Webifying Local Communities

Transcript

1. WEBIFYING LOCAL COMMUNITIES A LOOK AT VIRTUAL THIRD PLACES case study: liveBatavia
2. WHO IS THIS GUY? • irl: Nicholas Garofalo • CTO at WebOzy, Inc. in Batavia • nicholasgarofalo.com • nick@webozy.com
3. • Full vertical of web services • International clientele/workforce • Over 250 clients • clients include FUNimation, Segal, Cohen & Landis, Drake Institute, Susan Smith Realty • Basically, we rock
4. WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY WE ROCK
5. FULL VERTICAL OF SERVICES • Hardware architecture • Server setup • Web hosting • Site design • Site development • Theme implementation • On-page SEO • Off-page SEO/SEM • Social marketing • Reputation management • Mail campaigns • Etc.
6. WE SCALE FUNimation.com December 2012 stats
7. WE’RE FAST WebOzy vs local hosting provider (no traffic)
8. REALLY FAST WebOzy vs local hosting provider (25 visitors)
9. OK, I’M DONE BRAGGING
10. TO WEBIFY IS TO CONVERT SOME INFORMATION CONTENT FROM ITS ORIGINAL FORMAT INTO A FORMAT CAPABLE OF BEING DISPLAYED ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
11. LOOKING LOCALLY
12. IT’S NOT ALL BAD
13. SOME OF IT IS REALLY BAD
14. MOST SOME OF IT ISN’T HERE AT ALL and that’s really really bad
15. THE THIRD PLACE
16. Oldenburg, author of The Great Good Place, identifies third places, or “great good places,” as the public places on neutral ground where people can gather and interact. In contrast to first places (home) and second places (work), third places allow people to put aside their concerns and simply enjoy the company and conversation around them. Third places “host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work.”
17. “What suburbia cries for are the means for people to gather easily, inexpensively, regularly, and pleasurably — a ‘place on the corner,’ real life alternatives to television, easy escapes from the cabin fever of marriage and family life that do not necessitate getting into an automobile.” Hmmmm Sounds like… The internet!
18. OUR FIRST ATTEMPT
19. LIVEBATAVIA • founded September 2011 • goal: bring local businesses online and order pizza • focus only on Batavia (stop self-defeating promotion of Buffalo and Rochester) • features: full business profiles, reviews, forums, classifieds, blog, event calendar, etc. • 10,000 unique visitors
20. LESSONS 1. Build it and they will come? Nope. 2. Some people get it and some don’t 3. You can lead a horse to water 4. Focus on visitors not business 5. Tough being taken seriously
21. TAKE 2
22. LIVEBATAVIA LANDING central portal for all liveBatavia properties and unified search
23. BUSINESS DIRECTORY local-only business directory
24. EVENTS CALENDAR aggregated online calendar of all local events
25. CLASSIFIEDS craigslist for Batavia
26. COUPONS local coupon and promotion directory
27. JOBS free job/resume site for local businesses and job seekers
28. LOCAL BLOG news and editorial content for Batavia
29. VIBRANT TIMES news and editorial content for Batavia
30. DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE • directory: live • events: live • landing site: live • classifieds: live • coupons: live • Vibrant Times: January 2014 • jobs: February 2014 • forum: March 2014
31. OTHER EFFORTS • email campaigns • a unified list for all residents • social engagement • increase social visibility for the city • business web sites • a step beyond their directory listing
32. COLLABORATION
33. GROW THE PIE Pie-splitting as a growth strategy is attractive because it is more familiar and easier. For many of us it is deeply ingrained that for one to win, the other has to lose. Pie-growing is not only more foreign, it also takes more courage as it is a more uncertain and messier. It also takes more creativity, as well as an ability to stand in your partner’s shoes.
34. LEAKAGE • $12.4 million in restaurant sales • $17.8 million on ticketed events (a significant percentage of this is being spent outside the County) • $5.8 million in apparel and apparel accessories stores • $4.2 million in furniture and home furnishings • $7.9 million in electronics
35. $48,100,000/YR
37. VIBRANT OPPORTUNITIES CURRENT • Basecamp organization • vibrantbatavia.com • Vibrant Times • Sense of Community Survey • Mass mailing FUTURE • Value add to existing packages • Joint advertising • Shared listings • Content sharing
38. SUMMARY • Goal 1: Engage and motivate the community to action • Goal 2: Create a greater sense of “togetherness” • Method 1: Collaborate and unify community leaders through technology
39. QUESTIONS?