BUILDING WEB COMMUNITY

(from Qwest Interactive) ...to grow and thrive, Web communities need "social scaffolding"—roles, rituals, features, events, leadership…aspects of a site that foster community development.

"Much like a trellis enables a plant to grow, social scaffolding enables members to become progressively more involved in the community." —Amy Jo Kim, Community Building on the Web

Community-Building Principles

1. Define the community’s purpose.
2. Create extensible gathering places.
3. Create evolving member profiles.
4. Promote effective leadership & hosting.
5. Define a code of conduct that is clear, yet flexible.
6. Organize and promote cyclic events.
7. Provide a range of roles.
8. Facilitate member-created subgroups (horizontal space).
9. Integrate with the real world.

Community—Value Proposition

• Deliver real value (content)
• Offer unique benefits (membership)
• Focus on user audiences (sustain interest)
• Enhance functionality & usability (make it easy)
• Leverage collective strength (create a destination)
• Plan for growth (scale & extend)

Community—What’s in it for me?

• Deliver real value (content)
• OUTCOME - provide member value
• Offer unique benefits (membership)
• OUTCOME - grow membership

Focus on user audiences (sustain interest)

• OUTCOME - strengthen relationships
• Leverage collective strength (create a destination)
• OUTCOME - drive increased traffic
• Plan for growth (scale & extend)
• OUTCOME - enjoy increased functionality

Community—Autonomy & Identity

• Identify unique benefits & elements
• Communicate personality
• Benefits of diversity
• Every part is as strong as the whole
• Operate under flexible guidelines