People Over Technology

As providers/builders/magicians of technology it is natural for our clients to come to us when they want to add new features to their websites. And while it's kind of our job to get the job done, I often find that I start out a conversation about adding "new feature x" with investigative questions about what the reasoning behind the new feature is and how it will be supported with internal resources. Sometimes, I even end up talking clients out of adding some new feature (which ultimately would give us money and business) in favour of redirecting them to pay more attention to content/people time spent on what they've already got. This article looking at how too many features can harm your online community hits the nail on the head on this topic, and can be broadened out to include most online applications not just those in community websites. The biggest take away comes near the end of the article with this paragraph:

Don’t be tricked into thinking that members demand certain features and functionality. Members aren’t really interested in the technology behind a community - they are far more interested in the people and human activity taking place there.

I've been compiling notes from the various conferences I've been at over the last few weeks and plan to post them up here, many centre around the common thread that the technologies available to us today are ultimately there to support larger visions, they are not in and of themselves the final prize. Whether that translates into pouring resources into supporting people over new technology, or using social media to support and enhance campaigns but not as a campaign itself, the technology can't be the leader in the equation however shiny and cool it may be.