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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 5:23 am
At MIT they discovered that perhaps the hippest profession: app builders, want to work in a place where they can easily meet each other in person , in the center of a city. The distance at which you still make spontaneous and coincidental contact is 30 meters. Does that put a bomb under the value of an online community? I don't think so. As long as the goal and characteristics form the right combination, there is a lot to be gained.
Rheingold (one of the first to study communities) describes a community almost poetically:
“People in virtual communities do just about everything people do in real live, but we leave our bodies behind.”
An online community is a network of people, facilitated by an online environment, who come together around a theme. The tripod people, technology and organization are the carriers. The balance between them is essential.
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No surprise to start with the goal, see the image below. This can be: sharing knowledge, gathering ideas, testing ideas, building a network (customers, employees and/or potential employees), strengthening existing relationships, creating brand ambassadors or building a (knowledge) database. No rocket science so far.
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The characteristics of a community will come as no surprise; always and everywhere, sharing information, structural connection with people, group identity and members as authority. These characteristics apply to all communities. However, depending on the goal and the phase the community is in, the weight is different. And that is crucial for the design of the community.
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Anytime, anywhere
The fact that online communities are available anytime and anywhere means that quick responses are essential. The referees who come together on voetbal.nl aim to share knowledge and strengthen the network and a sense of community with their activities. Directly after (or before) the match you can share questions, emotions and experiences. And get answers. Current events that are playing at that moment are discussed, so that the community remains relevant.
Sharing information
Information is usually shared around a theme. Not thailand mobile phone number list everyone shares equally or explicitly. 1% of the participants make the largest contribution, 9% post something from time to time, but 90% of the members are 'lurkers' (Nielsen, 2006) . They read along and absorb information, but do not contribute to the content. 'Rewarding' the sharing of information can influence these percentages. The photo site of the WWF has almost 5000 members and contains over 16000 photos. A network is built based on interest and the most beautiful photos are shared. Competitions are regularly initiated and the winner is rewarded with a spread in the paper magazine.
Structural connection
Regular visits to the online site create more bonding and are actually the raison d'être of the community. The content of the site must be so attractive, fun or valuable that people keep coming back. The community 50plusser.nl wants to bring people together around their own interests. Most will not feel addressed by the fact that they are 50+, but the subjects are so easy to find on Google that people are triggered by it. (Just Google recreational walking: 1st page). The right content does the rest.
Group identity
This image is no longer available.
Belonging somewhere, having your own way of communicating, with your own standards and values, gives many people a good feeling. That group feeling is strengthened when people meet each other offline. You can support that from the community. The network of World of Warcraft players meet offline to discuss strategies for the game. They also share experiences, which developers use to implement adjustments.
Rheingold (one of the first to study communities) describes a community almost poetically:
“People in virtual communities do just about everything people do in real live, but we leave our bodies behind.”
An online community is a network of people, facilitated by an online environment, who come together around a theme. The tripod people, technology and organization are the carriers. The balance between them is essential.
This image is no longer available.
No surprise to start with the goal, see the image below. This can be: sharing knowledge, gathering ideas, testing ideas, building a network (customers, employees and/or potential employees), strengthening existing relationships, creating brand ambassadors or building a (knowledge) database. No rocket science so far.
This image is no longer available.
The characteristics of a community will come as no surprise; always and everywhere, sharing information, structural connection with people, group identity and members as authority. These characteristics apply to all communities. However, depending on the goal and the phase the community is in, the weight is different. And that is crucial for the design of the community.
This image is no longer available.
Anytime, anywhere
The fact that online communities are available anytime and anywhere means that quick responses are essential. The referees who come together on voetbal.nl aim to share knowledge and strengthen the network and a sense of community with their activities. Directly after (or before) the match you can share questions, emotions and experiences. And get answers. Current events that are playing at that moment are discussed, so that the community remains relevant.
Sharing information
Information is usually shared around a theme. Not thailand mobile phone number list everyone shares equally or explicitly. 1% of the participants make the largest contribution, 9% post something from time to time, but 90% of the members are 'lurkers' (Nielsen, 2006) . They read along and absorb information, but do not contribute to the content. 'Rewarding' the sharing of information can influence these percentages. The photo site of the WWF has almost 5000 members and contains over 16000 photos. A network is built based on interest and the most beautiful photos are shared. Competitions are regularly initiated and the winner is rewarded with a spread in the paper magazine.
Structural connection
Regular visits to the online site create more bonding and are actually the raison d'être of the community. The content of the site must be so attractive, fun or valuable that people keep coming back. The community 50plusser.nl wants to bring people together around their own interests. Most will not feel addressed by the fact that they are 50+, but the subjects are so easy to find on Google that people are triggered by it. (Just Google recreational walking: 1st page). The right content does the rest.
Group identity
This image is no longer available.
Belonging somewhere, having your own way of communicating, with your own standards and values, gives many people a good feeling. That group feeling is strengthened when people meet each other offline. You can support that from the community. The network of World of Warcraft players meet offline to discuss strategies for the game. They also share experiences, which developers use to implement adjustments.