Comments on: Warning: Online communities are resistant to change

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:04:14 +0000

This is quite the old article, but my comment fits in perfectly here.

My users seem to be the exception to this rule on this occasion. Through-out November & December I advertised ‘The New Decade’. “2010, with a new era, comes great change..”

Bashing the idea into people’s heads that change is good in the wake of 2010.

..And they sure loved the change. They’ve embraced the change with open arms, loved it. Change was needed. We needed to evolve, all the regulars have pitched in and thanks to them the modernized, improved FC now has 1,000 users who have registered, 700 who have approved their registrations, a good majority who have filled out their profiles and login regularly to check their PM’s, add friends, play on the games.

Right now I’m working on improving the forums & chat rooms then will advertise them more to get people in.

Took a week’s break so I don’t burn out. Over the weekend going to carry on improving the site.

On this occasion, change has been very good – for users and site alike!

By: Martin Reed - Community Manager

Martin Reed - Community Manager — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:20:07 +0000

Agents of Change – I don’t normally allow promotional comments, but as a nod to your sticker design I’ll let this one stand!

By: Agents of Change

Agents of Change — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:17:08 +0000

That’s a picture of our band’s sticker! Check out our music at www.agents-of-change.com. Political hip-hop/punk/funk from Chicago, IL.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:39:32 +0000

We’re upgrading our forums to vBulletin4 soon from v3, quite a dramatic change at first glance.
However, the basics of communication remain the same, so hopefully it shouldn’t be too daunting…
“27. Change your community rarely”. We’ve been on the “old” system since 2003, I think we probably qualify for a new lick of paint?

By: 95 things I have learnt in 9 years of community building | Community Building

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:10:38 +0000

[...] 27. Change your community rarely. [...]

By: A new community manager in an existing online community | Community Building

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:51:45 +0000

[...] On a less dramatic level, you may be replacing a previous manager that was popular and well liked (big shoes to fill). Maybe the previous manager acted badly (you’ll need to break down the barriers members have raised). Regardless of the circumstances of your appointment, you need to be aware that this is a big change for the community – and members of online communities do not like change. [...]

By: Shawn

Shawn — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:45:40 +0000

The truth you speak; I recently just did some navigation changes to make a few processes easier and more accessible. Oh man it wasn’t 2 days later that I had to revert some because people were complaining literally about 2 items being spaced about 15px apart when they were previously about 5px. Users can be THAT picky! Sometimes I’d like to take the users that appreciate the changes and the ones that don’t and put them into a big pit to battle it out, because something that small can literally split the board opinion wise.

By: Best Practices: Building Online Communities (intro of sorts) « Mintz’s Words

Wed, 27 May 2009 13:01:17 +0000

[...] 27. Change your community rarely … [...]

By: The Hannah Montana Movie is a lesson in community building « Online Community Strategist

Sun, 24 May 2009 21:04:23 +0000

[...] ready to deal with. When that loyalty is extreme, it can become a real problem, and in some cases thwart your much needed growth. As community managers and practitioners, we want growth and new members, but we also want our [...]

By: How to make your online community stronger | Community Building & Community Management

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:37:00 +0000

[...] Community members hate change. There may be some initial momentum that comes with a redesign, but it doesn’t solve the fact your community is weak. Your efforts are best invested elsewhere. [...]