Interview with Michael Wilson - CEO, Small World Labs (Part I)

Our latest interviewee has spearheaded the introduction of social networking to associations worldwide at a professional level. Small World products enable membership bodies to positively encourage social interaction between members - and with the organisation. (to be continued in February)

1) What inspired the creation of Small World Labs?

Growing up with two deaf parents, I witnessed early the impact that our social networks have on the information and opinions we have access to, the behaviors we exhibit, and ultimately the decisions we make. Because of linguistic barriers, my parents had very limited social networks and as a result very limited access to the experiences and recommendations of others. Shortly after the Web launched commercially in 1994, my father, a database programmer for the United States government, began using the early chat rooms and online forums that were available then. Through these early components of social media, my father finally had access to the word of mouth information that many of us take for granted and it had a significant impact on him. As a graduate of Yale University, I had access to Facebook when it was still only at only five universities. I admired the level of the activity that was occurring on Facebook, but wanted to create a more community-oriented platform that could be tailored to help specific groups and organizations (like those my father was a member of). That’s why I created Small World Labs.

2) How does Small World differ from, say, Facebook or Linked-In?

We are very different. Facebook and LinkedIn are social networks but really operate as media properties. They are destinations and they have been built for what Facebook and LinkedIn think are important to Facebook and LinkedIn. Small World Labs has created an online community platform that includes many of the features in Facebook and LinkedIn, but also other more collaborative features (e.g, forums, ratings & reviews, and file sharing) to help create a stronger sense of community. We create professional networks for our clients. We don’t create our own, as Facebook and LinkedIn have.

3) Why do you believe non-profits need “online community”?

Online communities thrive on the strong affinity (likeness) between members. Non-profits are true communities of purpose, and as such already benefit from the strong affinity between their members. However, non-profits are struggling to remain relevant to their members and supporters. In today’s day and age, it is increasingly important to be able to connect with your constituents on their time and their schedule. Online communities enable this.

4) How do community user demographics differ from the wider member universe?

This is an interesting question. You would think that community users would skew dramatically to the younger end of the spectrum. However, we have found that membership in our online communities tend to “closely” resemble the demographics of the parent non-profit. The biggest difference is in expectations. Younger members expect their organizations to have an online professional network.

5) How can Small World social media tools help maintain control of the organisation’s brand online?

If you create a presence on a 3rd party social network, you:
a) Are limited to the toolsets they provide you
b) Relinquish your member’s personally identifiable information (PII) to the network (this can be a big problem for most established organizations)
c) Give up control of your environment. There are dozens and dozens of copycat accounts, fan pages, or groups on third party social networks for every “true and authorized” account. This makes it very difficult for your members to determine which account or group they should join or become associated with and creates unnecessary noise around your branding.

Small World Labs creates communities that are tailored in feature, functionality, and purpose for each of our clients. In addition, the professional networks we create for our clients are always branded with their identities. These are their social networks, not ours. This leads to an online community experience that is much more authentic to a non-profit’s members and one that is also more under their own control.

6) How do you monitor system usage?

Our clients own all the data on their social networks. We provide website analytics with all of our communities as well as the ability for our client’s administrators to download user information. We also provide tools for proactive or reactive moderation and account suspension, so that our clients are aware of what is happening on their community and can take action, if necessary. That said, we have found that people generally overestimate the requirements for moderation as most social networks tend to police themselves fairly well.

7) How easily can professional organisations wean their members off public sites?

I don’t think that professional organizations will “wean” their members off of public sites. I think what will happen is that professional organization will create an online experience that makes them relevant and worthy of the mindshare of their constituents. People will still use Facebook to communicate with family and friends. However, the opportunity is for each organization to create an online experience that connects and energizes their particular constituent base.

(to be continued)

Small World Labs