Why do users participate with (and return to) an app?

I sign-up for new web apps and social networking sites all the time. Rarely, do any of these site draw me in and make me want to participate with them. Very few apps are able to bring me back for a return visit after my initial login. And no I am not talking about the feeling people get when the app has reached critical mass and everyone is joining, those users are feeling like they don't want to be left out or "what's all the hype about?".

So this got me thinking, what qualities do successful apps contain that engage their viewer? With blogs, every site has an rss feed, what user emotions are needed to get the viewer to leave their RSS reader and comment?

Kathy Sierra (whom I have a crush on) says you must make the user feel like they're kicking ass, but that's only true for business apps. Let's talk about social networks/apps.

Twitter

I wonder what my friends are doing/saying?
Feeling = "I'm missing out on the content (links and opinions) from my peers)"

Facebook

I wonder what my friends are saying?
Feeling = "I want gossip"

Blogs

I agree or disagree so strongly that I need to comment on that post.
Feeling = I want to be heard and I want to hear what the blogger has to say.

Flickr

I need to see a full sized view of that image.
I want to explore other photographers pictures.
Feeling = Intrigued by beauty

Questions:

How do you build a site that makes a user feel like they must contribute?
What are current apps doing to make their users feel this way?
What brings you back to your favorite websites again and again?

1 Comment

Jay Tennier said on January 07, 2009

One of the things that always brings me back is authenticity. It’s difficult to build an app that is intrinsically authentic but, as evidenced by your list, you don’t really have to do that. What you need to do, and Clay Shirky makes this point in “Here Comes Everybody”, is give your users the opportunity to be authentic. Facebook, Flickr and Twitter all allow the user to be themselves and, just as important, to connect to others who feel the same way. Smaller blogs, like this one, keep people coming back because they have an authentic voice and because of the community that builds up around that voice. I rarely, if ever, comment on a blog article unless I feel like I can truly participate in the conversation and it’s much easier to do so when you feel like you actually know the writer and their community.

The one thing that is really hard to fake is sincerity because most people can see right through it. Being genuine and giving your users not only the opportunity to be genuine but also the knowledge that when they come back you won’t have changed the rules is what sets the successful sites apart.

A business app is great if it helps you accomplish a task; a social app is great if it helps you be you.