All Together Now: How UX Fuels and Engages Online Communities

Agenda:

• 8:30-9am: Breakfast & Networking

• 9:15 – 9:45am: Presentation by Jenny Sun

• 9:45-10am: Q&A

Topic: All Together Now: How UX Fuels and Engages Online Communities

What’s in an online community? It’s more than you think. From sharing knowledge to organizing events, “lurking” to influencing, everyone wants to be heard online — and no one wants to be left behind.

But somewhere between online communities and social networks, there’s always been a grey area that plagues UX designers. A misunderstanding of a community’s united purpose, shared goals, and methods of sharing information can set the stage for communication nightmares, or even worse, abandonment. In this case study turned case story, we’ll analyze one of the country’s largest volunteer groups to understand the unique UX challenges, risks, and opportunities to building active online communities that thrive, rather than fizzle out.

In this talk, Jenny will be discussing:

• How online communities can leverage natural behaviors, motivations, and sharing habits to form knowledgable networks

• Methods for story-mining information from stakeholders and users that enlightens the design process

• Belonging, and the psychology of building online community engagement

• Why it’s important to start simple and introduce advanced features slowly, and how iteration influences longterm business strategies

Presenter: Jenny Sun — User Experience Lead at Field, UX instructor, Cranky Talk alumni, wander luster & vegetable lover (@SunSilvestri )

Jenny Sun believes that exceptional experiences begin with a burning desire to simplify meaningful connections between businesses and their communities. She is the co-founder of Field, an Atlanta based user experience design consultancy focused on user research, product strategy, and experience design.

In her 10+ years working alongside Fortune 500 clients, Jenny has helped organizations meet their customers’ unique needs, encourage internal collaboration, and imagine a future-forward vision through hands-on design processes that unite innovation with grace. She has emerged as a leader in her field, teaching students at the Creative Circus and contributing to the local UX community. Jenny is an advocate of user-first experiences that not only maximize – but optimize – each brand’s reach to illuminate a larger sense of purpose.