I’ve made a lot of presentations, and I’ve seen a lot of pitches, but I’ve never voluntarily gone through a 120-slide presentation until today. That’s when I saw one called “Designing for Social Traction.” In it, designer Joshua Porter explains how to solve the three big problems of social software:
1. Getting people to sign-up for a service.
2. Making their first-time use a positive and engaging experience.
3. Keeping them engaged on an ongoing basis.
For example, here are his key points about the sign-up process:
• Engage people immediately.
• Reduce the perceived commitment necessary for trial.
• Increase the amount of description of your site in a gradual manner.
• Utilize the social reinforcement of others.
I don’t want to steal the thunder of the rest of the presentation, but trust me, if you’re in the business of signing up and engaging people via a website, you will want to check out this presentation.