ThinkBalm Storytelling Series Issue #3: How To Give New Users A Good First Experience
by Erica Driver and Sam Driver.
One of the most significant barriers to adoption of the Immersive Internet at work is a steep learning curve exacerbated by what is all too often a often a poor first-time experience. Many peoples’ early forays into virtual
Click this image to read or download the report in PDF format.
worlds and other immersive environments are tainted by technology and user experience issues. No matter which platform an organization uses, a newcomer training program is required. Training is the key to the success of a newcomer’s early experiences in immersive environments.
Members of the ThinkBalm Innovation Community have been putting our heads together to illuminate challenges and identify solutions to enterprise Immersive Internet problems since the community was launched in August of 2008. We discuss. We experiment. And on January, 9th, 2009, fourteen community members got together for a 90-minute role-playing session to 1) focus on what the newcomer experience is like and how to improve it, and 2) document our collective expertise.
We held the session in an immersive environment that was unfamiliar to most participants: Qwaq Forums, a business-oriented immersive platform for document and process collaboration. ThinkBalm principals Erica Driver and Sam Driver and ThinkBalm Innovation Community member Cherisa Burk, a technologist with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, were already familiar with Qwaq Forums and played the role of “tour guides” (trainers). The tour guides were tasked with giving the rest of the participants, who played the role of newcomers (sometimes called newbies), the best introductory experience possible.
With the help of nine ThinkBalm Innovation Community members who attended this role-playing session — Cherisa Burk, Christopher Bishop, Darius Clarke, Ehsan Ehsani, Gina Schreck, John Kinsella, Julie Fogg, Leslie Pagel, and Ron Teitelbaum — we wrote ThinkBalm’s third issue in the Immersive Internet Storytelling Series, titled “How To Give New Users A Good First Experience.” For a PDF of the report click this link or click the image of the article’s cover above.
© 2009 ThinkBalm. All rights reserved.
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This was actually quite timely and I was pleased to read most of it confirms other discussions involving first-timers, greeting, others. Thanks, as always, for distilling the core ideas into a business-consumable format. These themes and realities have been around for years now, but seeing them presented this way is encouraging.
This was timely for me. With the election of a new IBM Virtual Universe Community guild master (mistress) IBM is currently enjoying a renewed focus on the VUC greeter/outreach initiatives within the company, something that has been near to my heart for a long time (see beginner video tutorials at http://imohax.com/heyavatar). Thinking about this outreach is clearly important to any company pondering business use of virtual worlds.
One addition I would like to have read more about is how the choice of platform for anyone new to virtual worlds should include consideration of user longevity. One key component I have observed that differentiates those that stay from those that play a bit and leave is finding that connection, that core interest, or community.
The larger platforms, such as Second Life, provide the best opportunity for those new to make a personal connection with something of specific interest. Over time, that adopter’s ability and openness to other platforms and worlds tends to open to their benefit and that of the company.
I personally believe it is a mistake to introduce beginners to a closed ‘walled-garden’ virtual world that does not include the possibility for those beginners to explore for themselves outside those protected walls once they are ready. Private islands and business islands along with guided onboarding to avoid problems have proven successful approaches well before and including IBM’s recently publicized success with the Academy of Technology.
I look forward to participating in this conversation more as we ramp up our VUC outreach program. Thanks again.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Mo. I’m glad you found the report to be helpful. The technology selection issue is a *huge* one — one that we will write more about in the future. The main criterion that would impact whether an organization should implement a “walled garden” is their use case. If it’s an immersive learning environment designed to teach drug reps how to sell to busy doctors, or to teach truck drivers how to drive big rigs, a walled garden may be fine. Also, security and privacy concerns, and ease of use, are other factors. Keep the great comments coming!