Scott Porad

At SXSW I had the pleasure of meeting Chrissie Brodigan, one of this blog’s loyal readers. Chrissie has an amazing and diverse story ranging from historian to news reporter to user experience designer.

After the event, she and I were exchanging e-mail messages when I asked, “after all your diverse experience, [why do you think] web sites or apps succeed?”

I loved Chrissie’s response, and she’s agreed to let me reprint it below:

I never would have thought this before watching companies with competing products go after users (e.g. Foursquare & Gowalla or CoTweet & Hootsuite or HuffPost & Washington Post)—I would have always said “UX”—but, it’s definitely relationships.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Relationships with your business community get you connected to extraordinary people who can help you with ideas, resources, & more.

Relationships with your business partner users help you figure out who the right partners are (knowing that going after enterprise v. small business is the right business).

Relationships with your app’s end-users help you develop better user experience and support (you can have half the features that your competition has – but have the “right” features, and a great relationship with a loyal user base).

Relationships with your neighbors (the companies next door and across the street) help provide social energy, stamina, and honest feedback and assistance (bowling, bbqs & beer make a difference).

3 years ago, I would have always said “UX” makes an app or site successful, beautiful is not the same as successful, for myself, becoming a great designer and strategist was the easiest part, the predictable path, developing the relationships has proved much tougher.

There’s no clear grid-based layout for developing social swagger, but with some failure (sure!) and some more recent success, I believe it to be the secret sauce, potentially the greatest game changer for why some apps and sites succeed.