Online Community Report - Comments

Rotkapchen: The State of Online Community 2008

nospam@example.com (Rotkapchen) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:22:09 -0500

I never questioned the validity of the research, just the presentation...just as Lawrence said (better than I did).

Bill Johnston: The State of Online Community 2008

nospam@example.com (Bill Johnston) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:32:00 -0500

Hi Lawrence - Yes, our area of focus is on external customer communities.

I agree that more sophisticated internal networks for enterprise are a large opportunity. Further, I think a lot of opportunity lies at the intersection points for internal and external communities. The folks at Jive (and others) are currently thinking about this.

Paula point (and delivery) that I totally disagree with is that because we have only taken a look at external customer communities (and the host governance and participation), the research is somehow invalid.

Lawrence Liu: The State of Online Community 2008

nospam@example.com (Lawrence Liu) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:58:04 -0500

Bill, I believe Paula's point (which I agree with) is that your preso, and the research that backs it up, is focused solely on Internet facing B2C oriented communities. There's been a growing need for communities within the intranet (E2E, between employees), and the data points, requirements, and objectives are likely different from those of B2C communities.

Rotkapchen: The State of Online Community 2008

nospam@example.com (Rotkapchen) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:36:04 -0500

Slide 11 and nothing specific to internal dynamics -- as a start

Bill Johnston: The State of Online Community 2008

nospam@example.com (Bill Johnston) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:33:33 -0500

Hi Paula - I guess that makes two of us

I'm not following your comment. I'm not sure what content in the presentation led you to believe that I was advocating keeping external and internal "marketplaces" separated. What am I missing?

Rotkapchen: The State of Online Community 2008

nospam@example.com (Rotkapchen) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:18:24 -0500

Color me confused. Does everyone only see the relevance of communities from a W2.0 perspective? What about E2.0 for which marketing-driven anything would make no sense? The whole presentation kinda unravels when the 'external' marketplace is considered in isolation from the 'internal' marketplace (which would blow most marketers minds because they know 'marketing' but not 'markets' ala. economics).

Marc Sirkin: Marketing & Online Communities 2008: A Report Back

nospam@example.com (Marc Sirkin) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:14:09 -0500

Thanks for the quote. It's a good thing I always spell check and proofread.

"I can be scary" is true, although it should have read "It can be scary" - doh.

Kevin Briody: Marketing & Online Communities 2008: A Report Back

nospam@example.com (Kevin Briody) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:16:55 -0500

(trying again, foiled by your comment captcha 3 times now!)
Bill - Thanks for the quote and mention. As always a great conference from you and the team at Forum One!

Kenneth Lee: Interview with Jonathan Abrams, Friendster

nospam@example.com (Kenneth Lee) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:49:15 -0400

It's interesting to re-read this interview in 2008, especially given what has happened.

Miles Sims: Online Communities: Surviving and Thriving in a Downturn (Part 1)

nospam@example.com (Miles Sims) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:45:38 -0400

Bill,

I think your point about defining value and setting goals for the community is really valid. This is a very common mistake and can easily lead to stagnation and the community being defined as a failure. This can be avoided if more time is spent up-front making sure things are defined and that all of the teams involved understand what the effort will be.

Ben Bloch: Online Community Engagement: Recent Research

nospam@example.com (Ben Bloch) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:21:17 -0400

Sounds like a great report, particularly the engagement metrics, but unfortunately I don't see it listed on Online Community Research Network.

I haven't joined yet but I might if available. I would like to include in some blogging on metrics.

Carol: Online Community Compensation: Salaries By Region

nospam@example.com (Carol) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 22:39:26 -0400

Great data. I wonder how these numbers stack up against other geographies worldwide. I'm in Canada and I've heard wide variances in salary reported here as well - from $50K - $120K.

Connie Bensen: Online Community: Compensation Study

nospam@example.com (Connie Bensen) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:08:47 -0400

Thanks for doing this survey. It's definitely something that the industry needed. It will help us move forward & supports our efforts.

Connie

Ken: OpenID: What will it take to make it mainstream?

nospam@example.com (Ken) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:10:41 -0400

Will openID become mainstream? depends how many people like me there are. I'm very old-school when it comes to mass-login services. In simple words - I dislike them! I read here there are 14,000 sites supporting openID already? Imagine someone phishing 1 user:pass and having access to tens if not hundreds of YOUR accounts and services. It's like having one key for all your houses and safes. I just don't like the idea. I refused using openID where available and will keep manually typing my users and passes!

Rachel Gainer: Online Community Governance: The Project Brief

nospam@example.com (Rachel Gainer) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:47:35 -0400

Bill,

Thanks for the great attachment. While I am not in the business of creating online communities for other people/organizations, I am in the midst of re-creating my organization's current website into one that fosters an online community.

So, some of the questions on this aren't entirely relative to my current practice, but it is nice to see these important things to consider in one concise document. Much appreciated! Especially when considering benchmark goals (e.g. number of people joining online community in year 1, user-generated content, etc.), your governance questions are a helpful reminder of how important these things are before, during and after the online community is launched.

Thanks!
Rachel