Comments on: Never forget who is in charge of your online community

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:41:58 +0000

This is why if you are really going to build a community you need a proper strategy, you need to know your short term and long term objectives…. trust me: it is not an easy task.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:17:31 +0000

It is very important imo to keep members feeling involved, there’s nothing worse than a forum where the admins have the god complex and do whatever they want, some forums I’ve been on you get the banhammer for even disagreeing with the admins, not a pleasant atmosphere to keep people coming back.

By: Shug

Shug — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:55:19 +0000

Consistency of actions and decisions is very important not only of the ultimate leader but of the moderators also
Thanks for the interesting blog

By: Shawn

Shawn — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:59:19 +0000

Well, our admin staff is a bit larger than it needs to be so sometimes I feel a lack of communication before things happen, so I can understand that.

By: John Williams

John Williams — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:09:04 +0000

What I’ve found in 15 years of business, is if I listen to my members I react to their requests, they are more receptive to things I suggest. If you try to railroad them you will end up with fewer members because they will leave and possible tell others of why they left, so you are the last to know. This is from personal experience…

John Williams.

By: Musica Cristiana

Musica Cristiana — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:03:56 +0000

I once was the author of a blog a good amount of traffic, and yes sometimes I used to get some rude comments from people that their only purpose was to make me feel bad. sometimes I did not published those comments, sometimes I did. I used to get very conflicted feelings about it, I’ve always believe that everyone has the freedom to express themselves, but them again, I thought it was my blog.. dealing with cyber people is not easy.

By: Don’t be afraid to tell users to ‘get lost’ « Online Community Strategist

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:35:01 +0000

[...] Martin Reed wrote a post a while back called Never forget who is in charge of your online community. [...]

By: Martin Reed - Blog Author

Martin Reed - Blog Author — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:06:39 +0000

Smiley – I think it’s great that you have the confidence to stick by your decisions. Just be aware that you may make a mistake from time to time, so don’t be too inflexible when it comes to reconsidering your actions!

Cristiana – If you are serious about developing a real community around your blog, you should definitely listen to (and invite) ideas and feedback from your readers. Remember – a blog is also an online community!

By: Cristiana

Cristiana — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:16:57 +0000

“If you are thinking of introducing a new feature, or changing the design of part of your site, you should always consult your members.”
Do we have bloggers who think in that way? I think that who will ask this, he/she will look like in charge of that community. It is pretty good way to realize the members that you care them. Thanks for that nice tip.

By: Smiley

Smiley — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:09:24 +0000

I agree. My main problem was, I lost sight of who I was all together. I went TOO opposite. I knew I had to tone my personality down if I wanted the site to be a success, but I guess I did it to such an extent that I became a pushover because I actually became too passive.

Rules have been tightened up now, people put in their place without stifling free speech – explained calmly that their opinions do matter a lot, but I cannot, and will not reverse a decision I’ve made when it comes to banning someone (I like to be consistent) – you know how cliques are. One of their ‘leaders’ gets banned and the rest kick up a fuss for a week or two and they forget all about them as they find a new member to recruit – lol.

Now I need to find that balance between ‘the good guy’ and ‘the bad guy’ at the same time.