Social networks and online communities are reshaping the way people communicate, both in their personal and
professional lives. What makes some succeed and others fail? What draws a user in? What makes them join? What keeps
them coming back? Entrepreneurs and businesses are turning to user experience practitioners to figure this out.
Though they are well-equipped to evaluate and create a variety of interfaces, social networks require a different
set of design principles and ways of thinking about the user in order to be successful.
Design to Thrive presents tried and tested design methodologies, based on the author's decades of research, to
ensure successful and sustainable online communities -- whether a wiki for employees to share procedures and best
practices or for the next Facebook. The book describes four criteria, called "RIBS," which are necessary
to the design of a successful and sustainable online community. These concepts provide designers with the tools
they need to generate informed creative and productive design ideas, to think proactively about the communities
they are building or maintaining, and to design communities that encourage users to actively contribute.
- Provides essential tools to create thriving social networks, helping designers to avoid common pitfalls, avoid
costly mistakes, and to ensure that communities meet client needs
- Contains real world stories from popular, well known communities to illustrate how the concepts work
- Features a companion online network that employs the techniques outlined in the book