(Academic) Community Management in the
Humanities and Social Sciences for Publishers, Librarians, and Enthusiasts Sonntag, 25. September 11

Name Cornelius Puschmann Affiliations University
of Düsseldorf, Institute for Internet and Society (Berlin) Disciplines Linguistics/Information Science Research interests Communication and interaction through digital technology (in general) How the internet is impacting scholarship (in particular) Web/Twitter http://nfgwin.uni-duesseldorf.de http://ynada.com ; @coffee001 #internetresearch #openaccess #digitalhumanities #opendata #electronicpublishing #escience Sonntag, 25. September 11

Where to next? Sonntag, 25.
September 11

what is a community? ?
what is a virtual community? what is community management? what‘s special about academic communities? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Goal: A set of tentative
recommendations for supporting virtual communities Sonntag, 25. September 11

What is a community? “A
group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often [..] sharing some common values; [..] social cohesion within a shared geographical location.“ “Since the advent of the Internet, the concept of community no longer has geographical limitations, as people can now virtually gather in an online community and share common interests regardless of physical location.“ -Wikipedia Sonntag, 25. September 11

values space ideas interests shared
occupation culture language Sonntag, 25. September 11

Academia is a community of
practice Sonntag, 25. September 11

What is a virtual community?
The Internet has become the backbone of communication, commerce, and media [..] Along with this, the public is transforming. The mass media and mass audience analyzed by the Frankfurt School are long past. Today we inhabit multiple, overlapping and global networks such as user forums, Facebook, Flickr, blogs, and wikis. The media industry which just a decade ago seemed well-established, is in flux, facing its greatest challenge ever. networkedpublics.org Sonntag, 25. September 11

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Don‘t confuse a community with
its representation Sonntag, 25. September 11

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What (or who) is missing?
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What is community management? macro
scale • planning, building, and supporting a (virtual) community micro scale • being present • listening and reacting to feedback • moderating debates • addressing criticism • policing community rules • keeping things tidy Sonntag, 25. September 11

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Popular (virtual) academic communities often
address simple needs Sonntag, 25. September 11

What is special about academic
communities? • both communities of knowledge and profession • not generally open to amateurs • complex hierarchies/power relations • “invisible“ colleges • conservative technology users • don‘t always embrace change Sonntag, 25. September 11

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We‘re all part of countless
communities Sonntag, 25. September 11

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Representing them digitally is not
always easy Sonntag, 25. September 11

publications conferences/events (Academic) entities can
form around many different things libraries infrastructures/ institutes platforms Sonntag, 25. September 11

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Community: grown... Sonntag, 25. September
11

...or built? Sonntag, 25. September
11

Do we need ad-hoc networks...
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... or permanent institutions? Sonntag,
25. September 11

What‘s the right communicative infrastructure?
Who makes the rules? Who participates? Sonntag, 25. September 11

A checklist for (virtual, academic)
communities Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #1 Who are the
people I‘m trying to serve? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #1 Who are the
people I‘m trying to serve? What are their needs? What kind of infrastructure could be helpful to them? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #2 How do I
reach out to them? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #2 How do I
reach out to them? E.g. invite people to brainstorm and discuss, involve them in the process to avoid early mistakes Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #3 What mix of
measures is right for them? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #3 What mix of
measures is right for them? E.g. digital tools for communication and knowledge management plus physical meetups Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #4 Do I need
to build any new tools? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #4 Do I need
to build any new tools? What about everything that‘s already out there and available for free? If it‘s something that would attract a community, why hasn‘t it been built yet? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #5 Am I proving
a new infrastructure for an existing community or “inventing“ a new community altogether? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #5 Am I proving
a new infrastructure for an existing community or “inventing“ a new community altogether? a) Does the infrastructure really meet the community‘s needs? b) Will people congregate around the issue I‘ve chosen? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #6 How are the
people I‘m trying to serve involved in the planning, designing, implementation and continued operation of the platform? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #6 How are the
people I‘m trying to serve involved in the planning, designing, implementation and continued operation of the platform? Are they part of the team? Are they consulted on a regular basis? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #7 Am I building
a bridge between my platform and existing practices and services or am I trying to be revolutionary? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #7 Am I building
a bridge between my platform and existing practices and services or am I trying to be revolutionary? Will the users adjust to a completely new (technological/ cultural) paradigm? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #8 Do I really
need to do any (traditional) marketing? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #8 Do I really
need to do any (traditional) marketing? Does the product serve a vital function? If yes, marketing might (partly) take care of itself. Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #9 Do I have
the resources to fulfill my promises? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #9 Do I have
the resources to fulfill my promises? What kind of funding is at my disposal? Is there a business plan? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #10 How well does
the platform or service I provide scale? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Question #10 How well does
the platform or service I provide scale? What if I succeed and thousands of people join my community -- will I be able to keep up a sufficient quality of service? Sonntag, 25. September 11

Merci beaucoup pour votre attention!
Sonntag, 25. September 11