The discomfort of communities

Stepping out of the comfort zone: The discomfort of communities Andrew Spong, PhD Editorial Director, Nexus

About me

10 11 2

About this presentation

Concepts trump counting

Concepts trump counting RO... I nvestment C onnections R eputation A dvocacy T rust... I nvestment P O P P P ? direct indirect

A comfort zone?

Stepping out of the comfort zone: The discomfort of communities
Communities on the social web are often initially created as comfort zones
Why, therefore, would a community ever feel the need to 'step out of' its comfort zone?
What might precipitate such an action?
What benefits might it gain from doing so?
Hypothesis: successful communities have a complex inclusion-exclusion dynamic wherein a degree of discomfort is a) likely, b) may have positive results
Let's consider some case studies to test this

Case studies

Case study #1: hcsmeu productive discomfort
Commitment to inclusion disclosed regional needs (language; local conditions) core group could not serve
Core group set establishment of regional groups as goal
Core members create regional groups
hcsmeu is a link in a chain that no-one owns : US... EU... Asia... LatAm

No spend, modest effort, big results #3

Case study #2: nhssm issue-based discomfort Pharma issue: regulation HCP issue: privacy Patient issue: trust Provider issue: strategy extensible inspirational informational social Issues addressed, additional benefits also conferred:

Case study #3: Psoriasis360 self-reflexive discomfort
Whilst existing communities may feel they are supporting other members' initiatives, the members of new groups may feel they are being 'colonized'
Communities must be aware of where they don't belong

Case study #4: [email_address] progressive discomfort
Prompted by a progressive desire to do more (my observation)
Gently reminds us that a company is a community of many voices
Challenges perceptions, bravely treads a reformist line
Interesting insights into what is shared internally with #yam

Case study #5: temporal discomfort http://cyhealthcommunications.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/twitter-rt-tweet-ups-and-me/

A new way to browse health community conversations: http://www.foxepractice.com/healthcare-hashtags

On the discomfort of communities: Τα Πάντα ῥεῖ Everything flows
Communities on the social web exhibit an arborescent inclusion-exclusion dyamic: tree-like growth, root & branch
Communities should not worry about appealing to a 'general readership', but stick to their core interests
When niche interests align / when recommendations regarding a community's niche question are asked: weak ties direct, members join, temporarily, permanently
#MyNiche

Credits About me http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebingley/263966036 Prague astronomical clock http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt/359783377/ Zones http://www.flickr.com/photos/rocket9_net/3352272327 Case studies http://www.flickr.com/photos/xindaan/4005856992/ Tree http://www.flickr.com/photos/29609591@N08/4237133002/

Q&A Andrew Spong, PhD Editorial Director, Nexus @NexusNR @andrewspong

http://gestiondelafarmacia.blogspot.com	17
http://www.gestiondelafarmacia.blogspot.com	1
http://gestiondelafarmacia.blogspot.com.es	1

The discomfort of communities

by Andrew Spong on Nov 18, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

3 Embeds 19

Statistics

The discomfort of communities — Presentation Transcript