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A. Understanding Influence Networks

It's often difficult for business people to believe that they can stimulate buying decisions on the part of their customers, let alone stimulate a market into existence. Yet that's exactly what well designed Web 2.0 Influence Networks do. To understand more, in an academic sense, about what Influence Networks are, look at the following links. While they typically discuss Influence Networks from the context of a company's internal operation, you will quickly see how this same approach can be used to stimulate external networks, i.e. networks of customers. For a better understanding of how to apply this concept in your business, talk to us.

>Link A-1: www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/events/conferences/2000/pdf/Richard-Harrison&Carroll.pdf

This link discusses how influence networks work within a company. Reading it you will quickly see how this same effect can be used to stimulate an external network of customers to a higher level of buying activity.

Abstract

"A study by Tom Allen of M.I.T. showed that employees seeking information were about five times more likely to go to a person than to search databases or documents. The patterns of how people communicate and information flows within an organization show the 'invisible' organization. Although this cannot be seen on a formal organizational chart, it represents how contemporary organizations actually function.

"Only in the last decade or so have methodologies to study these relationships and informal information flows begun to be applied as a management tool. Research into social networks has uncovered many specific leverage points for managers to enhance collaboration, innovation, leadership, client relationships, and other key domains. The research presented in this report has adapted this approach in a unique way to assess effective technology-purchasing decisions."

>Link A-2: Influence Networks, A Reactive Planning Architecture: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=120892

Abstract

"An architecture for reactive planning, called an influence network, is presented. Most approaches to planning involve goal decomposition, action generation, and action fusion, the latter being the most difficult. In an influence network, fusion involves influences, rather than fully specified actions. An influence serves to constrain or bias the eventual selection of actions. Plans to satisfy individual goals generate influences. These influences are validated as they are generated to ensure that they are consistent with influences already accepted. After all influences have been processed, actions are generated which satisfy the influences that have been accepted. Influence networks provide a simple method of action fusion by delaying commitment while not delaying validation. As a result, plan repair, can be accomplished by the individual planning agents as their plans are being constructed, rather than being performed at the system level."

>Link A-3: http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/04/social-networks-real-influence.html

Abstract

"Last month, JupiterResearch reported that 48% of Internet marketers would venture into social media marketing this year. This month they were involved in the research behind iProspect's Social Networking User Behavior Study. The result? Some pretty good stuff."

B. Understanding Social Networks

The first two steps involved in creating market demand are 1) coalesce a nascent community with like minded needs into a social network and 2) imprint demand upon that social network. Among other tasks, Market Stimulation platforms are designed to accomplish these first two steps. One of the keys to creating an effective Market Stimulation platform lies in understanding how to create a social network (the first step in the two step process) by coalescing divergent population sectors, albeit with the same needs, into a social network. Clearly then, in order to coalesce need into a social network, one must first understand what a social network is. The links below explain in simple terms what social networks are. Once you understand that, we can explain to you how our technology causes coalescence to take place to create a social network.

>Link B-1: Social Networking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking

Overview:

By themselves, social networks are interesting points for academic study, but are of little value. As the base upon which market stimulation methodologies can be applied, they are incalculably important in helping stimulate and channel market demand. The concept behind how social networks work and why they exist plays well to technology’s ability to channel the force inherent in peer pressure towards the creation of market demand. This link provides a review of the basic theory behind social networks. Review it to better understand the concepts of clustering coefficients, radiality, flow, network centralization and more.

>Link B-2: Social Network Analysis, A Brief Introduction - http://www.orgnet.com/sna.html

Extract:

“Social network analysis [SNA] is the mapping and measuring of relationships and flows between people, groups, organizations, animals, computers or other information/knowledge processing entities. The nodes in the network are the people and groups while the links show relationships or flows between the nodes.”

C. Effective Corporate Web Design

>Link C-1: Web Style Guide, 2nd Edition - http://webstyleguide.com/

Overview:

A great Market Management or Market Stimulation platform is nice to have, but relatively useless if the websites associated with the platform are poorly designed, difficult to navigate or painful to look at. Success on the web doesn't begin with technology, it begins with having a good web presence. Web Style Guide was one of the first documents to discuss what goes into good web design. In our view, it is one of the very best primers on web design. Now in its Second Edition, the preface to the First Edition still says it all: "THIS BOOK IS FOR ALL THOSE who wish to publish durable content on the Web. Durable content is not guided by trends; good design will withstand the test of time, whereas trends quickly become frivolous. Success in Web design goes beyond technology and fashion. To create Web sites that endure you need only to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively to your readers." If you are in charge of web design for your company, you should absolutely require that every member of your design staff, including your IT department, read this document and adhere to its principles.

>Link C-2: Best of Class Sites

Overview:

A lot of people have commented that they don't like the look of our site... garish lime green on black, with white lettering. Frankly, some times we agree with them. Most of the time though we think it accomplishes its purpose: portraying an edgy sort of art, out in front of the traditional soft, smooth, white background sites... we're trying to say to people that we are leading the wave, not following it. More like snowboarders and shredders than skiers. Notwithstanding this, we want you to know that we recognize good talent when we see it. Want to see some of the sites that impress us? Try these...

- Samsung's AMOLED display http://amoled.samsungsdi.com/ An excellent example of how to present a new product or form of technology.

- Stella Artois: http://www.stellaartois.com/ledefi It makes me thirsty just looking at it.

- First Act Guitar Builder: http://www.firstact.com/upload/flash/guitarbuilder/guitarbuilder.html

- House Clothing: http://house.pl Note: Yes, the link works... this site is unbearably slow to load since it is coming from Poland... but it's still worth seeing. Rozumieć everyone?

- GP Time Machine: http://gptimemachine.com

Still wondering why our site is so different from those above. Actually, it's not all about graphics, it also has to do with layout. Our site is an information site, not a retail sales site or a site designed to entertain people. Different types of sites have different design criteria that they should adhere to. That is not to say that you shouldn't push the envelope in site design... but you definitely should know what the purpose of your site is and make sure that the fundamentals of its design accomplish the objective. Read more about the various types of sites that you can have and how best to design them in the document attached to Link C-1 above. You see, there is more to this website design thing than most people think. It's certainly not rocket science, but it does take some reflection to produce a website that brings in customers and incents them to buy things at the same time.