Building engaged, sustainable online

This is the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the following source: Swift, Adam Glen & Nitins, Tanya (2011) Building engaged, sustainable online communities : a case study of an adventure travel website. In Kamalipour, Yahya R. (Ed.) Proceedings of the 5th GCA Conference : Global Power Shifts : Impact on Economy, Politics, Culture and Media, Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumper. (In Press) This file was downloaded from: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/46902/

c Copyright 2011 [please consult the author]

Notice: Changes introduced as a result of publishing processes such as copy-editing and formatting may not be reflected in this document. For a definitive version of this work, please refer to the published source:

BUILDING ENGAGED, SUSTAINABLE ONLINE COMMUNITIES: A CASE STUDY OF AN ADVENTURE TRAVEL WEBSITE Dr Adam Swift and Dr Tanya Nitins, Queensland University of Technology ABSTRACT This paper will provide an overview of a join research initiative being developed by the Queensland University of Technology in conjunction with the Australian Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre in relation to the development and analysis of online communities. The intention of this project is to initially create an exciting and innovative web space around the concept of adventure travel and then to analyse the level of user engagement to uncover possible patterns and processes that could be used in the future development of other virtual online communities.

Travel websites are not a new concept and there are many successful examples currently operating and generating profit. The intention of the QUT/Smart Services CRC project is to analyse the site metrics to determine the following: what specific conditions/parameters are required to foster a growing and engaged virtual community; when does the shift occur from external moderation to a more sustainable system of self-moderation within the online community; Adam Swift Email: a.swift@qut.edu.au Address: Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, 4059, Brisbane Australia Tanya Nitins Email: tanya.nitins@qut.edu.au Address: Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, 4059, Brisbane Australia

when do users begin to take ownership of a site and take an invested interested in the content and growth of an online community; and how to retain active contributors

and

high-impact

power

users

on

a

long-term

basis.

With the travel website rapidly approaching release, this paper begins the process of reflection, outlining the process undertaken and the findings so far aggregated whilst also positioning the project within the greater context of current online user participation and user generated content research.

KEYWORDS: travel journalism; social networks; online communities; usergenerated content

1. Introduction The Staywild project was formed in late 2010 as a Queensland University of Technology and Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) initiative to develop an online community website in conjunction with aligned research and analysis. The project was designed to experiment with innovative community building, specifically through the development of “lightweight” online sites that use only “off the shelf” software and at minimal cost. The emphasis would be on user-generated and online community contributions of content, based on disruptive innovation to established online media practices. Emulating the notion of the “bedroom/garage” based online start-up or “skunkworks”, development of the site would occur outside of and beyond the constraints of the usual parameters of commercial media institutions, rather than simply acting as an adjunct to print media. In addition, by using the experimental website as a platform, additional research would be undertaken around such topics as low-cost promotion, gamification, collaborative editing and content co-creation, sustainable community development and indicators of qualitative [Type text]

motivation and experience participation. Target applications for this research include partnerships with Media companies, SME’s, Start-ups, Government Departments, Universities, Student Bodies, Industry Associations, and NFPs. This paper provides an overview of the process so far undertaken in the Staywild project and, in doing so, begins the process of reflection, outlining the findings so far aggregated and positioning the project within the greater context of current online user participation and user generated content research.

2. Defining online communities A pivotal component of this research project centres around understanding the dynamics of how online communities operate. Of particular interest is trying to decipher the specific characteristics and/or functions that determine which online communities become successful, self-sustaining, high productive and potentially commercial entities. According to Preece (in Beck 2007, 6), there are four key characteristics that typically underpin all successful online communities: people, purpose, policies, and computer systems. A vibrant online community needs a committed, passionate group of people at the heart of the community who regularly contribute content and commentary on the site. These people will tend to be bound by a particular purpose – “an interest, need, information exchange, or service that provides a reason for the community” (Beck 2007, 6). To provide structure to the community, there also must be certain rules and policies in place governing how the community operates and how interactions between members occur. Finally, “the underlying software or user-interface of an online community is a prerequisite for the other aspects and should support all facets of community life” (Beck 2007, 7-8). Understanding and studying all four aspects will be vitally important to this project, in order to determine whether these qualities can be easily duplicated or whether these characteristics develop more organically and cannot be [Type text]

reproduced.

According to Hagel and Armstrong (1997, 119), the online communities that tend to be based more around the consumer/end user can be divided into three main categories – geographic based, demographic based and topical based. Geographic online communities are based around specific physical locations and places “in which all the community’s participants have a common interest – generally because they are physically located there” (Hagel & Armstrong 1997,

119).

Some

examples

include

the

Community

of

Sweden

(www.communityofsweden.com/forum/), City of Sydney (http://sydneyyoursay.com.au) and Malaysia’s largest online community, Lowyat (www.lowyat.net). Demographic online communities are more focused on topics such as life stages (weddings, parenting), gender, sexual orientation and ethnic heritage. An example of a highly successful demographic online community is Essential Baby (www.essentialbaby.com.com – Australia’s largest online community focused on parenting and pregnancy. So successful was the community that it has now evolved from a small start-up forum to a commercial website, now owned and operated

by Fairfax Digital.

The final category is topical based communities which focus on specific “topics of interest...and include communities focused on hobbies and past times” (Hagel & Armstrong 1997, 120). These include travel forums such as Trip Advisor (www.tripadvisor.com), worldwide gaming forum SK-Gaming (www.sk-gaming.com), and an online forum for coffee lovers Barista Exchange (www.baristaexchange.com). As Staywild will not be based on one specific location, nor will focus primarily on demographic topics, it will be an example of this third type of online community.

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3. Why a Travel Community?

The project has operated on the assumption that any particular community of interest may be supported via a social network site, and initial opportunities identified for the ‘Skunkworks’ project included niches around politics, education, community, identity, music, arts, sport, and health and wellbeing. Drawing on earlier work for the 2010 Smart Services CRC New Media Services WP03 Establishing Digital Communities, lead by Dr Axel Bruns from QUT, adventure travel and tourism was identified as a suitable niche community, particularly as it is an underserved market in terms of non-commercial media platforms.

The significant rise in the success and popularity of online travel communities offers interesting insights into issues of consumer trust and corporate reliability, especially in relation to the comparison of more traditional forms of sponsored travel journalism with usergenerated content and feedback. Considerable research has already been undertaken on the implications of the shift to online news consumption for journalism cultures and practices (Allen 2006; Deuze 2006, 2009; Domingo, 2008), user participation and interactivity (Fortunati 2009; Fenton 2010), media political economy and the public sphere (McNair 2006; Mosco 2009), the possibilities for new voices and alternative forms of journalism to evolve and flourish (Bruns 2008; Atton & Hamilton 2008), as well as the rise of citizen journalism (Allen 2009; Flew 2007, 2009; Flew and Wilson 2010).

However within this space, scant attention has been directed towards the state of traditional travel journalism, and the impact new forms of participative media practices and social production are having therein. This is not surprising given that travel journalism per se does not receive the attention and critique investigative journalism, political journalism, and news journalism often do. Even within media, communications and journalism studies, travel [Type text]

journalism – when not linked to discussions surrounding promotional strategies within marketing, advertising and public relations – has historically been considered a “frivolous topic, not worthy of serious research” (Fürsich & Kavoori 2009, 189), while the consumption of travel journalism and the activities of tourism itself have been deemed recreational and private activities devoid of public relevance and social/political meaning (Fürsich 2002, 2003; Fürsich & Kavoori 2001, 2009; Hanusch 2009, 2010, 2011). The role travel journalism plays in forming consumer decisions regarding recreational and leisure activities has an economic, social and cultural impact that has been understudied. It is only recently that authors such as Cocking (2009), Hanusch (2009, 2010, 2011), Hill-James (2006), McGaurr (2010), Santos (2004), and Pan and Ryan (2007) have shown travel journalism to be an object worthy of greater critique, highlighting the role travel journalism plays in the economic, cultural and ideological dimensions of globalisation and trans-cultural encounters. As many of these investigations tend to follow established norms for qualitative analysis of foreign news journalism (Hanusch 2011, 23), gaps within the research can be readily identified.

Travel journalism now ranges from the traditional travel section nestled within the weekend ‘lifestyle’ pages of most major national and regional newspapers, to a substantial number of general and specialised travel magazines and broadcast media travel and lifestyle programs.

The last twenty years has also seen the Internet emerge as a highly successful outlet for tourism and travel-related information and services, particularly in promotion, product distribution,

communication,

management,

and

travel

destination-based

research

(Schmallengger & Carson 2007). Indeed, travel sites offering online services and travel related information pages are among the most accessed websites on the Internet (Pan, MacLaurin & Crotts 2007; Werthner & Ricci 2005). In 2005, approximately 78 percent of global travellers logged online for travel-related information, with more than 75 percent of

[Type text]

these travellers making bookings and reservations (Milligan 2006), ranking tourism as the number one industry in terms of unique online transactions (Werhter & Ricci 2005).

The impact that Web 2.0 applications and User-Generated Content (UGC) has had on previous generations of internet-based applications and forms of online journalism has been well documented (Allen 2009; Atton & Hamilton 2008; Benkler 2006; Bruns 2008; Flew 2007, 2009; Flew and Wilson 2010; Jenkins 2006; OECD 2007). Less documented, but of equal impact, has been the influence Web 2.0 has had on travel journalism. Web 2.0 applications have dramatically expanded the scope for citizens to engage in practices of public communication that are synonymous with journalism, whether it be through blogging, citizen journalism, reviews, or other means. And the myriad forms of online participation and engagement through a plethora of Web 2.0 and social media sites mean that travel journalists too must now compete for attention in a much noisier, more open and interactive environment than was previously the case. Sometimes referred to as “Travel 2.0” (Schmallegger & Carson 2008, 100) or “word of mouse” (Volo 2010, 297), UGC websites are rapidly incorporating “new technologies such as media and content syndication (RSSfeeds), mash-ups, AJAX [web application development], tagging, wikis, webforums and message boards, customer ratings and evaluation systems, virtual community games (for example Second Life), podcasting, blogs and online videos (vlogs)” (Schmallegger & Carson 2008, 100). And with increasing numbers of consumers relying on online opinions for everyday purchase decisions (Mack, Blose & Pan 2008), traditional forms of travel journalism must compete with websites offering consumer opinions, recommendations, and reviews on a range of destinations and tourism products.

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Recent research has shown that the increase in the number of websites dedicated to user generated tourism recommendations and ratings has had a significant impact on travel and tourism industries worldwide. UGC websites are estimated to have influenced “US$10 billion a year in online travel bookings”, with over 20 percent of consumers now solely relying on UGC sites when planning trips (Schmallegger & Carson 2008, 100). In addition, a survey of 1480 people conducted on behalf of Travel Advisor.com in 2007 found the following statistics (Gretzel, Yoo & Purifoy 2007):

 92 percent of respondents used the internet to plan trips by reading comments and materials posted by other consumers

 82.7 percent used the internet to download related travel maps and/or directions  64.2 percent read travel-related blogs  59.9 percent used the internet to request printed materials and/or brochures

For consumers searching for information, the value of UGC websites comes from a “higher perceived credibility of consumer opinions as compared to traditional tourist information sources” (Schmallegger & Carson 2008, 100). While sometimes perceived to be more biased or carrying a commercial agenda, these sites are still seen to have more “detailed and relevant information” overall (Gretzel et al. 2007), and the likeliness of more up-to-date information than that available through official travel service providers. Content generally relates to general topics such as climate, cuisine, and transport and can range from general descriptions about destinations, attractions and activities, to more exacting specifics on accommodation, restaurants and service quality (Schmallegger & Carson 2008, 102). In terms of ratings and reviews, Gretel, Yoo and Purifoy’s 2007 survey for Travel Advisor.com showed: 

77.9 percent of respondents found online reviews “extremely or very important for deciding where to stay”

[Type text]



33.6 percent for “where to eat”



32.5 percent for “what to do”



27 percent for “where to go”



26.6 percent for “when to go”

Gretzel, Yoo and Purifoy (2007) also noted a number of reasons why travellers chose to post online reviews and blogs, which included: 

A desire to help other travellers (96.3 percent)



Having positive experiences with other people’s reviews and wishing to contribute back to the virtual community (95 percent)



To save others from negative travel experiences (83.9 percent)



To warn others of bad services (82.4 percent)

Interestingly, economic incentives and other forms of official recognition (awards, vouchers, etc) accounted for less than 15 percent of online travel review writers.

Research has also shown that there is a fairly high rate of “click through” with between 20 percent and 30 percent (Schmallegger & Carson 2008, 104) of consumers utilising the UGC websites as a gateway to booking sites. However, any commercial sponsorship or blatant advertising presence on a UGC website promoting such services need to be inconspicuous to avoid alienating consumers or losing consumer trust and therefore consumer contributions.

Perhaps of greater value, UGC websites offer a “useful tool in monitoring the competitive environment of a destination and provide valuable customer feedback that is richer and more detailed” (Pan & Ryan 2007, 42). In addition, UGC websites enable more effective “profiling of tourists, understanding their travelling paths and related actions, investigating expenditure [Type text]

habits, [and] understanding the nature and intensity of their activities and experiences” (Volo 2010, 308-309).

4. The Staywild Project This first stage of the project ran from October 2010 to September 2011. The principle focus of this stage was to develop and launch the website platform. Building of the site commenced in late March, 2011 and the site entered an extensive “in house” testing period between May and July 2011. Related priorities included:

 Undertaking an analysis of suitable Content Management Systems  Developing a design aesthetic for the general look and feel of the site  Developing the site architecture and interface for the site  Developing appropriate documentation for Terms of Use  Developing appropriate documentation for a Privacy Policy  Developing an appropriate policy suitable for community-based moderation of the site  Incorporating an appropriate level of Creative Commons licensing into the Terms of Use

 Garnering initial seed content  Conducting an extensive trial and test of the site prior to a beta launch  Readying the site for an extensive online trial and survey period

From May 2011 users of the site were able to:

[Type text]

 Register accounts, build and manage user profiles and privacy settings, and building ongoing personalised diaries

 Interact one-on-one with other users in the private profile space  Upload text and images to non-restrictive stylised templates  Edit their own content  Block comments to their own content  Rate other members content  Flag inappropriate content and members  Tag materials and search the site for content The site underwent extensive in-house testing on 14 July 2011, with the beta version of the site going live on 8 September 2011.

The target audience for staywild has been identified as being all travellers (high end, backpacker, low budget) interested in creating and sharing their stories, with a global focus.

Our ability to succeed in the broad travel market rests on what is unique in our offering, as compared to other adventure travel sites. To this end, we have identified the following as constituting our unique selling position:

 Niche social community platform for content sharing for adventure travel community  User-ownership of site (future development guided and decided by members, setting and moderating community standards)

 Use of Creative Commons License for all user contributions by which users retain ownership of their own content

 Future developments may include editing of video materials, content sharing, Geolocation tools and gamification aspects [Type text]

It has also been noted that a significant feature of the project is to permit random or spontaneous evolution of the site, as driven by community demands. Space must therefore be left for the unexpected and unpredictable to happen both within the site and in the marketing of the site.

Staywild is dependent upon its community and it is imperative that this community can get underway in order to source content for the site and to assist us in continual testing and trialling of site initiatives. During the initial public beta launch period we encouraged ‘friendly’ compassionate members who could provide us with ongoing critiques of the site, hoping to identify some committed and high-end users who are interested in helping to form this community. The project aimed to initially recruit 50 people through our own personal networks, with an additional 150-200 people through viral networking. (As of 6 October 2011, we have 93 registered members). In order to facilitate greater membership, greater member activity and high levels of survey participation amongst members, we budgeted for a $AU50 gift voucher to serve as an additional initiative. To qualify for the $50 gift voucher, members needed to:

 Register at Staywild.com.au  Create a user profile  Post some content to the site as an article  Provide comment to existing site articles  Revisit the site at least once We have identified four main risks and dependencies that have the potential to adversely impact the project, and developed mitigation strategies should these arise.

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1. The site may find that a lack of community interest results in stale content. The introduction of managed content and additional strategies such as gamification and collaborative content generation may be fast tracked to boost activity.

2. The community fails to effectively self-moderate. A team member could be nominated to act as a community manager to look at alternative moderation strategies.

3. The sharing of stories or adding of content does not become a high priority for the community. The introduction of gamification, prizes and other incentives may be employed to generate regular content updates.

4. Members fail to engage with the site beyond the adding of content. Instigating suggestions and ideas received via community feedback will highlight and demonstrate an engaged community

5. Research Objectives Staywild is an experimental research platform designed to test ideas and trends generated by the community and the research team, and to analyse the impact of these ideas in the building of community and establishing a predominantly self-sustaining user-driven environment.

Following construction and launch of the site, the evolution of Staywild’s features and functions will be based on community drivers and the selective testing of various add-ons, such as gamification tools and co-editing software.During the project all design and testing activities will be recorded to serve as a guide to industry, governments and SMEs/Start-ups looking to build communities around their own brands and products with efficacy, using minimal resources and resulting in an active community of loyal and engaged advocates.

The goal is to establish from scratch a community of up to 10,000 within 12 months and deliver evidence to further knowledge on the role in online community building of such

[Type text]

elements as User Generated Content, social networking media, community self-moderation, collaborative or co-editing software for content manipulation and development, curation and sharing, power users, recognition, reward and gamification tools, personalisation tools, innovative metrics, and limited forms of monetisation, such as community funding, sponsorships, advertising, subscription etc.

A significant feature of the project is to permit random or spontaneous evolution of the site, as driven by community demands, so space must be left for the unexpected and unpredictable to happen.

Since its inception, the following research questions have provided an overarching focus for the projects experimental work: 

What innovative and low-cost promotion, publicity and marketing tools are effective in building a community of active, engaged users in the travel niche (and by extension, other lifestyle niches)?



What factors motivate users to join and stay with a site of this kind?



What tools, including gamification, collaborative editing and content co-creation, are effective in building the user base of the site?



What systems, tools and practices need to be in place before community selfmoderation can be effective and sustainable?



What innovative metrics (such as sentiment indicators) can be employed to qualitatively measure motivation and retention, as well as user experience and participation?



What are the main barriers to online participation and content creation in social media websites, and what are the main drivers for community creation and sustainability?

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

What, if any, patterns are common in the formation of niche social networks, and how do niche social networks extend earlier understandings of “communities of interest�?

These questions will be addressed through quantitative and qualitative survey techniques directed at users, alongside ongoing monitoring by the research team, and ongoing monitoring of trends in the sector as documented in the relevant literature.

6. Preliminary Findings Of the 90 new users to join the site in this initial beta period of testing, 50 completed an online survey. In addition to questions concerning user experience with the site, the survey aimed to gather a deeper insight into how people are engaging with travel related social media, what specific sites and applications they use, and the reasons why they contribute content. The following is a breakdown of the main results:

1. The most frequently followed travel media participants use are resoundingly online publications. This finding corresponds with research that has charted the progression from print- to online-based travel journalism and/or travel media.

2. While some participants indicated that they check travel related blogs on a daily basis, the vast majority of survey respondents only check the top three travel related online platforms - travel forums, travel blogs, and travel booking sites - on a less than monthly basis, highlighting again the important role UGC has regarding researching and developing travel itineraries.

3. The most stated reason for participants to visit these websites was in relation to researching and planning a trip. This was closely followed by travel bookings and learning about new destinations.

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4. Unsurprisingly considering the above stated reasons, the highest level of interest in these websites was from Intending Tourists/Travellers and Tourists/Travellers.

5. The top three travel websites most frequently accessed by survey respondents were: Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor and Wotif. The top travel publications were again Lonely Planet books and travel guides, with the most popular travel television show being Getaway.

6. The vast majority of survey respondents have previously posted travel related stories, photos and/or videos online with Facebook being the most commonly used social media site to share this information. Despite this high level of participation, more than half of respondents post travel related information on a less than monthly basis.

7. The top three motivators amongst survey participants for sharing travel stories were: To have a visible travel history; To promote/share future travel plans; and To receive feedback on their travel stories.

8. The vast majority of participants are likely to share positive travel experiences via social media, while a smaller number (though still greater than 50%) are likely to share a negative travel experience.

9. An important finding for the Staywild team was that for over half of survey respondents, it was either very important or important for them to retain ownership of their content through Creative Commons Licensing.

10. And, according to survey participants, the most important future developments for the Staywild website will be: Integration with Facebook, Google + and/or Twitter, Geolocation and mapping tools, and Feedback on Contributions.

7. Next steps

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Stage Two of the project began in September 2011 and will continue to October 2012. The principle focus for Stage Two is to continue to build and develop the online community. The community will be encouraged to be involved in all aspects of future design, development and testing prior to the release of each version. Based on agreed outcomes between the project stakeholders and community members, new features and functions will be added to Staywild, and may include gamification and geolocation tools. This approach to development will also be tested and modified as part of the overarching experiment. More specifically, priorities for 2012 will include:

 Continuing to recruit and build the online community whilst adding additional site content

 Continuing to develop the site and initiate, test and trial new functions  Marketing, promotion and mass distribution of the site  Tracking community development through the use of site analysis tools, sentiment analysis tools and survey mechanisms

 Undertaking additional research into the current shape of the social media landscape  Delivering community assessment reports We will utilise a range of methods to monitor and measure community use and interactions, including but not limited to scanning social media comments, direct via email and onsite, surveys, site statistical analysis, etc. We will detail solicited and unsolicited feedback, suggestions and ideas from the community to evolve and improve features, functions, access channels, and design. We will reports each new addition to the site and its effect on the community, highlighting key learnings and strategies for ground up community building, insights into challenges and successes of using open source software.

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At the conclusion of Stage Two, we will provide to the stakeholders and partners a comprehensive report detailing the start-up journey, key decisions and reasoning, technology choices and reasoning, skills and resources utilised, marketing activities, measurement techniques, the how and the why of Staywild and all the results of each experiment, what worked and what didn’t and why. The results of the Staywild experiment will be packaged into a ‘Guide’ for use by industry and governments looking to build communities of interest.

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Dr Adam Swift is a research associate in the Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and is currently part of Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre projects exploring social trends in online news, news information services and niche social media. Swift has published on a range of topics associated with user engagement with New Media, including computational journalism, information ethics, ubiquitous computing, social media, and Government 2.0 Dr Tanya Nitins is a Lecturer in Entertainment Industries at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. Her research interests encompass a variety of issues, including entertainment business, social media, new media, advertising, brand design and development. Dr Nitins is also a member of the CRC Smart Services research program at QUT and has been intrinsically involved in research projects focussed on new media services and applications, locative media and building user communities.

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