Micah (say "Me(ha!)") does some solid thinking about "The Lie of Community." The thought-provoker:
"The lie of community is that by having users or by creating content,
a community just exists. That by being on the Internet somehow we are
all part of some global community. There is no global community."
a community just exists. That by being on the Internet somehow we are
all part of some global community. There is no global community."
…and the money 'grafs:
"Create the ability for community members to communicate as they want to.
Brand managers and most companies want to control the conversation. If
your users are truly part of the community, they will do nothing to
hurt and/or destroy the community in which they live.
Trust them to make your product better. Trust them to make your community better."
Which brands that you know have the courage to actually trust their community members? And which ones are afraid?
photo: wvs
I’m all for trusting your community but I don’t think I can get completely on board with this:
“If your users are truly part of the community, they will do nothing to hurt and/or destroy the community in which they live.”
Communities are made up of a wide range of people types – people who have their own agendas that come first, before the community. They’re made up of people who don’t stop to think about how their actions effect a community that they really do care about.
So yes, trust your community to do the right thing – up to a point. That point is where guidelines come in – and the honest discussions about those guidelines become important.
denise, great points re: community guidelines and setting the guardrails in place for the community. two examples:
Coastsider’s community guidelines:
https://christophercarfi.com/2007/07/a-good-example-.html
and, of course, BlogHer’s:
http://www.blogher.com/what-are-your-community-guidelines
the community will look out for the community. think about people who flag on craigslist and the ones on yelp who call out extremely positive postings that look like they have been posted by the owner. any insight in the community is good. people will agree and disagree with one another to make their point, no matter how honestly they are motivated in thier postings. the value of the community is the discussion and disagreement.