User-Generated Content / User-Enhanced Content and Social Networking

User-generated content:

User-generated content, your visitors create or submit their own content to your site. This type of participation may take the form of blogs, forums, photos, videos or several other formats. UGC is all about allowing free speech and often the critics are the first to speak. The experts one and all, good and bad you never even knew your brand had will come out of the woodwork. It really does provide a consumer platform and is perhaps one of the most profound ways to demonstrate that your brand is truly customer-centric.

User-enhanced content:

User-enhanced content, you've already created original words or product content, and you then let the users annotate, score and share it according to their preferences. Empowering site visitors to animate content, you can quickly enable entirely new ways for consumers to experience your brand and learn about your offerings online. The big question really is how cool do you feel about allowing users top rate your brand or product.

Social networking:

The misperceptions about community are that you can create one simply by enabling some level of participation or contribution.
I’m often asked; does a list of reviews attached to a product page really constitute community?
Not in my book.For me it's about crating a community, a place where users can hang out and belong. It must be a forum where users can interact and have meaningful conversation with each other.

The key challenge with Disaboom.COM was developing a brand and product that would create empathy and association across a very broad 14-64 yr old m/f target. The primary target types, disabled baby boomers, college age disabled and caregivers.

The biggest challenge was finding the right balance between openness and oversight, and not making the lifestyle or living content so dull that you want to shoot yourself every time you visit.