Comments on: anyone can build a community http://randommel.com/2008/09/26/anyone-can-build-a-community/ The interweb home of 'The Random Thursday Video' with some tech, marketing and fashion thrown in for good measure. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:57:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Mel http://randommel.com/2008/09/26/anyone-can-build-a-community/comment-page-1/#comment-883 Mel Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:13:36 +0000 http://randommel.com/?p=345#comment-883 Good luck with that Luc, I'd love to hear how you get on and what you learn along the way! Lisa - hope your swede is okay and not too done in :D I couldn't agree more, the web is in no way a replacement for real life interaction, but I think it enhances the relationships that you do have. Hope that your project is going well. Let's catch up soon for those cocktails! xxx Good luck with that Luc, I’d love to hear how you get on and what you learn along the way!

Lisa – hope your swede is okay and not too done in :D I couldn’t agree more, the web is in no way a replacement for real life interaction, but I think it enhances the relationships that you do have. Hope that your project is going well. Let’s catch up soon for those cocktails! xxx

]]> By: Lisa http://randommel.com/2008/09/26/anyone-can-build-a-community/comment-page-1/#comment-882 Lisa Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:05:01 +0000 http://randommel.com/?p=345#comment-882 Sound advice - especially the measurements! It really does my swede when people think 'oooh let's apply a bit of web 2 to this', 'let's build a community for that'... without thinking hard (until it hurts!) about the need/motivation in the first place - and the work that's involved! I recently inherited a project that fell short on these fundamentals. Needless to say, the 'community' has been pretty slow to take off. Communities on the web largely reflect communities in real life who share real passions/interests - the web is just an enabler to make sharing these things easier and with a richer mix of people than you would be able to in the physical world. If there's no precedent for that, then you've got to question whether it will work. Sound advice – especially the measurements!
It really does my swede when people think ‘oooh let’s apply a bit of web 2 to this’, ‘let’s build a community for that’… without thinking hard (until it hurts!) about the need/motivation in the first place – and the work that’s involved!
I recently inherited a project that fell short on these fundamentals. Needless to say, the ‘community’ has been pretty slow to take off.
Communities on the web largely reflect communities in real life who share real passions/interests – the web is just an enabler to make sharing these things easier and with a richer mix of people than you would be able to in the physical world. If there’s no precedent for that, then you’ve got to question whether it will work.

]]> By: Luc http://randommel.com/2008/09/26/anyone-can-build-a-community/comment-page-1/#comment-881 Luc Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:02:57 +0000 http://randommel.com/?p=345#comment-881 Couldn't agree more (well probably, but it'd be embarassing for both of us) - I'm in the process of upgrading a community from a Wordpress blog (previously a Blogger blog) to a fuller experience using Expression Engine, and constant interaction with the masses has been very helpful in deciding where to focus my energies. I'd have gone off at wild (ish) tangents without regard for what people actually wanted if left to my own devices. I have some fuzzy targets for the site, but I'm pretty sure it's not fulfilling it's potential, and with a little nudge in the right places, it's userbase could easily double and start edging out the competition. It all falls down without some decent content though - good job the site's founders are also the site's evangelicalists (if that's even a word). +1 for www.uservoice.com / @UserVoice which has been a very helpful app for gathering feedback and suggestions. Couldn’t agree more (well probably, but it’d be embarassing for both of us) – I’m in the process of upgrading a community from a WordPress blog (previously a Blogger blog) to a fuller experience using Expression Engine, and constant interaction with the masses has been very helpful in deciding where to focus my energies. I’d have gone off at wild (ish) tangents without regard for what people actually wanted if left to my own devices.

I have some fuzzy targets for the site, but I’m pretty sure it’s not fulfilling it’s potential, and with a little nudge in the right places, it’s userbase could easily double and start edging out the competition.

It all falls down without some decent content though – good job the site’s founders are also the site’s evangelicalists (if that’s even a word).

+1 for http://www.uservoice.com / @UserVoice which has been a very helpful app for gathering feedback and suggestions.

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