Tips for successful community building

In the first podcast of a series designed to build buzz for Supernova 2006, Host Kevin Werbach asks, “What Makes an Online Community Tick?” — a loaded question from a conference organizer who promotes virtual participation at his own event.                         

As moderator, Werbach, who is Assistant Professor of Legal Studies and Ethics at The Wharton School and Founder of Supernova Group LLC, elicited these tips from his guests — Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark, Yahoo! Network Products Vice President Julie Herendeen, and Pheedo Chief Marketing Officer William Flitter:

• Have purpose. People gather around a shared purpose, and this purpose guides their interactions.
• Build trust. Empower participants to operate the community and control what information they share.
• Promote interaction. When people join, give them something to do (e.g., blog, comment, chat or e-mail).
• Enable discovery. Help people find others with similar interests through search tools and directories.
• Facilitate discussion. Take an active role by contributing content, asking questions and provoking comment.
• Set expectations. Educate participants about online etiquette and what is unacceptable behavior.
• Monitor conduct. Quash competitor bashing, hate mongering and other misconduct.
• Filter spam. Block the posting of inappropriate content (e.g., spam and disinformation).
• Syndicate content. Allow participants to select what they want to receive as RSS (Rich Site Summary) feeds.
• Generate revenue. Place sponsorships and advertising judiciously and in the context of relevant content.
• Invite feedback. Listen to your active community members and be honest about what is and is not working.

Download the podcast, “What Makes an Online Community Tick?” from Knowledge@Wharton.

[Excerpted with permission from my upcoming feature story,"Making an Online Community Click," publishing in EXPO Magazine, June 2006, copyright 2006 EXPO Magazine, Overland Park, Kan.]