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You've jazzed up your intranet. You've worked out all the bugs. You've even put several focus groups together to make sure you're giving users what they need. But, despite your best efforts to woo users, they just give your intranet the cold shoulder.

Unless there are serious system deficiencies, sometimes users are just not that into your intranet. This could be caused by a lack of system knowledge and training. Or it could even be a matter of perception. Perhaps users don't think their intranet is as "sexy" as other information systems. The key to winning users over is to understand the root causes for this apathy. But there are some general things you can do to pique users' interest:

Allow user-created content

Some intranets are unidirectional: They broadcast information to users, and that's all. But users tend to be more interested in things they have a personal stake in. User-created content is a great way to give users a stake in the system. It allows them to be active participants as opposed to spectators. And if you're worried about content credibility, you can implement a content approval process.

Allow content comments

If you don't want to allow user-created content, you could go halfway by allowing content comments (a feature common to most blogs). User comments can be moderated at your discretion (or left completely open) if you're concerned about the appropriateness of the comments.

Consider viral/water cooler content

You can include fun, semi-work related content: A Dilbert-esque comic strip (perhaps a little less cynical though), short video clips, and offbeat industry news. This type of content can help drive users to the system and get them to explore the rest of the site.

Use a microblog

Users -- especially novice users -- might be intimidated by content heavy intranets and avoid using the system for fear of being overwhelmed by content. A microblog can be used to inform users of new content or features. This way they won't be bombarded with page upon page of information.

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