Community 2.0 Community Bootcamp: the technology part by Tara Hunt

the technological & social infrastructure for community building by Tara “miss rogue” Hunt, Citizen Agency www.citizenagency.com

the building blocks • how I deﬁne community • the geeky stuff: technology • the relationship stuff: getting social • summary: sense of

virtual community A virtual space supported by computer-based information technology, centered upon communication and interaction of participants to generate member-driven content, resulting in relationships being built up. (Lee & Vogel, 2003)

basic site structure for virtual communities • personal homepage/proﬁle (ie. url.com/ people/missrogue) • personal content creation • ability to interact with others’ content • ability to ‘friend’ and share content

succession community visitor customer member

3 levels of community 1. Lightweight Social Processes 2. Collaborative Information Structures 3. High End Collaboration

lightweight social processes Low-barrier social involvement like voting and the recording of personal participation. • DIGG • Del.icio.us • Last.fm • Amazon • Craigslist • Netvibes

collaborative information structures Core product enhanced by a social component, deeper participation to interact. • Flickr • Facebook • YouTube • Odeo • Threadless • Developer networks

high end collaboration Groups utilizing systems to make sense and share complex materials and data. • Open Source • Wikipedia projects • Lostpedia • Couchsurﬁng

common themes • sense of fun/play • constant community attention • experimental & agile development • maximized the power of word of mouth

more common themes • simple platforms/ideas for building on • compelling founder stories • rewards for community members (not necessarily $$)

the geeky stuff • blogs • social networking • podcasting • community tools • wikis • apis • forums • measurements • chat • other stuff • search

blogs • Three reasons to use blogging: • track who is talking about your product • ﬁnd, read & understand blogging experts in your subject area • join the conversation by blogging yourself

blogs • platforms to use: Wordpress, Moveable Type, Blogger • RSS: really simple syndication • trick out your RSS (Feedburner) • using blogsearch to see who is talking about you & ﬁnd blogger experts: Technorati, Google Blogsearch, Serph

blogs • blogging into oblivion or joining the conversation • linking out: read other blogs...interact • blog readers: Bloglines (web), Feedo (web), Netvibes (web), Net Newswire (mac),Yoono (pc), Thunderbird (all) • commenting: when to comment, when to email

pod & vidcasting • content: make it interesting (ie. winelibrary.tv) • editing tools: Final Cut Pro, Adobe Flex, iMovie (free), Garage Band • hosting tools:YouTube, blip.tv, Revver, Photobucket, Odeo, OurMedia • watching tools: Dabble, Fireant, iTunes • searching: podzinger

wikis • what: webpages with edit buttons • how to: wiki syntax wackiness • [page | page] ... *bold* • when to: when wikis are wonderful • collaboration on documentation • community information sharing • organizing events & thoughts • you need to garden the wiki!!

wikis • examples: • self-installed: Conﬂuence, Instiki, MediaWiki • hosted: JotSpot, PBWiki, SocialText, WetPaint, Wikia [good source: wikimatrix.org]

forums • what: a-synchronous discussions • when to: where forums still rock • tips & tricks between community members • feedback & bug reporting • you need to tend to the forums regularly!!

forums • examples: • self-installed: Vanilla, bbPress, Quicksilver, SMF • hosted: FusionBB, Jive Forums, PunBB (free) [good source: forummatrix.org]

chat • what: synchronous discussions • where/when to use chat: • instant ‘help’ • between friends/members • alongside the forums • pre-scheduled roundtables • tip: have the ability for people to chat with you live through widgets that show availability

chat • examples: • group: IRC, Campﬁre, Skype, Tangler, • one-on-one: Meebo, Jabber, AIM,Yahoo! Messenger • voice: Wengo, Gizmo, Skype, Jajah • sms: Twitter, Mozes

search • white-hat SEO basics • content is king • use descriptive page titles (don’t lie!) • use the heading tag • use sitemaps • employ a solid URL structure (opt for static looking): www.site.com/ hikingboots.html vs. www.site.com/ products.asp?product_no=25

search • more white-hat SEO basics • avoid using ﬂash or ajax for navigation...or building your entire site in them • html standards are good for you • don’t try to scam google (you’ll get blacklisted) • don’t use frames

social networking • not everything has to happen on your site • effective use of established social networks to build interest/relationships: • Flickr: posting screenshots, ﬂickr groups • YouTube/blip.tv: posting screencasts • Facebook: posting groups/events • MySpace: create a product page

social networking • more established social network tips: • social bookmarking: • DIGG: don’t game it...but do submit your site/posts/publicity • ma.gnolia/del.icio.us: follow tags & bookmark interesting stuff in your domain • niche networks: participating in similar markets

community-based tools • Creative Commons • how cc licensing works • ways you can use it to enhance user experience • Tagging • what is tagging? • examples

community-based tools • Microformats • what is a microformat? • how you can use microformats to enhance user experience • (p.s. it’s good for search engines) • OpenID • what is OpenID? • how you can use OpenID to enhance user experience

api’s • what: application programming interface • what it really is: allows for content on your site to be ‘mashed up’ with other content to produce really cool stuff • advantages: • cool extensions • test bed for new features • the ‘new’ partnership

api’s • resources: • How to design a good API and why it matters: lcsd05.cs.tamu.edu/slides/ keynote.pdf • www.programmableweb.com • O’Reilly book: Web 2.0 Principles & Best Practices www.oreilly.com/radar/ web2report.csp

measurements • what you measure matters most • informs you about user behavior (usually different than feedback) • gauges usability • helps you with feature & improvement roadmap • teaches you about the needs of your community

measurements • measurement tools: • attention data collection (eg. last.fm, DIGG labs) • Task Tracer • Attention Trust Firefox plugin • no Spyware! good cookies only! • Google Analytics & MeasureMap • CrazyEgg (heatmaps)

measurements • measuring healthy communities: • qualitative mixed with quantitative • not always positive • scaling will change the community...fracture it • look at it like a graphic equalizer • three levels: Environment, Product & Communications

other techie stuff • why not consider: • leaving your bug tracking out in the open? • publishing a conference # for your dev team meetings? • using Twitter to give network status updates?

the social stuff • barcamp • coworking • meetups • conferences • karma • fun stuff

barcamp • what: a conference organized by members of the community where there are no observers, only participants • video: • http://www.archive.org/download/ Ryanne-BarCampSF816/Ryanne- BarCampSF816.mov

barcamp • advantages: • early adopter cred (worldwide phenomenon) • you aren’t in charge, but seen as a peer

coworking • what: physical spaces opened up for independents to collaborate and work in • Where the Coffee Shop Meets the Cubicle (Businessweek): http:// www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/ content/feb2007/ sb20070226_761145.htm

coworking • advantages: • opening your space brings in fresh ideas & energy • become part of a worldwide growing movement • building trust in your local community has huge repercussions

meetups • what: gathering in a social place (pub or community space) to meet other people with the same interests • tools to use: meetup.com, upcoming.org, eventful.com • post it to your forums, blog & send a message out to your VIPs • give schwag away, no big speeches • let people interact + be available

meetups • the best meetups are organized by the ‘fans’ and community members themselves. providing the tools, a couple of pitchers of beer and some presence (not central, though) is the best.

conferences • there are tons of conferences putting out calls for submissions everyday • resources: confabb.com, eventful.com, upcoming.com • take all pitches out of your submission • research subject areas that matter to conference-goers and ﬁnd one that you are an ‘expert’ on • tell a compelling story

conferences • once you get invited: • if you want to be invited back to the conference circuit, keep all pitches out of your presentation • tell user stories • talk about your competition • attend all mixer events and build relationships, don’t pitch

karma • what you give to your community, you get back tenfold • don’t have a business objective, have a business objective, an employee objective, a local community objective, an environment objective and a customer experience objective (Clif Bar)

karma • be part of a larger movement that relates to what you are doing • “If you see a parade, get in front of it” Tim O’Reilly • Be part of the change you want to see in the world • Creates amazing goodwill

fun stuff • good vibes: • thank you’s (i.e. ma.gnolia, maya’s mom, facebook ‘pokes’) • vip programs (i.e. ma.gnolia gardeners) • member highlighting & discovery (i.e. featured members, new members) • hold feedback contests, etc. and send out schwag as thanks • greeting program for new members

summary • all great tools for promoting your site, but what about community? • how do these tools relate to creating a sense of community?

sense of community 1. Feelings of membership 2. Feelings of inﬂuence 3. Integration and fulﬁllment of needs 4. Shared emotional connection (McMillan and Chavis, 1986)

feelings of membership • includes: personal proﬁle pages, 'friending', deﬁning groups within the larger group (groups), invitations to groups • allow for lots of personal & group expression (personalization) • greet new members and introduce them to others with similar interests

feelings of inﬂuence • includes: forums, chat, comments, blogging, personalized mail • create many ways in which members can connect and platforms for expression • respond to all feedback, good or bad

integration and fulﬁllment of needs • includes: status rewards, featuring members, vips, karma points, etc. • 'in crowd' knowledge - acorns, tricks, traditions & rituals

shared emotional connection • can't be created, but shared experiences with members can help (continual, deep interaction with community) • meetups, barcamps, coworking, celebrations and developer days help

more information: tara@citizenagency.com http://www.citizenagency.com http://www.horsepigcow.com (blog) tarahunt747 (skype) 415.694.1951 (ph)

licensing:

Community 2.0 Community Bootcamp: the technology part by Tara Hunt

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