Anouk Willems from InSites Consulting discusses identifying and collaborating with very important participants (VIPs) in online communities. She identifies five types of community members based on their participation levels and behaviors. VIPs, like community leaders and insightful initiators, demonstrate high participation levels and contribute high-quality, thoughtful insights. Willems provides three challenges for identifying a community's VIPs: examining natural moderator behaviors, triangulating with co-moderators, and finding ways to close knowledge, generation, and culture gaps. The goal is to turn participants into co-researchers by better utilizing VIPs.