Comments on: Does your online community have a mission statement?

By: Martin Reed - Blog Author

Martin Reed - Blog Author — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:22:01 +0000

Mike – I consider Female Forum’s mission statement to be pretty focused – comprehensive (quality and varied content/articles) and intuitive (easy to use). Whenever I add or edit content, these are the points I need to remember.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:57:47 +0000

Hi Martin,

The first line of your blog states ‘Online communities need focus’. With this in mind, Female Forum’s mission ‘the most comprehensive and intuitive online community for women’ seems too broad and lacks focus to me.

Thoughts?

By: Angus Parker

Angus Parker — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:42:59 +0000

I took a stab at coming up with ’7 Steps to a Compelling Purpose for your Online Community’ that tries to break down how you might come up with a community mission statement. Anyone have any ideas on how to improve it. Cheers, Angus

By: Not all online community members are created equal | Online Communities | Build an Online Community

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:03:07 +0000

[...] want to see maturity. I want to see them representing what the community stands for. I want to see them welcoming new [...]

By: Martin Reed - Blog Author

Martin Reed - Blog Author — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:08:30 +0000

Jessie – I agree with Smiley; it’s always beneficial to remind yourself of your mission statement from time to time.

By: Smiley

Smiley — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:37:54 +0000

That’s always a good idea, Jessie. A little reminder to keep going in the right direction.

By: Jessie

Jessie — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:41:15 +0000

I have a mission statement for one of my communities but its not actually on the site. It’s in my notebook at home that I write ideas in to give me a good idea of the direction I’m going in. And when ever I start to stray I can reread my statement and it helps me realize what I’m trying to accomplish.

By: Martin Reed - Blog Author

Martin Reed - Blog Author — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:13:03 +0000

Smiley – I agree that respect needs to be earned rather than imposed, and constructive criticism is hugely beneficial and should be encouraged. You make a good point that it is just as important for you to be seen supporting your staff members as you do your ‘regular’ members.

John – You should have a mission statement regardless of how relevant your site name is. Your site name doesn’t tell you how you will reach your goals, or even what they are. Your mission statement will.

Joey – Thanks for your comment and for demonstrating that having a mission statement helped you focus more effectively on specific goals and aims.

By: Joey Logano

Joey Logano — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:19:40 +0000

You make some great points in the article, and it is true that you need a direction, otherwise you won’t know where you are going, and in the end, that may distract you from the goal you first wanted to head towards in the first place.

I do have a mission for my community, and I feet like once I had established my mission, I did focus more on the goals. When I didn’t write my mission, I did feel like I was going in the wrong direction. Once I had established my mission statement, I knew that my goal was to create the best, the biggest, friendliest fan community website for my favorite nascar driver.

By: John

John — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:09:54 +0000

I was also under the impression that a couple of my site names said it all, but after reading this article I will be coming up with a missions statement. Thanks for the tips