on for this site and its creators. As a consumer I have a choice between Digg and Reddit as they are essentially the same site and many times have the same links but as Reddit has worked harder to befriend me my loyalty is pretty cemented in place . I’ve included a few pictures from Drankkit Toronto 07 , some with me included. Enjoy!
The 2 Reddit Creators , Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian with Jenna Landry from Wired Magazine
My attempt at a "C" for Canada.... it ended up pretty lame!
Have any Questions/Comments? Contact me at kevin.richard@ryerson.ca or send me a twitter message.