Mint Digital has had the kind of success creating a TV-related social net that many brands could only dream of. MD Andy Bell explained how they worked with RDF to tap into the fame-hungry audience for the Shipwrecked reality TV show. The result was the Islandoo.com which has attracted 19,000 registered users since it launched in early September. More than that, the involvement of this audience with the site is staggering – in three weeks users contributed 1.6 million comments, or more than 900 per user. Some users post on the site almost continually from 9AM to 10PM every day – such is the desire to get on the show and the exhibitionist nature of its 18-24 usership.
Mint Digital is looking closely at what does and doesn’t work on MySpace to inform the project: “There’s a reticence among MySpace users to talk to people they didn’t know previously, so you end up with lots of groups of friends. Islandoo gives you cover to make friends with people, and to be prominent on the site you have to be friendly.”
RDF is very forward thinking, said Bell: “They understand that if there are eyeballs there will be money down the line.” This is all about user experience. He has steered clear of banner ads which he felt would cheapen the site. The focus is on creating a sense of a nice place to be and they are “almost obsessive about it” – and that has paid off, according to user feedback. Monetising the site can be done differently, like by charging £4 to users that to customize their profile. And the pages use Ajax technology so updates are instantaneous, which makes the experience more like using MSN than MySpace. Next, Islandoo is branching out into parties for 400 charging £10 a time. But that’s not about making money, said Bell. Just like the site, it’s all about the buzz.
This article originally appeared in MediaGuardian.
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