by Martin Reed on 26 February 2015 in Snippets
Getting people to join and contribute to your online community can be hard work.
There are many barriers to overcome.
When someone does decide to join, you want to capitalize on the momentum and make sure they can get involved as soon as possible.
New members of The Bump are greeted with a surprise after joining (click to enlarge):
“You need to have been a member of The Bump for
a couple of days before you can start to contribute.”
Some new members will wait the required ‘couple of days’. Some won’t.
One certainty, though: All new members will feel frustrated.
This can be avoided by getting rid of the cooling-off period entirely (recommended) or by making it clear that there is a waiting period up-front, before a new member joins.
When frustration is the first emotion experienced by a new member of your online community, you’re not off to a good start.
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by Martin Reed on 25 September 2014 in Snippets
The best way to deal with troublemakers in your online community is quietly (and quickly).
There is no ‘one size fits all’ way of dealing with abusive members.
You may want to privately discuss any issues you’re having with individual members on a one-to-one basis behind the scenes.
You may decide to delete content or ban members.
That’s your prerogative as a community manager (or moderator).
It’s important not to end up spending too much time on this issue, though.
It’s even more important that you don’t draw attention to the kind of behavior you’d rather not see in your online community.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the Atheist Forums website does with their Hall of Shame.
Creating and maintaining a hall of shame consumes time that is better spent cultivating your community. It also acts as a badge of honor for those listed. It could even encourage other disillusioned (or bored) members to try getting on the list.
They’re best avoided.
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by Martin Reed on 18 August 2014 in Snippets
If you think every new member joins your community with the aim of actively participating and adding value, you’re wrong.
Most new members join purely for selfish reasons. They want to solve a problem.
That’s why you see so many new members ask a question very early on.
They aren’t interested in becoming a true member of the community (yet).
They’re in it for themselves.
The challenge for community managers is turning this individualism into something that will end up benefitting the entire community.
You do this by encouraging ever-increasing participation.
Over time, new members will see the community as something they want (and even feel obliged) to add to, not just take from.
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by Martin Reed on 10 July 2014 in Snippets
An unavoidable cliché: variety is the spice of life.
Something to be aware of as a community manager, though.
Your community learns from your leadership. They learn what the community’s accepted behaviors and norms are.
What you do influences the culture of your community.
Make sure you’re not creating the same type of content over and over again.
More importantly, make sure you’re not rewarding the same type of behavior over and over again.
If you’re always directing the spotlight at community members who are making the type of contributions you want to see in the community, you’ll be attracting more of the same.
Useful and valuable content, no doubt.
But:
When everyone thinks the same, when everyone concedes their opinion to the stronger personalities, when everyone is scared to go ‘against the grain’, your community becomes dull and lifeless.
It’s your job to stir the pot and make sure things stay interesting.
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