Improving the app experience: collaboratively co-creating through social media

Resumo

Increasingly, the involvement of people in events extends far beyond the physical realm and encompasses the digital experience - sharing through social media and mediated by mobile technology. In a bid to understand how to improve the digital and mobile experience and subsequently the user experience in an event context, this paper presents the Digital Event Experience Diagnostic and Development Framework (DEEDD). The DEEDD conceptual framework is first developed from a synthesis of the literature encompassing communications, mobile technology and event experience theories. Using a generative research approach, through the emerging technique of digital Netnography, the framework is tested in a real event context incorporating qualitative insights gained through participatory design enquiry. In view of the empirical evidence presented, further development of the conceptual model was undertaken and is incorporated in the final DEEDD model presented in this paper. In this model we posit that participatory design enquiry, through pro-active event participant engagement, creates new value and increases event satisfaction - ultimately leading to a better event experience for all users.