I've been involved with Democrasoft for a while now (the founder has been a friend of mine for thirty years and his daughter sang at my daughter's wedding), and we've come to the conclusion that most online communities don't succeed because they do not have good moderators/managers. Community management is still a new field, most of the people in it have been self-trained by trial and error or come naturally to the task, and the best practices are vague and difficult to find.
I believe that's a problem for all collaboration platforms, because not all of them can run themselves. And unless they have good team leaders, community managers, moderators, or whatever other name you want to give these pivotal people, communities can die even if they are built on a very strong common interest.
Some of the most active communities are in health care, where participants are united by a common illness. I'm thinking of some of the early Health 2.0 communities that have grown quickly: Diabetes Mine, Patients Like Me, and EmpowHer. In the beginning, each of these was driven by a single person with a huge need to reach out, draw others in, and provide mutual value to the community.That person, driven by a need for further information about his/her condition, brought a passion and energy to the community that caused it to grow beyond a single moderator/manager.
That's difficult to replicate if your online community is about less than life or death: if it's around a brand, or a political candidate, or even a church. I have a pretty good view into a number of collaboration platforms, all the way back toGroveSite from ten years ago (still in business) and they generally grow more slowly than their founders would wish. After years of working in silence or in separate offices, people can't train themselves to collaborate overnight. Putting yourself out there can be scary.
Some of Democrasoft's most successful communities, however, turn out to be in schools. because classroom teachers are — no surprrise – trained community managers. The best teachers encourage discussions, engage their communities and students, and actually can have lifelong influence as a result. We are trying to figure out how to replicate the kind of job the best teachers do for kids in more adult situations.
This has led to a study of how to train and engage moderators, and to the development of a site we're giving to the community, called We Moderate. Please join us there to talk about this critical topic. And any other resources you know of would really be appreciated. You will be paid in social currency:-)
UPDATE: My karmic universe always in operation: @corvida just sends this great resource from @Mashable
http://mashable.com/2010/07/30/sustainable-online-community/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Mashable+(Mashable)
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
As a teacher trying to get into the role of online communities I appreciate the link between the two. I always thought so but that link has been hard to translate into real online jobs.
I think the success of a teacher in managing is that we are always watching the kids – the way they interact with each other, the lunch lady, their parents, everyone. And each bit of interaction just adds to the web of information we have on the students which we then use at a later date to either hook them, prompt them, pull them back or even put them in there place.
The best place to learn from kids is out of the classroom. The good kids are cheeky with there friends, the naughty ones are being a good friend or player in a game of soccer. You need to look out of the classroom because many students aren't always being themselves in class.
I think the same needs to happen online. Forums are the classroom, twitter and social media are the playground. If you can see what your online community does outside the community you will learn alot.
As a teacher trying to get into the role of online communities I appreciate the link between the two. I always thought so but that link has been hard to translate into real online jobs. rnrnI think the success of a teacher in managing is that we are always watching the kids – the way they interact with each other, the lunch lady, their parents, everyone. And each bit of interaction just adds to the web of information we have on the students which we then use at a later date to either hook them, prompt them, pull them back or even put them in there place. rnrnThe best place to learn from kids is out of the classroom. The good kids are cheeky with there friends, the naughty ones are being a good friend or player in a game of soccer. You need to look out of the classroom because many students aren’t always being themselves in class.rnrnI think the same needs to happen online. Forums are the classroom, twitter and social media are the playground. If you can see what your online community does outside the community you will learn alot.
Thanks for your comment. It is very insightful for those of is who are trying to get our arms around online communities.
Francine Hardaway, PH.d
@hardaway
816.WRITTEN
http://www.Stealthmode.com
Thanks for your comment. It is very insightful for those of is who are trying to get our arms around online communities.rnrnFrancine Hardaway, PH.drn@hardawayrn816.WRITTENrnrnHttp://www.Stealthmode.com