We took a closer look at elevator pitches in preparation for next week. We also discussed a range of cloud-based tools to help collaboration, task and file management.
1. COMP 113
Social Media & Online Communities, Summer School 2012
10: The Pitch / Cool tools
2. Assessing your performance
Assessment Weighting Total
Blog assignments 3 x 5% 15%
Group project: 40%
• Report 15%
• Prototype 15%
• Presentation 10%
Final Examination 45%
Total 100%
3 components: report, Facebook page,
presentation
Presentations to expert panel (cf. Dragon’s Den)
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3. The Facebook page (15%)
1. Purpose should be clear and aimed at a target
audience.
2. Should be apparent how you wish the
community to act.
3. Representative content present.
4. Clear, consistent design reflecting strong
identity.
5. Facebook page augmented by external apps.
6. Have social media content integration and
automation.
7. Evidence of active community engagement.
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4. The report (15%)
Executive summary: Report summary (300 words)
Market research: Need, competition, niche, user
benefits
Promotion strategy: User recruitment, retention &
motivation
Content strategy: Proposed content types and use
Action Plan: Sequence of future actions to grow site
Design plan: Design choices behind branding
Issues: Possible ethical and/or legal issues
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5. The presentation (10%)
Held during final Wednesday class
Modified elevator pitch
The presentation process:
– One team member has 55 seconds to articulate
the ideas behind the Facebook page (no slides)
– The remaining team members will then have 2
minutes to demonstrate the different features of
the Facebook page (no slides)
– The whole team will be available to answer
questions from the judging panel
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7. What is an elevator pitch?
55 second presentation of your idea
Approx. 150-225 words
Answer questions:
– Who are you?
– What are you offering?
– Who is your user base?
– Who is the competition?
– What is your competitive advantage?
– How will you grow your community?
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8. What is an elevator pitch?
Do this Don’t do this
Deliver a “hook” to excite Avoid autobiography
judges Avoid technical jargon
Script it, time it, then Don’t giggle, swear, etc.
practice it (repeatedly)
Stay on message
Stay on time
Be passionate
Be believable & sincere
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9. The demo
Demos are notorious for things not working on
the day!
Test your features repeatedly
Make sure that content & users are in the right
state
Show features, content or activity that link to
pitch
Show novel uses of apps, tabs, etc.
Explain how design has been implemented
Be open about missing features
No slides!
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10. Question time
Answer succinctly and stay on point
Do not get defensive
Talk with the judges courteously even if you
disagree
You can go back to the demo to illustrate
something
Try to avoid the “we were going to do that ...”
cycle of despair
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15. What is a CMS?
Actually a “WCMS”
Enables online content submission with no
technical knowledge
Makes website administration far simpler:
– Offers access control options, journalling, etc.
– Social media options bundled in by default
– Includes design templates
Typically a scripting language (e.g., PHP) & a
database (e.g., MySQL)
Examples: Joomla, Drupal, Silverstripe, ...
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16. [Weebly.com]
Simple content management system (CMS)
Remotely hosted (US)
Drag ‘n’ drop interface (elements, themes)
It is Free
Access to HTML & CSS
Commerce options
Competitors: Wix.com, Yola.com
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18. Domain registrars [IWantMyName.com]
NZ-based domain registrar
Set “A” DNS record to point to service (e.g.,
Weebly, Tumblr, ...)
Simple, elegant (cf. GoDaddy.com )
Friendly & responsive support (e.g., Twitter)
Setup to connect with social media
Domain prices compare favourably
... & iPhone app
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22. Collaborative data storage [Dropbox.com]
Cloud-based data storage:
– 2GB (free)
– Up to 100GB ($9.99/$19.99 per month)
Automatic change detection & backups
Allows for collaboration & sharing
Sync files of any size or type (Win/Mac/Linux)
Range of mobile apps
Competitors: box.net, mozy.com
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24. Task management [Wunderlist.com]
Web-based life organiser:
– To do list
– Projects
– Shopping lists
– Blog ideas
Create and manage tasks (priority, due date)
Group tasks with lists
Share individual lists with co-workers
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