Engagement and Interaction

also, how to do media so it runs on slow internet? engagement and interaction aren't just for NA... do all of these options for new media require a fast internet connection? what about mobile interaction? Do I need to focus my audience more than that? interaction, engagement What kind of interaction? What does that mean? How do you interact with a book?Can you interact better with different types of media? http://www.i-docs.fr/ "Interactivity is the way through which an audience relates to a content. In order for the audience to interact with that content, creators need to build an incentive, a way to attract the visitor into the story they have created." One reason why interaction is so hard to define is because the definitions are constantly changing. This article discusses the definition of interaction, looking at the differences between systems and inputs/outputs. Very scientific and analytical. How can I relate this to what kind of interaction my audience wants to have? I would love to have a deeper discussion about this article and the theories behind it - any chance of a roundtable sometime? From http://www.dubberly.com/articles/what-is-interaction.html "All man-made objects offer the possibility for interaction." "Interaction is a key aspect of function, and function is a key aspect of design." "Today much of computer-human interaction is characterized by a learning system interacting with a simple linear process. You (the learning system) signal your computer (the simple linear process); it responds; you react. After signaling the computer enough times, you develop a model of how it works. You learn the system. But it does not learn you. We are likely to look back on this form of interaction as quite limited." Engagement: http://workbookproject.com/culturehacker/2010/08/05/a-content-strategy-for-audience-engagement/ "When audiences connect well to your content, they go through three stages of engagement: Discovery, Experience and Exploration as shown in below. The key to a successful content strategy is understanding (a) that there are these stages of engagement (b) what content is required for each stage and (c) what the goals are for each stage. Failure to appreciate or acknowledge that there are these stages of engagement typically results in audiences being expected to do too much work too soon – which most won’t do – and hence the content fails at the Discovery stage and the real experience never begins. " In order to get to the highest level of engagement - contributing to the canon - the audience must be lured with every level of interaction. The first, sniffing it out: is it familiar? Evolution tells us that familiar is safe and good. Repeating past satisfying experiences is a successful strategy for entertainment. Needs to be reassured that your content is worth their time and attention. Reduce percieved risk by communicating values that audience values for this particular project or content. Is it familiar? Will I like it? (more specific, personal question) "The teaser has convinced the audience your project is something they might like, but what can you tell them to reassure them it’s worth their additional time and (possibly) money?" The first barrier to entry is just getting the audience to know that your content is out there, and that can be fixed by SEO, recommendation, social media etc - but the first thing you want the audience to see is the teaser (is it familiar?) "Stated simply, buyers rarely make decisions not to purchase based on price – it’s all those other barriers that have to be overcome first: value, suitability, risk, convenience, context and so on." I'm in. Seeing it for what the content is. "It’s only when the audience touches the target content that it can see it for what it is. If your Discovery content has done its job then the audience’ expectations will be met or exceeded. But if you have deceived or misled them then they’ll be disappointed." The second barrier is willing engagement after they've seen the content. Make this barrier easy to cross- signpost the content they are supposed to research further. Am I alone? I want more. I want to help. The audience now listens for affirmation, asking questions both to themselves and to others. Good content stimulates debate. "Content in this Exploration category is intended to reward and empower the advocate and to educate: it provides additional understanding and value to the target content. In this regard it may be acceptable to have “expositional” content such as character biographies, backstories and so on." "Collaboration is not that same as participation. Participation might be passive (reading additional content and exploring the world) or active – voting, sharing, commenting, discussing, Tweeting and so on. Collaboration is adding to the storyworld: writing fan fiction, creating videos or illustrations. It’s providing new content that you, as author, are free to embrace or reject. Between participation and collaboration is tollgate 4 – it’s a barrier created by the audience’ perceived lack of time and skills, fear of ridicule and lack of information about how to contribute to the world. You can lower this barrier by providing tools, methods, encouragement and a supportive environment." "The more complex the world, the more handholding you need to do." "TDN: What surprised you? RYAN: I think how willing a lot of the subjects were to really share their stories. A lot of them were really excited to be part of the project. I think sometimes groups producing these things are hesitant to feature outsiders, or even just the general public. But for a lot of nonprofits, the general public is often their target audience, so including them and having them tell their stories rather than trying to impose the organizational view on others is important. And I my case, it was actually easier than I thought it would be. It took a lot of time and research to find my subjects, but they were just really great to work with, every single one. And I think that comes from the fact that people have a desire to tell their stories, to have their voices heard." Hi, I'm Lindsey Engh. This blog is dedicated to my musings over the role that communications in nonprofits can help change the world. The changing landscape of social media and communications, and how nonprofits can better This blog is dedicated to my reinterpretations of how nonprofits and social enterprises can use social media and new media to make their audiences truly care about the mission.