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Steph's potential content for a session at UKGovcamp 2011 about online communities
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http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
1. Independent forum around a place or common interest
2. Platform set up by an organisation, to which it invites customers, stakeholders, staff etc for marketing, customer support or research purposes
3. Discussion by people on the web, generally
Online community, eh?
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
The variety of formats makes it hard to estimate the scale of usage of online communities. In terms of general take-up of social networking:• 40% of UK adults now use social networking
sites at home. Nearly 25m access Facebook, up 31% in a year
Source: Ofcom Communications Market Report 2010
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
The views of peers online – even those not personally known – consistently emerge as amongst the most highly trusted
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Why do communities form?
•Interest: Communities of people who share the same interest or passion. •Action: Communities of people trying to bring about change.•Place: Communities of people brought together by geographic boundaries.•Practice: Communities of people in the same profession or undertake the same activities.•Circumstance: Communities of people brought together by external events/situations.
Source: http://www.feverbee.com/2010/11/different-types-of-communities.html
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Community of interest
Source: http://mygarden.rhs.org.uk/forums/
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Community of action
Source: http://fairtradetowns.ning.com/
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Community of place
Source: http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Community of practice
Source: http://www.communities.idea.gov.uk
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Community of circumstance
Source: http://www.tripadvisor.com/
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
and also: Community of innovation?
Source: http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Types of online community
Led by individuals
Led by organisations
Content oriented
Conversation oriented
Magazine off-shoots
Fanforums Hyperlocal
sites
Customerforums
Communityblogs
Campaigncommunities
Big groupforums
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Types of online community
Led by individuals
Led by organisations
Content oriented
Conversation oriented
http://www.kumb.com/forum/
http://www.nme.com/boards/
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/
http://en.community.dell.com/
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Goals for community engagement
Listening
Audience insight, understanding views
Buzz generation
Stimulating discussion, encouraging sharing
Discussion & Response
Driving take-up, asking for feedback
Co-production
Working with a community to produce
a resource
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Identifying relevant communities
• Define a list of keywords and potential synonyms, including slang or casual terms
• Use Google search adding ‘+chat’ or ‘+forum’ to find communities on that topic:
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Identifying relevant communities
Try dedicated forum or social media search tools Omgili: http://omgili.comSocialMention: http://socialmention.comAlexa toolbar (sense of site traffic/popularity): http://alexa.com
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
Five things to look for:
•Number of topics and posts • not just the number of views
•Date of last post in the main threads• is the forum dormant? are only some threads active?
•Structure & management• introductory threads for new members, FAQ etc?
•Contact details for owner/moderator•Member list
• can give a sense of scale, but many might be inactive/spam
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
2.8m uniques/month27,000 forum posts/day50 volunteer moderators
82,000 pageviews150+ case studies900 posts/month
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
http://helpfultechnology.com | [email protected] | 020 3012 1024 | @lesteph
• What’s been your experience of finding and working with online communities?
• What are the pros and cons of partnering with vs building communities?
• Who is (or should be) doing the liaison with external online communities?