Why is Social Interaction Important For a Website
When we think of creative web designs, we often think of attractive layouts and catchy headings. However, today the Internet has turned into a more interactive medium with websites going beyond mere layouts and design.
“Social interaction” has been always considered as human to human interaction. On internet, social interaction indicates a phenomenon through which you can collaborate, learn and share your ideas and opinions with others on web. People are increasingly demanding the convenience of interacting with others in a self-paced environment where they can contribute effectively. This has brought about a shift from the creation of attractive website layouts. Now there is a need to cause users to interact with each other and with the web site owner.
Why is Social Interaction Important For a Website
The importance of social interaction can be seen in the recent times. This is evident with the surge in the number of web sites that make use of all these social interaction tools. Some of the most common Social Interactions used on the Web today are:
01. Polls:
Polls are used in places where an opinion would be needed from users on a particular topic.
A poll helps to generate instant interest amongst users. Imagine a news related website that displays different topics that hold interest for users. Users can then provide inputs on articles where such polls can be used effectively. This creates social interaction on the page and also keeps users on the page. Users tend to return to such sites since they can contribute their view point as against only reading content.
02. Discussions:
Allow users to discuss on a particular topic and get various view points on the topic.
A discussion on a website related to a topic on the site also acts as a great way to generate interest amongst users. For example, a product site can setup discussions about the product and get valuable inputs from their customers. Customers can discuss about how they use various features of the product and pros and cons of it. Various new ideas can emerge from such discussions which are helpful for the product.
03. Photo sharing:
Share interesting photographs for professional and personal reasons.
A website that includes photo sharing attracts young users rapidly. Imagine a photography website providing such an option for the registered users. Photography lovers will definitely use this opportunity to upload and share their photographs online. And also view what others’ are sharing.
04. Video sharing:
Video sharing is used by people to share videos of their choice and learn what others think about it.
A website that users this feature also opens up the option for users to interact online. A user who is interested in a particular topic can upload a video to invite ideas or opinions on the same. Video sharing is particularly useful for sharing interactive demos, guided tours of products, sharing a holiday experience etc.
05. Link sharing or Bookmarking:
Link sharing is mostly used to share important links with other users on particular topics.
This in articular saves lot of time for people sharing similar interests. When one browses the Internet, one may often come across many links for future use. A website that uses this feature ensures that many users visit the site. Those who are looking for information on a particular topic will find it easier to look up on links that are categorized.
06. Presentation sharing:
Presentation sharing makes it easy for users to share useful presentations and receive feedback.
Presentation sharing on a website enables professionals to meet at one place and share ideas. A person can even upload a presentation to invite ideas from others, which increases social interaction on a website.
Advantages of Social Interaction
The advantage of all these kind of web social interactions is that it creates a communication flow amongst users. Social interactions encourage collaborative thinking and help you find all your answers within a click of the mouse! With the help of social interaction, website owners gain valuable insight into the views of site visitors. However, the common situation that is seen in most web sites is that when a user tries to use any of the web social interactions, the focus is lost from the main page. These social interactions take the user away from the main page to perform the required activity. This causes the user to lose focus from what she/he was doing.
If a user is an active member of many websites which support these types of web social interaction, one has to maintain multiple IDs. For example, if a user is a member of a photo sharing site, bookmarking site, survey site, video sharing site etc, the user would have to maintain all these IDs to collaborate with his friends and colleagues.
Therefore, using social interactions to the maximum benefits is the prime concern for all web site owners.
It is only in such a situation, I am sure you must be wishing for a component that encompasses all this and much more. TeemingPod is then one such social interaction tool that provides the solution to all of the above problems. With TeemingPod on a web page, a user can share presentations, start a discussion, throw open new ideas and build upon it, bookmark links, etc. To add TeemingPod to a website, a user has to add a simple line of code! That surely is not an effort when you consider the number of activities possible with TeemingPod.
Create a place for users on your web page to interact with each other.
Source: http://www.instantshift.com/2009/11/11/why-is-social-interaction-important-for-a-website/
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- Top 25 Social Sites for Businesses
- How to build a social bookmarking site without development effort?
- 5 most important things to design your website
- The Most Important Part of Internet Marketing
- How to get Traffic from Social Bookmarking sites
StumbleIt! 
June 20, 2010
Link sharing is mostly used to share important links with other users on particular topics.
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