Are All Communities Created Equal?

As in face-to-face communities, there are many types of online communities (some of the types are mentioned in an old post - What types of virtual communities can I build and what tools are available?). Methods for organizing, conducting (facilitating), energizing, leading, and managing various online communities might not be necessarily identical and sometimes there might be big differences across the board. 

I, for example, have experience in initiating, developing, and facilitating an online community of over a thousand members (within an organization) dedicated to discussing topics of interest.  The methods I use to organize, conduct (facilitate), energize, lead, and manage this community are quite diffent from the methods recommended for use in communities consisting of groups of customers of products (see Community Manager Job Description by Connie Bensen, and The Four Tenets of the Community Manager by Jeremiah Owyang), or those in Community Management Fundamentals by Megan Smith and Rachel Happe.  

I find though that reading these last 3 references and similarly others ( e.g., Community Management Fundamentals – Where Do I Start?  by Luis Suarez) provoke my thinking and sometimes inspire me, thus indirectly help me to organize, conduct (facilitate), energize, lead, and manage my community.  What I find to be more directly related to my work with my particular community is Communities Manifesto by Stan Garfield.

So, maybe it’s time to recognize the differences in approaching the various types of online communities and not continuing to treat them as essentially one type.  Vive la différence!

 

P.S., You have probably noticed that I refrain from using the term “community management” or “community manager”.  Even as far as management, not all communities are created equal. Some have a larger degree of management in them and some have less.  IMHO, the word “management” is just one aspect of community organizing, conducting (facilitating), energizing, leading, and ... managing.  See my previous post, Community Managers? What About Community Organizers & Community Leaders? 

 

Comments

[Marie Wallace (@marie_wallace)]

An interesting topic, and I couldn't agree more on the "not all communities are created equal point". Community development (I also hate the term management) is complex and fraught with problems, dead-ends, and wrong-turns. I am similarly interested in this field, but take a slightly more extreme position on my blog entry "Managing Communities & Social Networks @ Web Scale: Pushing water uphill?", http://bit.ly/nPHCtN. Love controversy :-)

[essay writers]

I think that all of it is different!

[essay writing service]

It is much more beautiful and interesting if every community is different, although there will be some clashes because of differences, but that's what makes things more interesting.

[electrical work]

Common goal make people connected by comunities and it is a strong way to enforced and to do some useful actions.

[Community manager france]

Le developpement des echanges sur Internet et l'avenement des medias dits " sociaux " community manager ont profondement modifie la maniere qu'avaient les societes de communiquer . Les recommandations , les echanges , les discussions , les opinions ne se situent plus au echelon local et physique . 200 millions de blogs online , plus d'un milliard de personnes membres sur Facebook , 77% de francais inscrits sur un reseau social , 91% d'acheteurs qui declarent que l'avis des clients est primordial dans leur decision d'achat , 20 millions de francais sur Facebook , 1 milliard de videos consultees quotidiennement sur Youtube , etc? Les medias sociaux font des lors parties integrantes de notre vie quotidienne . Comment en consequence en tirer le meilleur parti ? L'integration des medias sociaux au sein de les strategies de communications est aujourd'hui devenu une necessite afin de les marques et les agences presentes sur le net . L'utilisation de ces nouveaux canaux doit permettre d'atteindre un grand nombre objectifs : - Le recrutement de nouveaux clients - L'amelioration de l'image de marque - La fidelisation des clients existants - Le controle des valeurs de la marque a l'interieur de les discussions - Permettre l'innovation des produits et/ou services grace a ces memes discussions . L'emergence de ces services et de ce que l'on a appele le Web 2 . 0 ( le web genere par les utilisateurs ) a creee la notion de " communautes" . Aujourd'hui , chaque service , tout produit present sur le net , a sa propre communaute qui discute et echange .

[term papers]

continuing to treat them as essentially one type. Vive la différence!

[Agra India]

sur le net , a sa propre communaute qui discute et echange .