Attempting to Decode The Working Network

November 22, 2005 · Comments

in unsorted

Clarity of purpose is paramount, whether your rolling out a marketing promotion, new product feature, or social networking tool. So when I came across The Working Network, a community site/blog from the Windows Server Community Team at Microsoft, I got completely confused. Having read their explanations, I’m now starting to get it - it’s the seed of a cool idea, but this one definitely needs some clarification right up front, page one.

The core of the site is the OPML-o-mater. It is, simply, a way to tag RSS feeds by subject (say, “Active Directory” or “ADO.NET”), and group them together as an OPML for download. It’s a nice attempt at providing a quick guide to blogs and feeds that cover select topics, and subscribe en masse. For those who don’t know where to start, and either don’t know about Technorati/Feedster/etc., don’t want to bother with sorting through all the search results, or don’t have a way of understanding what subjects those blogs consistently discuss - this looks like a cool attempt at providing a simple, structured, introduction.

I do like the heirarchical tagging that enables a more fine grained mapping of feeds to your interest. I also like the very simple “Generate OPML” button. This whole concept in fact is one I’ve been arguing we need to implement internally to make blog/feedreading more accessible to marketers at Microsoft. Charge PR and CMG Research with identifying key blogs of influencers in select spaces, and developing and refining search feeds to track the Long Tail (buzzword bingo!). Wrap them in a range of OPML’s that map to product teams and marketing initiatives, update and refine regularly (SSE might play here from what I know of it), and go.

So the core idea is one I love. But understanding that takes knowledge of RSS and OPML, which begs the question for the folks behind The Working Network:

Who is your intended audience? If you are designing for the Web2-savvy, you need to get much crisper on the home page about OPML-o-mater. Go right to the point, don’t dally on grand aspirations. The service is cool and fairly unique online, brag about it straight away. If the audience however is newcomers to RSS and OPML, the site doesn’t provide the “for dummies” explanation it needs to be accessible nd not intimidating.

Sweet idea, but scrap the wandering musings about social tools and get right to the point.

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    Your comments are right on target Kevin. We knew from at the outset that the subject was difficult for the unitiated and simplistic for the existing vanguard. Foolish though it may be, we decided to walk that line -- thick, dashed, dotted, many hued, or whatever it may be, or turn out to be.

    Truth is, we felt we'd have several months well under anyone's radar to get the message, and its presentation, right. Seems we underestimated the effectiveness of the channel. However, we are listening and continue to evolve the site to address the very issues you've pointed out.

    For instance, we've already done a little work on the landing page. I'm buiding a FAQ, and doing a video version of it, that should be up and posted before Christmas. I think we'll also get a screencast up and running that introduces the site and highlights a few of the things you can find there. We're running as fast as we can to clarify the value proposition and the how-to content, and to employ as many mediums, and as many learning styles, as we can.

    To answer your question regarding target audience directly, we're targeting Microsoft IT Professionals. That's not as general as it might sound given that very few of our IT pros are involved in blogging and tagging activities and therefore have similar needs.

    Don't be bashful Kevin. If you've a better way to phrase something, feel free to pass it along. I can use all the help I can get.

    Thanks.
 

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