Social Media Networks, because they are built on the collective participation of individuals, can only be effectively guided by means of a researched and learned examination of social psychology. It is the interaction designer’s job to understand how social media ecosystems are likely to evolve, given the interaction of the application constraints with users—each of which with their own goals, prejudices, social ties, needs for sociality and irrational decision-making.

Design choices affecting application design, functions, and features can only steer individual and aggregate participation within the social network. This talk will begin with the basics of social psychology as it pertains to social media and networking sites and give a brief overview of identity creation in the context of social networking theory.

We will discuss design patterns in social media site architecture and their impact on human behavior, and why interaction designers engaged in building social networking ecosystems must leverage sociology, social network analysis, and behavioral economics to ensure their social media site is Built for Conversation. Time permitting I will discuss two case studies – why social media/networking functionality failed on Kayak.com, and why it succeeded on Gather.com—lessons learned the hard way.

Source: IXDA