The document discusses the evolution and structure of online communities, highlighting their historical context and the shift from early systems like Usenet and BBS to modern platforms enabled by Web 2.0 technologies. It emphasizes the importance of participation dynamics, user roles, and the social contracts established within these communities, as well as strategies for fostering engagement and ensuring community health. Additionally, it addresses the monetization of communities and metrics for measuring success while warning against the pitfalls of neglecting community management.

1. Building Online CommunitiesJuly 1st 2010Jon Keefe CEO KMP Digitata

2. Community Memory 1973Community Memory ’73 1st Public BBS – Berkeley San Francisco experiment to understand how people would react to exchanging information via computer

3. History of Communities onlineUsenet ‘79 – organised into topical categories called newsgroupsUsenet resembled Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) which were precursors of today’s internet forumsMUD (Multi-User Dungeons)multi-user real-time virtual world represented in textIRC (Internet Relay Chat)a form of real-time Internet text messaging (chat) or synchronous conferencingChat RoomsBBSSysOP home-hosted systemsToday’s Threaded Internet Forumswww.biofind.comCommunity 2.0Web 2.0 technologies plus a community

4. DefinitionWhen people carry on public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationshipsHoward Rheingold Author- Virtual Communities (1993)

5. Other Leading LightsMark GranovetterAmerican sociologist at Stanford University Theories on the spread of information in social networks known as "The Strength of Weak Ties" (1973).Malcolm Gladwell“The Tipping Point” where he talks of “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.”

6. What makes up Online CommunityAn enabling technologyNing, wordpressA core topicPassionate contributorsBackground crowdAn unwritten social contract of trustModerators (sometimes)

7. Examples of the purpose of online communitiesActivismClan (gaming)Research test bedTechnology Strategy Board 30,000 representative UK onliners www.innovateuk.orgSupport Groups

8. Examples of the purpose of online communitiesEthnographyHobbieswww.flickr.com - photographywww.redbubble.com - poetryAnswerswww.blurt-it.comA highly networked individual’s social graph

9. Biofind

10. Mercedes forum

11. Second Life

12. Make up of a communityPeripheral (i.e. Lurker)– An outside, unstructured participationInbound (i.e. Novice)Newcomer is invested in the community and heading towards full participationInsider (i.e. Regular)Full committed community participantLeader (i.e. Champion)A leader, sustains membership participation and brokers interactions

13. Make up of a communityPeripheral =1000Inbound =100Insider =10Leader =1

14. Community participationLurkers don’t readily participate because they don’t believe they need to and in not doing so they are being helpfulLeaders participate because they believe that their actions will have positive outcomesMember participation is not based on hierarchical needs or goals-driven theories but desire planning and they environmentIncreasing participation in online communities: A framework forhuman–computer interaction:JonathanBishop

15. Dynamics of CommunitiesLurkerInboundInsiderLeader 1LurkerLurkerInboundLurkerHostLurkerLeader 2InsiderLurkerLurkerInboundLeader 3LurkerInsiderInbound

16. Value of CommunityUser 1££ ?Host£User 2£ ?££ ?User 3

17. Monetisation summaryGood Old fashioned cpc mechanismsSubscription or freemium modelsRelationship commissions

18. Other value in communityConversation/dialogueSentimentInfluenceCo-learningCollaboration

19. Qualitative Signs of successSigns of ownership within the communitySelf-policingRitualsOff-line actions begin

20. Quantitative success metricsNumber of new membersNumber leaving membersMember satisfactionNumber and type of content items createdNumber of connections / relationships createdTime on siteFrequency of visitsRecommendations & Referrals

21. Building a communityDon’t let technology drive the communitySeed content with known champions in the topicInaugural members act as roll modelsDefine code of conductBetaKeep participation simpleInitially all content open unless as part of a reward

22. Building a communityPolitely provoke and reward participationTrack strangers/lurkers and try to promote them through desireBe active and part of the community yourselfSet an exampleIt takes time!

23. SummaryOnline communities have social structure just like the real world because they comprise real people!Online communities have a voice and an opinionOnline communities can be valued in many ways

24. SummaryBe careful, you don’t want to be thrown out of your own community.Because the lunatics will take over the asylum

25. Thank you, any questions?