CIBBVA

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

2. About me

3. 10
11

4. About this
presentation

5. Concepts trump counting

6. Concepts trump counting

7. Concepts trump counting
RO
...
Investment
Connections
Reputation
Advocacy
Trust...
Investment





?
direct
indirect

8. A comfort zone?

9. 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

10. Case studies

11. 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

12. No spend, modest effort, big results
#3

13. 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:

14. 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

15. Case study #4: Iwork@novartis
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

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

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

18. On the discomfort of communities:
Τα Πάντα εῥ ῖ 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

19. 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/

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