BUILDING ONLINE COMMUNITY

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BUILDING ONLINE COMMUNITY

• ICS 392 Managing Electronic Commerce
• Prof. G. M. Welsch
• Spring Quarter, 2003
• by Pawel Konzal

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DEFINITION

• a group of people living in the same locality and
  under the same government
• a group of people having common interests
• Online community hybrid from these two
  definitions people communicating online in the
  cyberspace because of their common interest

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• Community is there only when people declare for
  themselves that it is true
• WE ARE COMMUNITY!!!

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• Online conversation is a new hybrid that
• is both talking and writing yet isn't completely
  either one.
• It's talking by writing

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Features of online communities

• Horizontal, not down-up info-flow
• We provide the tables people bring the food
• Great equalization factor nobody can see each
  other ideas are what really matter
• Most of the people dont say anything they just
  lurk. Lurkingcommenting ratio 101
• Its salon saloon at the same time

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who does it attract

• People who are
• Independent-minded
• Love word-play, language writing
• Active-minded
• Unfulfilled social needs

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gain from joining online community

• Many people have fairly specialized interests and
  to find people with similar interests, you often
  need the opportunity to interact with a larger
  base of people rather than just the few in your
  physical neighborhood

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other gains

• It's also an efficient way for a group to stay in
  touch, collaborate on documents, or plan other
  meetings and events.

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• Cyberspace doesnt live outside the rest of the
  universe - it is still reality governed by the
  same operating principles as the rest of life.
  So.
• Be kind
• Be patient tolerant
• Pay attention
• .and know some tricks

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What you should do as host of public forums

• Welcome the newcomers they are essential to the
  survival of the group because they refresh the
  place, strengthen its vitality and replace the
  people who move on
• Keep the conversation reasonable on track
• Do basic housekeeping, so there isnt too much
  clutter confusion
• Keep the order, e.g. of the conference

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Other advices

• Keep variety of topics
• Do not censor speeches it ruins the content
  when people cannot speak freely
• Ferment is a necessary part of the recipe -
  without any ferment at all, the "brew" will
  quickly go flat
• Host-parties help people get together

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advices

• Polite atmosphere vs. control fear
• Leave space for comments suggestions you
  dont have to do everything what everyone says
  but they must get the feeling you listen to all
  they they say)))

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when everything goes perfectly

• When it works right, an online gathering is a
  kind of organized mind pool. Everyone picks each
  other's brains. The informal nature of online
  conversation encourages people's amazing
  generosity in sharing the things that they know

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Anonymity or your real name ?
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Anonymity

• Easy entry
• Greater safety
• More freedom

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Your real name

• Commitment
• Greater chance that people will be truthful with
  each other
• Stronger chance that online relationship will
  last in real world
• More responsibility

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• "In keeping" for an online scene is a balance
  between setting policy rules based on your own
  vision of things, and finding the "sense of the
  group" so that you may incorporate it into
  whatever decision you make.

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remember

• Any network / community is about RELATIONSHIP!

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thank you very much for the attentionand keep
the dialogue going on)))