Kathy Sierra has always been a proponent of what she refers to as the "hi-res user experience". She, along with Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV, recently spoke at the Future of Web Apps conference. They shared some common viewpoints about the necessity of inspiring passion when building a successful web community. And while Gary attributed his success mostly to his dedicated role as "community leader", there was a lot of insight in Kathy's words that also can explain the phenomenon that is Wine Library TV and a ever growing number of Vayniacs.
"What the music expert hears has more notes, more instruments, more syncopation... than what I hear when I listen to the same piece. Of course I don't mean the music technically changes, but if the way we experience it shifts, it is AS IF the music itself shifts. Learning adds resolution to what you offer. And the change happens not within the product, but between the user's ears. The more you help your users learn and improve, the greater the chance that they'll become passionate." Kathy Sierra
Learning adds resolution is an inspiring way of phrasing it. If you can imagine a graph as one learns about wine over time, thus changing the resolution of their experience, it might look something like this. The one-bit experience of wine (red or white?) will change over time as the drinker learns more about wine, wine-making, wine history, how to taste, what to taste, and what they like.
Exploring the world of wine can be a long and highly personal process, one with a steep learning curve and a fair amount of pretentious people. Sometimes people can become pretentious because they had to learn on their own, experience on their own. But why does it have to be that way?
Surely, magazines out there like Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast must help in the process. The problem is that there is only so much knowledge that can be passed along through a one-way communication stream. The amount of user experience resolution that is gained is always less that the knowledge source it is gained from. Things are lost in translation.
When the communication is two-way, the community knowledge is shared. Community members enable each other, learn from each other, and thus increase the resolution of the experience. However, Gary Vaynerchuk does not just sit back and take a passive part in his community. Of course not!! He does, after all, stress the ultimate importance of the role of the "community leader".
Instead, Gary does all that he can to pass his vast knowledge onto his audience. There are sessions that teach users how to taste wine, about glasses and decanting, and perhaps the most unusual and entertaining episode... how to train the palate. Gary answers questions, poses questions, and apparently personally responds to every e-mail he receives. He gives users the shortcut from the 1 bit experience to the million bit experience, changing the focus to sharing and community, rather than pretension and exclusivity.
It's what wine should always be about... after all, how much fun is it to drink alone?
Marta Strickland
Strategists & Planners
Comments (1)
I just saw Gary speak at the Strategic Profits 2008 marketing seminar and he blew us all away with what he has accomplished in two years.
So my question is...how does he do it?
I think you answer here by explaining how much he helps his community grow by giving them not only information but more importantly, learning experiences.
I liked your charts.
Thanks for the great article
Gary
www.rightbraincopy.com
Posted by Gary Smith | March 3, 2008 4:34 PM
Posted on March 3, 2008 16:34