I found myself agreeing out loud with the points made in this recent Wall Street Journal article about the lack of success many businesses are experiencing in their attempts to build vibrant online communities. Ed Moran’s findings echo my own experiences. The most important word in the phrase “online community” should be “community,” but so often that concept gets lost in the glitter of cool technology and viral marketing buzz words. Maybe I’m making this too simplistic, but I think the secret to building successful communities in general (online or otherwise) is to reach out to current and prospective community members, understand what and who is important to them, establish dialogue (notice I use the term “dialogue,” not to be confused with preaching or one-way communication) with community-appointed leaders and empower the conversation.
To measure the success of a community (online or otherwise), perhaps the best thing you can measure is the value that members receive (from their perspective) by being a part of the community. What do you think?
Picture Credit: http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=709
