Berlin School Program | Team Project
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This document outlines a blueprint for an "enginet", which is defined as a functional framework for networked media programming built around a core theme. The blueprint details the context, programming structure, audience activation, target demographics, and user motivation for an enginet project between the Berlin School of Creative Leadership and SpectrumDNA. It provides guidance on designing an enginet to maximize reach, frequency, and depth of engagement with the target audience by activating different user roles and behaviors.
Berlin School Program | Team Project
- 1. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA February 3 - February 14 USA Module (Los Angeles | San Francisco) Berlin School of Creative Leadership President: Michael Conrad Academic Director: Prof. David Slocum Franklinstraße 15 – 10587 Berlin www.berlin-school.com
- 2. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA USA MODULE – February 3 – February 14 (UCLA/UC – Berkeley Campuses) The Common Room University of California – Anderson School of Management Team Project For The Berlin School of Creative Leadership (Co-designed with SpectrumDNA, Park City, Utah) BLUEPRINTING AN ENGINET The art and science of building successful programming for networked media (web, wireless, etc.) Technique over Technology
- 3. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA Networked Media and the Enginet Networked media is the class of media that boasts many-to-many connectivity between programmer and audience, and/or audience-and-audience. Networked media includes the web, wireless, peer-to-peer television and all manner of broadband internet. The most native of programming structures for networked media is the networked engine— the “enginetwork,” or simply “enginet.” An enginet is a functional framework of programming built around a kernel theme—trading, searching, genre of content, dating, dining, travel booking, etc—that engenders users to easily work in the service of the enginet owner (you), or in the service of themselves around the theme. SpectrumDNA has designed a *recipe* derived from market-proven programming that increases the probability of success in building these kinds of “engine” sites/services. “You can leave anything out, as long as you know what it is.” -- Ernest Hemingway What is an Enginet? As stated, an enginet is a “networked engine.” All the most popular sites on the internet are enginets of one kind or another—search engine (Google, Yahoo), publishing engine (any blog site), game engine (massively multiplayer online games), auction engine (eBay), freelance engine (elance.com), dating engine (match.com), social networking engine (friendster.com or linkedin.com), etc. An enginet is *not* a website; or, more accurately, a website is a very, very weak enginet. Most websites are simply print pages with text, graphics, photos and perhaps a few flash animations—a place where users can only “consumer”—read, watch, listen. Most web design is focused on user interface. It’s like a car designer focusing on dashboard design in creating automobiles, and ignoring how the engine and drive train are designed and built, or how people drive. An enginet is a combination of content, community, commerce and code that attracts, harnesses and cultivates a desired user behavior—dating, auctioning, freelancing, file swapping, searching, game playing, blogging, etc.
- 4. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA Producer Distributor Marketer Vendor Consumer Networked media provides for ways to expand the role of the user beyond that of just consumption. In networked media, programming design can engender users to take on other roles for us, or for themselves—to act as producers, distributors, marketers and vendors… all in addition to being a consumer! That’s what enginets should be designed for: to activate users into taking on one or more of these roles, and harness that behavior. More on that later in this paper. “Form” vs. “Function” What’s important here is that networked media are media where often function outweighs form. Whereas feature films and television shows rely heavily on form (story, image, sound, etc), the most popular websites in the world have been adopted as much (and sometimes *more*) for their function, not their form—those design elements that comprise “content.” Originally-Spartan sites like Yahoo and Google are famous for it. Craiglist.com has one of the most austere and under- designed sites in history, yet remains one of the most popular sites on the planet. “Social networking” sites are often actually *difficult* to use—that is, their design was/is sub-par by most design standards, yet their adoption spread like wildfire. Even simple-designed but user-empowering sites like habbohotel.com and neopets.com can attribute more of their success to what users can *do* than to what users see, hear, read, etc. The latter is important, but not more important than enabling user activities that *cannot* be enabled in any media other than networked media. Enginets offer users a function, and the form should *not* get in the way of that function. That is, the form of an enginet should be driven by its function, not the other way around. Furthermore, “form” will often be more important as it is applied to constituent parts of the enginet—content: that is, writing, animation, video production value, etc—but the overall enginet must be designed from a “function, then form” standpoint to gain maximum value from that content.
- 5. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA What is needed are by-design Enginet Blueprint plans for building a fully-functional and optimally-effective site—complete with flow-charts, diagrams, design mock-ups, storyboards, text descriptions, prototype code, etc. That is, it must be and can be complete enough to answer any questions an investor, supervisor or partner might have as to the purpose, function and look-and-feel of the enginet. Furthermore, Enginet Blueprints can be developed for existing websites looking to evolve into the more effective enginet form. What is the “Enginet Blueprint” plan? The “blueprint” details everything an Enginet does or will do, and everything it doesn’t or won’t do. That is, in words, pictures, diagrams, flow charts, prototype code and anything one needs to communicate about how the enginet is built—the function and form. Then choice subsets of which can be shared with investors, fellow creators, technology support, ad sales and other stakeholders in the success or support of your enginet. It especially focuses on the by-design nature target user’s experience. The team project will outline an Enginet Blueprint, describing: 1. Context (1-2 pages) What are the supposed theme, purpose and target demographics or psychographics for this enginet? Includes: Concept: This section should describe what your site/service is and does. This is the “elevator pitch.” It should provide the high-concept overview of what your enginet is intended to do—the “archetypal” or “resonant kernel” of behavior it seeks to harness. Behavior(s) Captured What is the behavior or set of behaviors you are looking to capture and nurture? This/these should be as archetypal and simple as possible. Stakeholders Institutions, individuals or groups of individuals who are being targeted, or conscripted into the service of the project. Target Audience Demographic and/or Psychographic
- 6. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA Summary: This section should provide a more in-depth overview of the overall function and purpose of the site. An executive or investor reading this should have a top-level snapshot of what the finished product will look like—version to version—how it would work and how it would make money (if that is the aim). 2. Programming Structure This is the section which provides detail of how your site/service will function, and how you will build it to engender that function. Remember: This is not an exercise in technology; it is an exercise in technique. That is, what good is building an enginet unless you’re building it for human beings? Don’t build because technology allows you to. You need to think through how this engine will be set up to get your target audience to interact, engage, contribute, etc. The first angle from which to consider your enginet is from the full definition of “programming”—content, community, commerce, code—employable in a networked media environment. a. Content These are the elements you will employ to engage the users’ senses: text, graphics, photos, 3D, sound, etc. b. Community These are the elements you will provide to allow users to connect with each other or with you (as the programmer/manager of the enginet). IM, blogs, email, chat rooms, user reviews, etc. c. Commerce These are the elements you will provide to allow users to engage in some exchange of value—buy things, sell things, trade things, act as a marketer for you (for some compensation, though not necessarily money), etc. Will you offer pay-per (view, play, download, etc) elements? Subscription? Auctions? Direct sale goods? Direct sales of bits? Or is it meant *not* to make a profit, but simply to engage users for some marketing strategy, or some altruistic mission?
- 7. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA There are a finite number of ways to make money in web and mobile wireless. You can go through each one and creatively apply it to your proposed enginet. Once imagined, prioritize them based on what can be done early in the life of the enginet, and do your best to ensure you’re not “painting yourself into a corner” with your code so that you don’t obviate the opportunity to turn on the other commerce elements down the road. d. Code These are the computer (or other device… mobile handset, PDA, etc) code elements of how you will design the site to allow the interaction with the enginet, as you intend it. Will it require a database? What will that database schema look like? Will you have it programmed in java, PHP, c++, PERL, etc.? Why would you choose one over another? You need to research the plusses and minuses of one choice over another. That’s the real world for a designer. This “code” is the method and structure through which you can execute all else you want the enginet to do. This is the section that will eventually be “mined” for a “minimum marketable feature set”—a subset of functionality that will be chosen to build into the first incarnation of the enginet. The MMFS should be buildable within 6-12 weeks. 3. Audience Activation (Turning on the Be-bits) Determine and describe how your enginet does or does not turn on the five be-bits (“behavioral bits”): producer, distributor, marketer, vendor or consumer. The enginet does not *have* to turn all on, but you should be making the choices consciously. If you can turn on more than one user be-bit, you should take advantage. Remember: one of the main uses of any enginet is to activate other modes in a target audience than just the consumer mode. That is, your target user is acting only as a consumer if they are listening, reading, watching… *even* if they are clicking through your site—that is, interacting. Most websites are built primarily for a consumer function—watching, reading, clicking, playing, etc. Even if a website is “interactive,” it may not be “networked.” That is, enabling users to take on peer-to-peer functions that go beyond bi-directional interaction. By their very nature, Enginets are designed to harness other behavior in a target audience—to act as producer, distributor, marketer, vendor/exhibitor *or* consumer in a framework of other users.
- 8. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA The potential roles in which you may want to activate users are infinite. We big them as follows, in the roles of the classic industrial supply chain: a. Producer How are you enabling and compelling your target audience to *make* programming for you… on their own? Examples: if they are blogging, they are making text. If they are posting items for sale, they are making text and graphics and offering goods… through your enginet. eBay doesn’t manufacture auction postings; they have provided an enginet that allows users to do it for themselves—their users are the ones *producing* auction postings. How does your enginet get the audience to contribute to your site? For you, or for themselves. b. Distributor How does your enginet provide for the audience to either distribute on *your* behalf, or distribute for themselves. This could apply to distribution of information, software, or physical items. c. Marketer How does your enginet provide for the audience to *spread the word*? That is, they could be spreading the word for you, or spreading the word for themselves. It depends on the purpose of your enginet. Often, both are achieved. For example, linkedin.com provides an enginet that allows me to tell my business colleagues to join the social networking site and broaden our collective network, but in doing so markets linkedin.com, the enginet, too. d. Vendor/Marketing Are you providing ways for users to act as a seller or exhibitor? To offer product, programming, advice, etc. in return for some exchange of value. Mostly, this relates to exchange of money from one audience member (buyer) to another (seller), but actual monetary compensation is not critical in allowing your audience to activate their vendor bit. Remember, even a blogger is a vendor of sorts. It depends on what they define as “value.” That is, some bloggers find enough reward in just having people visit their blog, while others see value in getting others to incorporate their blog into other, larger sites through techniques like RSS (XML) syndication models.
- 9. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA e. Consumer How will your audience members be able to engage as in watching, playing, listening, reading, etc. What will they get to do for free? What activities will cost them? 4. Target Demographic and User Motivation Another goal of any enginet is to: 1. Connect with a target audience; and 2. Maximize Reach, Frequency and Depth of Session with that audience. A target audience ranges from niche like Indonesian food enthusiasts to the broadest of audiences, like entire world of auction enthusiasts. Regardless, understanding the nature of user, and their range of sophistication in site usage, is important. Reach, Frequency and Depth are measure of how many users come, how often they come and how long they stay. Sometimes called three-dimensional programming, it’s different than traditional periodic day-and-date programming like daily newspapers, weekly television shows or monthly magazines. The latter, by necessity, have fixed intervals in which programming is released, and fixed/limited programming lengths— number of words, number of minutes, etc. For a well-crafted networked engine on the Internet, as many users as possible can come, as often as they like and stay if they like, all determined by how well the engine/site is programmed. Reach is a measure of unduplicated users coming during a specific time—daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. It’s the best measure of audience *size*. Frequency is a measure of how often those individual users come—twice a day, once a week, or in fits-and-starts based on the users’ needs and the type of enginet you’ve built. Depth is a measure of how long they stay. How do we garner reach, frequency and depth? (1) By building a compelling mix of content, community, commerce and code; (2) By activating as many be-bits as possible, relevant to the enginet’s purpose; and, finally, by (3) Motivating the user-base by activating as many of the basic human motivational factors as possible. Those factors are: Society, Compensation, Utility, Fear, Addiction, Diversion, Ego and Superego. Note: a good acronym mnemonic—
- 10. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA “Skilled Cooks Use a Few Aromatic Dishes to Entertain Strangers” a. Society Allowing users to connect with each other—create communities of interest—in the context of whatever purpose the enginet serves. Examples: JDate.com (Jewish dating site), (business or personal) social networking sites, massively multiplayer games, etc. How will you turn on users’ natural inclination to connect with others, or express their individuality as compared to others in your enginet’s community of interest? b. Compensation Compensation is simply that: compensating the user with some value in return for performing some action or service. Will your enginet provide ways for which users can be compensated for their actions? Will you allow them to put up a “store” of sorts? Sell advice? Trade? Auction? Earn points that can be redeemed for real value? Start a virtual business where they can earn virtual currency that they can use within the virtual world the enginet creates (like many MMOGs do)? c. Utility How does your enginet provide the user with utility, if at all? d. Fear Do you employ the dynamic of “fear” in your enginet design? eBay allows users to set up alerts as to whether they’re winning or losing an auction, causing many auction enthusiasts to spend the half-hour glued to the computer screen for fear of losing that auction. Moveon.org provides an enginet that allows users to easily voice their opinion/vote/influence with their political representatives, for fear of some law or other action be taken against their wishes. e. Addiction Many sites—eBay and Neopets included—find ways to get their users addicted to their service, product or programming. Not a new dynamic in the world, but
- 11. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA one that is very powerful and a great motivator for getting users to your site more often and for longer periods. How might your site be addictive, if at all? f. Diversion How is your enginet entertaining? Why would someone spend their leisure time using it? g. Ego How does your enginet satisfy or stroke the ego of the user? h. Superego This relates to a user’s “value system,” not their self-gratification. It’s how they feel about their politics, about their culture, about humanity, the environment, about a disease from which their mother suffered, about religion… about things bigger than themselves. This is a powerful motivator and should be consciously employed. What kinds of value systems are embodied by your enginet? Does it embody a certain culture, religion, empathy or way of thinking that draws users, and works to keep them coming back? 5. Marketplace Differentiation The internet (and related media) is the “great commoditizer.” Because there is no physical distance, it becomes harder and harder to keep one site differentiated from another—to maintain a competitive advantage. Online retail sites are famous for this— with sites like froogle.com and pricegrabber.com, a user can search once for the cheapest price for a given product, finding dozens of sites from which to comparison shop at one time. Yet sites like Amazon.com remain atop the heap. Why? There are a handful of differentiators that cannot be commoditized, and that programmers of networked media should keep in mind when designing and building enginets of any kind—whether simple retail engines or full-blown trading posts. There are eight differentiators:
- 12. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA a. Customer Service Providing a top-notch user experience at all levels has consistently been a differentiator online and offline. Dell has done it. Amazon has done it. Elance.com has done it. eBay has done it. Remember, customer service in networked media does *not* always mean “talk to the programmer.” It can be as simple as providing the customer the ability to give their opinion of another user, public feedback on the function of the enginet, etc. Customer service can range to anything that gives the customer a voice, and listening to it. How is the enginet built to service the customer? How might it do this differently than similar sites? b. Community of Interest Once a community starts to build, it self-perpetuates. It’s one of the reasons eBay is still the largest auction site on the entire web. It’s not that building an auction engine is difficult, it’s that for enginets that require a critical mass of users (auctions, trading sites, job sites, dating sites, etc) the larger the community of interest, the better the chance you have of differentiating your enginet from others. Furthermore, the community-of-interest does not have to be a commercially- minded community to be a differentiator. There are uncountable topics around which communities aggregate—religion, politics, heritage, family, school, work, hobbies, sports, etc. Designing an enginet that does that most effectively— engender community—will ultimately be a boon to the enginet programmers. How will you engender community? Have you thought about the ways in which you’ll attract and build this community? c. Exclusivity Anything that is unique to a enginet will be a competitive differentiator. This can apply to patented technology, or the presence of exclusive bits of programming—behind-the-scenes movie footage, one-time live chat with a big star, exclusive release of a new song, etc. What might you have exclusively in your enginet?
- 13. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA d. Personality This is most often related to “brand,” but it goes beyond that. Nike has a brand—a unique identity; but Yahoo, Google, eBay, etc arguably have a fuller personality—how we interact with them, how they “behave” is unique… a differentiator, if done well. Thinking about networked engines as having personalities (as opposed to simply a “brand,” which it should have as well) will help you differentiate your efforts. What will the personality of your enginet be like? Do you have a strong brand strategy? That is, a way to make the name, form and/or function different from any others in networked media? e. Entertainment Engaging the attention of others is a much-sought-after skill. How do we capture their attention, and nurture their loyalty and trust? How will you keep your audience diverted to your enginet? f. Marketing This is always a competitive differentiator. However, we need to look at it from two angles - (1) offline marketing; and (2) online marketing. Furthermore, you need to consider whether you can afford to spread the word via (a) top-down broadcast-oriented, yell-from-the-top-of-the-mountain type marketing, or (b) more clever, guerilla-style, word-of-mouth or word-of-mouse type marketing. How do you propose to market your enginet (1) offline; and (2) online. g. First-In Is there anyone else in the marketplace offering a similar enginet? Are you first? Talk about how this is the first of its kind, if it is. h. Last Standing Discuss the resources—especially manpower (be specific)—you’d need to build and manage this enginet on an ongoing basis. Summarize how your site will differentiate itself from other sites on the internet. That is, how will your enginet be unique?
- 14. Franklinstrasse 15, 10587 Berlin, Germany / +49 30 397 43 603Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA A brief (1-page maximum) preliminary description of the venture will be due. It should contain a concise description of the basic idea and why the team feels it’s promising. All team members should be identified. Substantiation of the idea, or definition of the business model, are not expected at this stage and should be deferred. Written comments will be returned prior to class time, the following week. Please submit all written material in Word, and I will return all comments using the “track changes feature” in a copy of the submission. Preliminary team presentations for feedback and comments from the class, faculty and industry practitioners (off-line). These sessions are intended to offer the opportunity to test ideas and presentation elements in advance, presenting to each other, faculty and entrepreneurs for additional feedback and giving teams the first opportunity to defend ideas under scrutiny. Preliminary pitch/feedback sessions will be scheduled outside of class hours only if needed. Groups will need to work with the Course Instructor to schedule these sessions so the time is used effectively.