Cool new digital projects

Steffen Leidel is acting head of DW Akademie's Knowledge Management and Digital Innovation department. Over the years Leidel has been involved in numerous digital projects including workshops for journalists in South America and Deutsche Welle's traineeship for up-and-coming journalists. He and his colleagues recently developed DW Akademie's digital strategy that points to the Akademie's goals and approaches for strengthening freedom of expression in the digital world. Here are some tips on things to consider when developing a digital project.

1. "Let's develop something really new!"

It's great to develop something from scratch but there can be some major pitfalls. Developing new software is a complicated process and in most cases, you're not the first person who's come up with the idea. The digital world is full of good ideas that have been thought through and that you can build on. The concept behind Open Source, for example, is that you can access software or digital solutions that are already available and then develop them further with the community. Adapting something is not the same as stealing. It's about remixing.

2. "We need a chic app!"

Those who develop digital projects often think that a stylish technological solution will magically attract users. But app stores are full of trendy apps and many aren't used because they either completely bypass the users' needs or aren't self-explanatory. Users can be ruthless if they have to read an instruction guide. They just don't use the app. That's why we're increasingly concentrating on methods like design thinking that develop solutions focusing on the users' concrete needs rather than the technology. Users are at the center here which means that you have to explore their world in order to really understand what motivates them, what frustrates them, and to learn about the technological "ecosystem" they live in. It's only when you're familiar with this that you can start developing customized technological solutions. That's why when you start a project, you shouldn't be fixed on developing an app. An app might be a solution, but it doesn't have to be.

3. "They're all doing it! It's the latest trend…"

It's important to recognize and assess relevant trends early on because trends are good starting points for innovations and new ways of thinking. The next step, though, is to ask yourself whether that trend really fits you, your project partner and assignment, or whether you're just copying it because others were successful. Innovations have to be tailor-made. I often get the feeling that many media products out there are just trendy and those products don’t win me over.

4. "Who's supposed to use the platform? Everyone, I guess."

Very few technological solutions appeal to the target group "everyone". Google's search engine and Facebook are among the exceptions. At DW Akademie, the local context plays an important role and we very carefully think about who we would like to approach. Our first step is to get a clear picture of the people the project is being developed for. We then look at how the target group is actually using technology. Do they have the media skills needed for using a specific platform? Are there cultural aspects that determine whether a technology is used or not? If the target group is to benefit from a digital solution, it has to be tailored to their needs and local environment.

5. "We'll build a community with the platform and that'll create a dialogue!"

That reminds me of an anecdote. A publisher once asked Mark Zuckerberg how he had managed to build such a great community with Facebook. Zuckerberg responded that you can't actually build a community; you can only give an existing community a tool that enables members to communicate. The next challenge is how to shape the dialogue. Technology doesn't automatically lead to constructive dialogues, and we're seeing how social debates on social media can escalate and create new divisions. Developing possibilities so that people can exchange thoughts and ideas online can have negative effects, and that means that supporting authentic, constructive dialogues can often require a considerable commitment.

6. "The project has a fixed deadline and then it's finished."

Digital projects are never finished. People often underestimate how much effort is involved and overestimate the possibilities that technology can offer. Part of the work is in fact done after the project has been launched. You see, people often don’t plan the next stage – how things will proceed from there, for example, who will update the product or assume editorial responsibilities. For us, there's no such thing as a "finished" project. We don't wrap up one project and then move on to the next. Instead, we work interactively, first testing the newly-developed solution, then getting feedback, and then adjusting things accordingly, again and again.

7. “And when we’re ready, we’ll link the project to our website.”

You can create terrific things but if you don't have a strategy for making people aware of them, they'll just end up like a lot of other terrific things in some obscure corner of the net. That's one of the biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to implementing digital projects. People don't often realize how much work is involved in advertising and just hope that the project is so good that the word will spread and it'll go viral. But you need a critical mass for this, and it doesn't happen on its own.

8. "The page is getting countless clicks - it's an amazing success."

Sure, clicks are great but a key question is how to measure success in the digital world. Do the number of Facebook likes or fans tell you whether a project is good or not? Or is the goal to determine the impact the project is having in the real world and whether it has brought about any changes? A good gauge might be whether the project has been copied by others. We're still looking for ways to effectively evaluate digital projects.

9. "You don't need a digital strategy for that!"

We hear this all the time, along with "We're already doing that." "We've also got an app!" "We're currently developing a digital platform." But a digital strategy helps you get your bearings in the digital world. A well thought-out strategy sets priorities and prepares you for a constantly changing digital world. With a strategy, you don't have to try to keep up with the latest trend or random project, because the possibilities are endless. An organization can use its digital strategy to define its role in the digital world, show where its strengths lie, and point to what it can achieve in the digital world that no other organization can. Some organizations are no longer developing a digital strategy. They already have a corporate strategy that is digital.