Going Viral

by Steve Arnold on March 27, 2009

Everything was proceeding as one might expect in the business review of Project Dragonfly earlier this year. Development on the application had been very productive since we had transitioned from our proof of concept phase in the fall of last year. Stakeholders were well aware that we had quickly gone from research to proof of concept to product. We even had three user studies under our belt. Confidence was high. And then we heard it.

“Get it out there now. Get in the game.”

Our plan was to market Project Dragonfly virally. Going out now meant that we were a little early and many details were still on the to-do list. As a user centered design practitioner working with an Agile Development process, I was comfortable working in an iterative manner to engage users quickly so that we think through details and bring solutions forward. Yet something about this situation seemed different to me. We wanted the world to broadcast about the benefits of Project Dragonfly while our marketing efforts simply facilitated the conversation. It seemed to me, then, that the design would need to be polished. I mean, you only get one chance to make a first impression right? Or do you? The process which unfolded led us to a few insights about going viral.

Change Yourself

Quickly I realized that our thinking about user engagement would have to change. Where users and feedback had been dialed into the project at specific points to review specific functionality, our feedback link within the application and postings on our various social networking sites would create multiple direct lines for users to provide continual input. If we wanted the world outside to broadcast about the benefits of Project Dragonfly, then our response to feedback would need to be honest and transparent. We would need to build loyalty. Design of the product (in whatever state it was in) would be vibrant and public. We would need to work at filtering feedback in order to guide the design in the direction indicated by the input. The more we matched user expectations, the stronger our viral broadcast signal would become. Change happened for me when I realized that sometimes being in the game with users and solving problems collaboratively is more important than coming to the game with solutions fully formed.

Change Your Application Inside and Out

Once I had changed, I realized that a few other changes were on the horizon as well. In order to get the world talking about the benefits of Project Dragonfly, we would need to create an environment that would make going viral as easy as possible. The application would need to change inside and out.

Inside of Project Dragonfly, we have begun working to integrate thinking promoted by Christina Wodkte (Principal Product Manager at LinkedIn; Founder/Publisher of Boxes and Arrows). In Christina’s recent talk at IxDA 2009, “Designing the Viral App”, she mentioned five rules to keep in mind when creating a viral app:

1. Frictionless – Remove everything that is a barrier to using your application.
2. Right at Hand – Make the most useful part of your app right there at hand.
3. Impactful – Maximize your reach when you broadcast your message.
4. Targeted – Focus on features that add value to the users using your app the most.
5. Outreach – Get sites to link to your application.

Outside of Project Dragonfly, we have begun engaging the world with the help of next-generation Web marketing experts Nobles Studios, Inc. The initial goal is to raise awareness and gather feedback. I’m proud to report that the team has already taken action on the highest priority feedback items. Our next update will include some very creative solutions to top requested items like stretchable content and more obvious 2D/3D transition. Launching on the social sites Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Flickr we look to get our message out to the world and keep followers up to date on these exciting changes. Over time, we will iterate on the approach and media outlets that stick with users will remain while those that don’t will fade away.
As a team, we are working to gain actionable feedback, talk straight and develop loyalty. We want engagement to build loyalty and loyalty to build virality. As for the world, it appears to be interested as evidenced by our coverage in the NY Times technology blog.

Please help Project Dragonfly go viral! Login and let us know what you think. Tell your friends. Have your friends tell their friends. And, be sure to become our fan on Facebook, our friend on MySpace and follow us on Twitter!

Comments

[Melissa]

This is very exciting! I can't wait to see how this process continues to evolve as Project Dragonfly evolves. Of course, I'm also very interested in seeing how we can leverage this thinking in desktop application design. There’s a lot to be gained by making this transition in thinking.