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Cut&Paste 2009 Digital Design Tournament

It’s that time again. The Call for Competitors is open for entries! Got skills in 2D, 3D, or Motion? You could be one of the designers selected to represent London in fast-paced, single-elimination rounds, each with a unique design theme and set time limit.

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Easy Listening: Radio and the Web

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The Rise and Rise of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

‘Word-of-mouth’ marketing is set to become big business in 2009, according to industry analysts. NMK spoke to one analytical firm helping a number of firms maximise their word-of-mouth potential and therefore react quickly to changing market demands.

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Blogs versus Forums

Have blogs been over-rated? David Crane of 23 argues that businesses might do better to pay closer attention to the humble forum rather than jump straight into the trendiest new format.

Have blogs been over-rated? David Crane of 23 argues that businesses might do better to pay closer attention to the humble forum rather than jump straight into the trendiest new format.

NMK: So are you sceptical about blogs and other new approaches?

DC: Not really; I'm just an advocate for forums. Forums contain considerably more content than blogs. It's estimated by Intelliseek [now Nielsen Buzz Metrics] that in 2006, 252 million comments were posted to blogs. On forums, on the other hand, 1.5 million posts were created. If you're looking for information about almost any subject, or about your brand, then there will be a lot more information on forums than there is on blogs.

Put it this way, if I want the answer to a question - 'what's a good laptop' or 'where should I stay in this city?' - then I won't bother with blogs; I'll go to a forum, because I know I'll get a variety of well-researched, expert opinions.

NMK: But blog posts require some element of consideration before posting compared to forums, don't they? What about the quality of the information?

DC: When people take part in forums, it's often because they have a deep knowledge of the subject in question, they're keen to share that knowledge and understanding, and very often, they're looking for recognition and admiration as an expert in the field. We also have a fundamental desire to help other people and forums are a great method to allow us to do that.

For this reason, when people post a response to a question or get involved in a debate, they're keen to represent themselves as experts and so put a lot of care and attention into their posts. Forums are so public and open to inspection that if you're not an expert, you'll get found out, and that's very embarassing.

NMK: So what are blogs good for, then?

DC: They're great for finding the opinions of influential individuals. But if you want some more of the debate, to see more of the 'to-ing and fro-ing', then I still feel that forums may have more to offer. While blog posts offer comments, it's quite a top-down hierarchy over which the blog owner holds sway. I think that means there's less conversation.

One example would be the 'Dell Hell' controversy. The blogger Jeff Jarvis created a lot of controversy and momentum over his difficulties with Dell customer service. If you were a prospective customer, researching Dell, then you'd find his posts quite quickly through Google and come away with a very negative opinion of the company very quickly. If you went to a forum to do that research, though, you'd be able to see a much wider range of opinions and might discover that the balance of opinion was actually in the other direction.

NMK: So should brands use forums or blogs for communicating with customers?

DC: It really depends on their needs. In terms of gauging their customers and conversations, then I would say forums. On the other hand, blogs can be used very successfully to put out company information in a less reverant and informal way.

NMK: I've seen a lot of forums that were very angry and negative...

DC: That can happen. However, what you tend to find is that forums like that tend to die out fairly quickly. Forums need fresh blood on a regular basis and so the regulars - the people who want to protect the space and see it thrive - will welcome new members and help them get what they need.

Successful forums have matured over time. They have moderators and flood controls to prevent spam. They know not to 'feed the trolls' by answering the angry and inflammatory posts that are written purely to annoy others.

NMK: If forums are so popular and well loved, then why does Usenet appear to be dying off?

DC: That's purely because of spam. Usenet doesn't have any controls on that through its very design, and spammers have seen fit to post so frequently and in such volume that it destroys the hope of being able to have any conversation whatsoever. That isn't true of professionally created and well-run forums.

David Crane is MD of 23, which started life as NooMedia in 1995: one of the first web design agencies in the UK, providing design, consultancy, hosting, scripting, programming, animation, database, marketing and search engine services.