Challis Hodge’s UXblog

Lots of juicy stuff in this May 2007 iProspect study conducted by JupiterResearch.

A few highlights:

• One out of three internet users turns to sites with user-generated content to help make a purchase decision.
• The majority of visitors to social networking sites (90%) don’t post comments on the sites they visit.
• 25% of internet users frequent popular social networking sites at least once a month (primarily arriving through direct navigation and bookmarking.
• 72% of YouTube visitors primarily seek entertainment, while 49% of FaceBook users and 35% of MySpace users primarily seek networking opportunities.
• 56% of TripAdvisor visitors, 39% of Yahoo! Answers visitors, 39% of Craigslist visitors, and 32% of iVillage visitors actively research products or services.

Check out the study there’s lots more to glean.

For some time marketers have recognized Influencers as experts who offer credible reach into niche audiences. Their challenge has been figuring out how to leverage those Influencers to meet marketing objectives.

A recent CNET Networks study “Understanding Influence, and Making it Work for You” sheds new light on the Influencer psyche. Far from supporting the ‘expert’ position, the research suggests that “influencers are individuals who gain self-worth by giving good advice.”

Influencers build large social networks and interact with 100 or more people each month. Moderately-connected individuals report connections with between 11 and 99 people each month, while less-connected individuals have 10 or fewer connections with close or casual friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers, and church or civic organization members. The study finds a correlation between network size and self-reported influence activity. Fewer than half the less-connected group is asked for opinions or advice, versus 75 percent of the highly-connected cohort.

The research shows a direct correlation between the size of the Influencer’s network and thew role of technology in their ability to stay connected. According to the report, “Technology enables the maintenance and frequency of connections…”

Nice Post by Richard over at UXmag.

[…] Even the most unique product will eventually be commoditized in the minds of your clients. It’s not an issue of if just of when.

So why did she hire us then?

Well, according to her it was for all the little things we do, the things that have nothing to do with the product we supply. My belief is this:

The product and service we offer categorizes us, everything else we do defines us.

Launched near the end of 2006 as ArtistsOnline, ArtFlock is an online marketplace for people to buy and sell artwork. ArtFlock offers some interesting community features that make sense.

With ArtFlock, users can display or sell their art, and visitors can browse through collections, artists, and events. ArtFlock can be used to sell craftwork as well, such as jewelry. Visitors can rate art without having to be a registered member. Full members can save others’ artwork to their own galleries, much like a favorites list. ArtFlock offers both free and premium accounts for sellers, which differ mainly in the ways an artist can leverage the ArtFlock community to earn more money.