Jessica Lotz, Lee Tawil, Yusang Lee, Vicky Ng

ABRAHAMS TENTFOUNDED IN 2008BY RABBI SIROTE

The Book Store• Home to over 5,000 used Jewish books• Profit provides funds for rent and events• Hosts many Jewish events • One on one learning• Movie nights• Friday night dinners• Holiday celebrations• Classes once a week

Abrahams Tent• Mission: Promote Jewish literacy and identity• Audience: young adults who have graduated from college and are looking to further their Jewish learning• Looking to meet and be surrounded with other Jewish people• All levels of Judaism accepted

-Credibility-Involvement-Assistance-Interactivity

PROBLEMS

The Future of Abraham’s Tent• Increase funding by providing a way to sell books and offer donations through the organization’s website (links to Amazon)• Offer opportunity for an internship in order to help staff the organization• Contact Rutgers to send e-mail out regarding internship• Increased interactivity rates when interns are able to

manage interactive sites• Podcasts • Be able to listen in on discussions that members are not

able to attend• Forums• Members can participate in online discussions + Organizes

information•Media Content• Testimonials, images, recap of events, etc.

The Multi-Directional Communication Model:• The MDC Framework combines the traditional

vertical process (top down) with consumers who develop messages (bottom up), share messages horizontally (side to side).

• Organized data lowers the cost of finding similar interests and experiences

leads to conversations and interactivity promotes the production of new generated content

• Concept of INTERACTIVITY• Integration of a Forum will:

• Allow Multi-Directional Communication• Organize data• Promote Interactivity

Reader-to-Leader Framework:• The members’ social participation in the online world will change from reader to leader.

• Below is the process of the members who will use the online forum:

• Reader: venturing in, reading, browsing, searching• Contributor: reviewing, posting, uploading• Collaborator: developing relationships, working together• Leader: promoting participation, mentoring novices

The MAIN ModelIndividuals heuristically assess the credibility of an entity based on its medium’s affordances:

•Modality – Internet• Agency – Abraham’s Tent and its members• Interactivity – User has the opportunity to contribute• Navigability – Organized data facilitates navigability

• Overall Goal: Increase credibility and reputation of the organization• Secondary Goal: Attract involvement and assistance

Concepts: Tie-Strength, Homophily, & Credibility

Our campaign will increase these concepts

• Tie-Strength• Site reciprocity – Easily navigable; Offers more gratifications

(content)• Emotional closeness – Interactivity builds online community

• Homophily• Shared group interests – Categorized information; User

generated content• Shared mindset – Plethora of organized content promotes

browsing• Credibility (Increases with Tie-Strength & Homophily)• Trustworthiness – Familiarity; Consistency & Reliability

(Requires maintenance)• Actors’ expertise – Forum tracks user involvement & activity

Uncertainty Reduction TheoryUncertainty is detrimental to forming relationships • Theory is normally used for interpersonal relationships• Even with computers, people still have a desire to reduce uncertainty• If people go to a website with insufficient information, they

don’t stay too long• Keeping the website updated and filled with sufficient

information and content promotes positive impressions and relationship formation

• Reorganize information and increase channels for content diffusion

• Overall Goal: Reduce cost of seeking information• Secondary Goal: Attract interest and personal investment

Concept: Digital StorytellingReduced costs of production and distribution opens new channels for participation• Provide testimonials from all types of members (leaders, participants, interns, etc.)• About the organization in general and/or recent events and

gatherings

Advantages of adding Testimonials• Provides information about the organization • Increased social presence• People trust people• Promotes involvement from individuals with similar experiences• Individuals who relate feel emotional closeness

ApplicationsCurrently developing a forum for Abraham’s Tent through www.hoop.la •www.hoop.la • Free community platform service• Basic services sufficient for Abraham’s Tent• Forums• Blogs• Photo uploads• Ad-free• Easy to set up/manage

ApplicationsOrganization of Abraham’s Tent’s forum:• General•Member Introductions• Books on Amazon.com• Photos• Videos• Podcasts• Community Support• Events• Etc.

ApplicationsCreate a YouTube account for Abraham’s Tent to host all videos•Widely used and recognized• Easy-to-use, free service• Promotes quick and easy sharing of videos • Allows subscriptions, favorites, and playlists• Sharing options to Facebook, Twitter, and Google+• Tracks views and other usage data

ApplicationsEither audio or video recordings of discussions and meetings can be uploaded and distributed through www.rapidshare.com

ApplicationsReformat current website to introduce changes, improve navigability, and promote interactivity• Provide link to the forum and motivate usage• Insert links on existing pages to their appropriate counter-parts on the forum• Implement sharing widgets for Facebook and Twitter• Fix “Donate” page to conserve consistency• New page for “Get involved!” or “Internship opportunities”• New page for “Media”

ConclusionsImplementing social media tools and reformatting the current website will facilitate the improvements desired by Abraham’s Tent• Increased interactivity, credibility, and gratifications promotes interest and involvement in the organization• As impressions of Abraham’s Tent improve, more individuals will be persuaded to take up internship opportunities and provide assistance• Collectively organizing book listings found on Amazon into one page reduces the cost of seeking sales, and individuals can purchase Abraham’s Tent’s books more easily• Reorganizing the presentation of Abraham’s Tent on the web will make the organization look more professional/credible, and make it easier to obtain donations and funding