![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 62 to 86 of 89. Go back in thread:
Posted by Justherself54 on October 5, 2009, at 17:34:14
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Kath, posted by Deneb on October 5, 2009, at 11:11:17
Posted by Dr. Bob on October 10, 2009, at 15:21:05
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Deneb, posted by Kath on October 5, 2009, at 10:58:12
> > What is it about Babble that made them sicker? Is there something we can do about that?
>
> Blocks, excessive blocks.
> Apparently not...
>
> muffledIf someone isn't willing or able to be civil, they could be blocked repeatedly, which might of course be painful for them. And I guess we're both limited in our ability to help others be civil.
--
> Being on the "no tweet" list does not necessarily mean you want a non-vibrant Babble.
>
> MidnightBlueNo, but it does mean you don't want, or at least are ambivalent about, new Babblers, doesn't it?
--
> I think we should bring back greeters here. We should have a bunch of volunteers at Babble who specifically look to welcome and explain things to newbies.
>
> Maybe lets try to have several greeters. I'll be a greeter! I'll make an effort to interact more with newbies.
>
> Anyone else?
>
> Deneb> I can't take on a commitment to go around & check for new people on various boards.
>
> KathI had a new idea about greeters. Maybe instead of them having to go around and check, there could be a mailing list that would send them links to posts by new Babblers?
Bob
Posted by Deneb on October 10, 2009, at 15:48:12
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 10, 2009, at 15:21:05
> I had a new idea about greeters. Maybe instead of them having to go around and check, there could be a mailing list that would send them links to posts by new Babblers?
>
> BobThat is an excellent idea Dr. Bob! That way no new posts will be overlooked! It's good because I don't check all the boards all the time. You can send me the links Dr. Bob. I want to help out in whatever way I can. It also makes me feel good to do something good for Babble and help people out. :-)
Posted by Kath on October 10, 2009, at 18:53:51
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 10, 2009, at 15:21:05
> > Being on the "no tweet" list does not necessarily mean you want a non-vibrant Babble.
> >
> > MidnightBlue
>
> No, but it does mean you don't want, or at least are ambivalent about, new Babblers, doesn't it?I don't see that 'no tweet' = not wanting new Babblers (speaking for myself). I don't feel ambivalent about new Babblers. I like there being new Babblers. Babble has helped me greatly & I like to see others getting support here.
The thing that makes me feel uncomfortable is the thought of people reading Babble posts out of sheer curiosity. Although I'm not "up on" the details of twitter, due to the fact that it is (if I understand correctly) a new popular internet 'thing' - I have the impression that there might be more of a chance of people reading out of curiosity. This, as opposed to someone discovering Babble as a result of doing a Google search on a psych med (the way I discovered it) or searching online for a support forum. Just thoughts.
> I had a new idea about greeters. Maybe instead of them having to go around and check, there could be a mailing list that would send them links to posts by new Babblers?
>
> BobI think that sounds like a good idea. For me, I can't make a commitment to welcoming all newbies; my ability to do so depends on what's happening in my life, hence 'how I'm doing'. Any thoughts on what commitment is involved in being a 'greeter'?
Kath
Posted by 10derHeart on October 10, 2009, at 18:56:38
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 10, 2009, at 15:21:05
>No, but it does mean you don't want, or at least are ambivalent about, new Babblers, doesn't it?
No, no, no and no.
I don't know if you are talking just to MB, or to the more global 'you', but I will answer anyway.
I'm more than a little surprised you posted that question. Why would you even think A means B? I don't remember much of anything - if anything at all - in the No Twitter thread that even hinted at not wanting new people here.
I don't really like Twitter. The more I've experienced it since that thread first started, the less I like it. It's overwhelming, for one thing, to even contemplate having yet another electronic "place" to keep track of, check, be a part of, whatever. There are other reasons I just don't know how to articulate. I particularly don't like you - or anyone - excerpting my Babble posts on Twitter, for the same reasons I and others have already explained. Babble is Babble and Twitter is Twitter. I may not be able to explain any further, rationally, the "why" of it, but I do KNOW it has nothing AT ALL to do with being ambivilent about new Babblers.
Nothing
what -
so -
ever.I really don't understand why you seem to think it does.
Maybe it's that you cannot understand that safety at (in the unique environment of) Babble does *not* equate to "safety from people I don't know yet" - that it is something else entirely?
Do YOU think links from Twitter are the best and/or ONLY way to achieve the aim of attracting new Babblers?
Posted by BayLeaf on October 10, 2009, at 21:46:10
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 10, 2009, at 15:21:05
>I had a new idea about greeters. Maybe instead of them having to go around and check, there could be a mailing list that would send them links to posts by new Babblers?
>Bob
Hey, make sure you add this to their welcome greeting!
"If someone isn't willing or able to be civil, they could be blocked repeatedly, which might of course be painful for them. - Bob"
You are trying to get people to come to a party which has no beer or chips. They'll just leave early. First make the place good, THEN invite guests.
Bay
Posted by Dr. Bob on October 12, 2009, at 0:15:16
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Dr. Bob, posted by 10derHeart on October 10, 2009, at 18:56:38
> > Maybe ... there could be a mailing list that would send them links to posts by new Babblers?
>
> That is an excellent idea Dr. Bob! That way no new posts will be overlooked! It's good because I don't check all the boards all the time. You can send me the links Dr. Bob. I want to help out in whatever way I can. It also makes me feel good to do something good for Babble and help people out. :-)
>
> Deneb> I think that sounds like a good idea. For me, I can't make a commitment to welcoming all newbies; my ability to do so depends on what's happening in my life, hence 'how I'm doing'. Any thoughts on what commitment is involved in being a 'greeter'?
>
> KathThanks, every little bit helps! And the more people that join in, the less there would be for each of you to do. The mailing list is a new Yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/psycho-babble-greeters
I think I also have the server automatically posting the links to this thread:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/newbs/20080507/msgs/920478.html
And tweeting them (the links, not any of the text).
--
> I don't see that 'no tweet' = not wanting new Babblers (speaking for myself). I don't feel ambivalent about new Babblers.
>
> The thing that makes me feel uncomfortable is the thought of people reading Babble posts out of sheer curiosity. ... as opposed to ... discovering Babble as a result of doing a Google search on a psych med (the way I discovered it) or searching online for a support forum.
>
> Kath> I don't really like Twitter. The more I've experienced it since that thread first started, the less I like it. It's overwhelming, for one thing, to even contemplate having yet another electronic "place" to keep track of, check, be a part of, whatever. ... I particularly don't like you - or anyone - excerpting my Babble posts on Twitter, for the same reasons I and others have already explained. Babble is Babble and Twitter is Twitter. I may not be able to explain any further, rationally, the "why" of it, but I do KNOW it has nothing AT ALL to do with being ambivilent about new Babblers.
>
> 10derHeartI'm not sure Twitter searches and Google searches are so different. And this doesn't involve posters joining Twitter themselves.
Maybe the ambivalence isn't about all new Babblers, but just about certain new ones. Because they're different somehow? Just curious as opposed to needing support? Twitter as opposed to Babble?
I'm reminded of the concerns about the last research project. Like you, Twitter users are real people who can benefit from support and education. Anxiety is a natural result of change, and I think the reaction here was also a sign of cohesiveness and a desire to protect this community from disruption. As Seldom said back then, good can come of this -- for current posters, for new posters, and for the community as a whole. Let's try to be open to that possibility.
Bob
Posted by 10derHeart on October 12, 2009, at 2:27:00
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 12, 2009, at 0:15:16
I feel mostly unheard and COMPLETELY misunderstood.
But I am learning when to just walk away.
Sigh.
Posted by muffled on October 12, 2009, at 10:19:38
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Dr. Bob, posted by 10derHeart on October 12, 2009, at 2:27:00
> I feel mostly unheard and COMPLETELY misunderstood.
>
> But I am learning when to just walk away.
>
> Sigh.*(((10der))) I sigh too ***Sigh****
You have to walk away.
He(Bob) just DOESN'T seem to understand stuff, he really doesn't. He doesn't seem able to. Which is why he does not change anything in any signifigant way.
That is why I don't (mostly) post here. Cuz I can't be here, cuz he doesn't listen(or maybe he does sometimes, when he is here, and it suits him, maybe he listens, but is unable to comprehend). I can't reason with him. That makes this place unsafe IMHO, cuz sometimes he(Bob) is way too hurtful.
Take care 10der, your a good egg, I miss being able to visit here.
M
Posted by Dr. Bob on October 12, 2009, at 10:48:01
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Dr. Bob, posted by 10derHeart on October 12, 2009, at 2:27:00
> I feel mostly unheard and COMPLETELY misunderstood.
>
> But I am learning when to just walk away.I'm sorry I didn't understand. Could you try to explain again?
Bob
Posted by MidnightBlue on October 12, 2009, at 14:37:05
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 10, 2009, at 15:21:05
> No, but it does mean you don't want, or at least are ambivalent about, new Babblers, doesn't it?
>
> BobDr. Bob,
That is a hurtful and incorrect statement. Please do not put words in my mouth. And no, I don't care to elaborate on that.
MidnightBlue
Posted by 10derHeart on October 12, 2009, at 14:54:10
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 12, 2009, at 10:48:01
No, sorry, maybe some day, but I can't right now.
My head hurts and I can't think of any more ways to say the same thing.
Thanks for asking, anyway,
Posted by Phillipa on October 12, 2009, at 19:00:20
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Dr. Bob, posted by 10derHeart on October 12, 2009, at 14:54:10
Glad I got Facebook it's a fun place. Phillipa ps no blocking there. And topics are fun.
Posted by Dinah on October 12, 2009, at 20:52:03
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Phillipa on October 12, 2009, at 19:00:20
"We ordered rectal thermometers and got spark plugs ; both very useful items but hardly interchangeable." - Col. Potter, M*A*S*H*
The purpose of Facebook and the purpose of Babble are not the same. I'm glad you found someplace fun to be, and to play games. But I'm guessing that you might not get the answers to meds questions that you can get here, for example?
(To be clear, that's just a quote my husband and I love to use in situations where it can in any way be applied. I'm not implying that either Babble or Facebook have any similarities to rectal thermometers or spark plugs.)
Posted by Phillipa on October 12, 2009, at 21:20:08
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Phillipa, posted by Dinah on October 12, 2009, at 20:52:03
Dinah they complement each other. Phillipa the two sites.
Posted by Dr. Bob on October 25, 2009, at 10:06:32
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on September 29, 2009, at 5:18:25
> I did a mini-survey of the last archive at Medication and found 13 flagged posts by new posters. 9 were replied to, 4 weren't. 7 of the 9 who were replied to posted again, but only 1 of the 4 who weren't.
I did a follow-up mini-survey of the new system, and there were 14 new posters, all were replied to, and 11 posted again.
The big difference is that the replied-to rate increased from 9/13 = 69% to 14/14 = 100%. The posted-again-if-replied-to rate didn't really change, 7/9 = 78% vs 11/14 = 79%. But the higher replied-to rate brought the overall posted-again rate up from 8/13 = 62% to 11/14 = 79%.
Thanks to all of you who replied! And especially to Deneb, who was the most consistent replier.
Would anybody else like to help maintain Babble in this way? If so, it's easy now to know when a new poster posts. You can:
* keep checking this thread at Newbies:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/newbs/20080507/msgs/920478.html
* join this Yahoo group to receive links to those posts by email:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/psycho-babble-greeters
* or follow Babble on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/psycho_babel
Bob
Posted by Deneb on October 25, 2009, at 13:52:59
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 25, 2009, at 9:06:32
You're welcome Dr. Bob! It's nice to welcome newbies. I find the Yahoo group the most useful. I keep my gmail open all the time and I get to answer newbies faster this way.
Posted by Phillipa on October 25, 2009, at 18:14:07
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Dr. Bob, posted by Deneb on October 25, 2009, at 13:52:59
Deneb you're doing a wonderful job been seeing quite a few of the greetings. I try to welcome also if the name seems new or the flags there still or not? If not the contents of the thread sometimes say they are new. Phillipa
Posted by Deneb on October 26, 2009, at 12:50:54
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 25, 2009, at 10:06:32
Hey Dr. Bob,
I found this and thought it might be helpful. I don't know if you've read it before,
http://www.communityspark.com/dont-lose-existing-members-of-your-online-community/
Dont lose existing members of your online community
keep hold of existing community members
New members help your community become more vibrant but you dont have a community in the first place if you cant keep hold of your existing members. It doesnt matter how many posts you have if members join, say hello and then leave, you dont have a community. You need to keep hold of existing members whilst attracting new ones at the same time.
How to keep existing members of your online community
Members of your online community need to feel special and they need to feel valued. They need to know that you want them as a members and they need to know that you have noticed them.
Here are some ways you can lower the turnover of your online community:
1. Welcome new members.
Be personal. The auto-generated email doesnt count but if thats all you can do, at least personalise it. This can scale welcome new members publicly, and your members will follow suit. If it all becomes a bit overwhelming, youve already established a welcome wagon as part of your communitys culture. Your members will now take over.
When you welcome new members, they know they have been noticed. Nobody wants to contribute to a community if they feel invisible.
2. Praise member contributions.
If members do good, tell them. Feature the best content in a prominent position on the site. When responding to a members post, tell them how great you think it is. Dont forget the value of private messaging, too you might not want to get involved in a specific discussion, but that shouldnt stop you from dropping a member a PM to thank them for their fantastic contribution.
3. Communicate with your members.
Dont just talk to your members. Listen, too. Get involved in the community you are managing. Get involved in discussions. When members contact you, make sure they get a response (a real one not an auto-responder or link to the FAQs). If you forget to keep in touch with your members, they may forget to keep in touch with the community.
4. Get to know your members.
Similar to above. You cant get to know your members if youre not involved in the community. Dont just reply to existing discussions. Dont just start new discussions. Ask questions. Learn about your members and learn from your members. Figure out what makes them tick youll then be in a better position to tailor the community to their needs.
5. Show interest in your members.
If youre not a people person, you cant be a community manager. You need to be interested in people and you need to love getting to know people. Show an interest in your members and what they do. Does a member have a blog? Go read it and drop the occasional comment. Do they have a new website? Take a look and offer some feedback. Share a link to their site with the community.
Show an interest in your members, and theyll continue to show an interest in your community.
6. Interview your members.
I have to admit, this is something I have only started doing recently. It works wonders, though. Initially, members wondered what the point of interviews would be after all, they are already getting to know other members by reading their posts and getting involved in discussions. However, after the very first interview, the sceptics were won over.
Interviews allow you to really dig deep into the personality and experience of individual members. They are a great opportunity for members to open up and talk about things they wouldnt normally share or start a discussion about. They can bring the community closer together, and the replies from other members after an interview make the interviewee feel special and valued.
Dont just interview existing members of your online community, though get out there and interview people you want as members, too.
7. Give members additional responsibilities.
Empowerment is a powerful tool. You dont need to necessarily give away real powers just assign individual members certain tasks and responsibilities. At Female Forum, one of our members is in charge of the Twitter account. Brave? Dangerous? Risky? No it just shows the community how much I respect and trust them.
8. Give members a reason to keep coming back.
Nobody will come back to your community if there is no fresh content. You need to get members addicted. Newsletters can be used to highlight the best conversations (or the most controversial). Quiz leagues can bring out a competitive spirit.
Put yourself in the shoes of your members. Would you want to return tomorrow?
9. Know when to use power.
You have lots of power. You can edit posts, delete posts, delete members and ban members. Use these powers sparingly. Dont oppress members. They dont want to live in fear. The more they worry about moderator intervention, the less theyll be inclined to post. Members will make mistakes from time to time dont come down on them like a tonne of bricks if they do. Be understanding. Genuine mistakes happen. Personal circumstances may result in someone acting completely out of character.
Use your power sparingly and wisely.
10. Be genuine.
You cant fake it when it comes to being a community manager. You need to be genuinely interested in your members. You need to be genuinely passionate about the community. Members can tell when youre faking it if that happens, youre in trouble.
How to attract new members to your online community
See above. If you work hard for your existing members, youll naturally attract new ones.
Posted by muffled on October 26, 2009, at 12:57:12
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Dr. Bob, posted by Deneb on October 26, 2009, at 12:50:54
I hope Bob takes note of #9 and #10.
Good management will naturally attract new members. Then you don't need all this facebook and twitter crapola.
Well done deneb.
M
Posted by Deneb on October 26, 2009, at 13:05:13
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 25, 2009, at 10:06:32
I also found this. I thought it might be useful for you.
http://www.communityspark.com/how-to-build-and-maintain-trust-in-online-communities/
12th October, 2009 | Community Management | By Martin Reed - Community Manager
How to build and maintain trust in online communitiesencouraging trust in online communities
A vital element of a successful online community is trust. Without it, your community wont be as strong as it could be trust brings people together; it encourages people to share information and the more they share, the more others will share. Strong bonds result in a strong community. In this article, Ill outline some of the ways you can build and maintain trust in online communities.
Who needs to be trusted?
As a community manager, it is important that your members trust you after all, youre the official authority figure, even though you should always be deflecting the spotlight onto your members. However, its more important for your members to trust each other. A community is about its members; how they interact with each other and the relationships they form with each other. The community isnt about you.
Members of online communities will often mimic the behaviour of influencers so its important that you lead by example if you want to encourage an atmosphere of trust in your community.
Be authentic
You cant fake it. Members of online communities can smell a lie a mile off. If youre not authentic, your members wont trust you. If youre not authentic, you risk breeding a culture of deception and half-truths. Youre not perfect, so dont try to be.
Share
Online communities share information. Members talk about themselves. The more information they share, and the more personal that information is, the greater the build-up of trust in the community. Measuring the success of your community by the number of discussions where members share highly personal and sensitive information is far more valuable than just counting the number of members you have.
You need to encourage information sharing. You can do this by sharing information about yourself and striving to create and maintain a positive community atmosphere with no abuse or name calling. Members wont want to share personal information about themselves if they think theyll be mocked.
Be unbiased (perhaps)
Deciding whether to get involved in discussions of a more sensitive or controversial nature can be difficult. As a community manager, you want to be seen as impartial but human at the same time. If you are always sitting on the fence, youll come across as a robot hardly the best way to encourage relationships and empathy.
Share your opinions and show you are a real person just be careful when it comes to getting involved in discussions that are likely to split the community. Some members might feel betrayed if you publicly disagree with them. Just be sensitive and you should be fine.
Be consistent
You cant earn trust overnight. New members of your online community take time to fit in existing members need to get to know them and feel comfortable around them before they will begin to be trusted. The opinions of new members count for less than the opinions of longer term members for the simple reason that they have a known history.
Its a long term process
You cant make many mistakes here. The odd slip up can be forgiven as long as you openly apologise but repeated breaches of trust can be irreparable. You can spend months creating an atmosphere and culture of trust only for it to be destroyed by one person who is allowed to get away with bullying other members or by you acting unethically.
There is a lot resting on this you need to take a long term approach. But thats what community building is all about.
------------------------------------------
I also found this and thought it was interesting. The theory is that if we make it harder for people to join, it makes the community more attractive and adds prestige for the membership.
http://www.communityspark.com/invigorate-your-online-community-by-closing-it-down/21st October, 2009 | Community Management | By Martin Reed - Community Manager
Invigorate your online community by closing it downclosing online communities
Remember that community building takes time. That being said, sometimes an online community just wont get off the ground. If you are struggling to encourage activity or if you want to build more of a buzz around your site, sometimes closing it down is the best course of action.
Close your online community down completely
Most online communities fail. Normally this is due to one of two reasons. Firstly, starting an online community is easy, so many rush to build and release a community site without a plan or strategy. Secondly, many businesses think that if they invest enough money in a community, theyll see success. Community building isnt about big budgets, though. Its about building relationships which take time and trust, not money.
A lot of online communities launch before they are ready. You need to start building your community before you launch a community website. When your site goes public, it needs to already have members, content and active discussions. New members wont join a dead community.
If you started your community prematurely, close it down and start again. Reach out to your target audience through other channels (for example, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube). Recruit initial golden members to help you get your community going. When you relaunch your community website (if indeed, that is still necessary), youll now have immediate interest, early adopters and content.
Closing an online community also allows you to reassess why you want an online community. It gives you time to figure out why your community isnt developing as you had hoped. Having no community at all is better than having a failed community.
Restrict access to your online community
Being a member of an online community is rarely a luxury. Most are free to join. Most allow members to join without any obligation to be active. The result is often a high number of ghost members they show in your member stats, but they arent active (so they arent really members).
Theres no prestige in being a member of a community that lets everyone and anyone in. The more selective you are, the more attractive your community becomes. Consider making it more difficult to join your online community. Consider making it more difficult to remain a member of your online community. Here are some ideas:
* Have a waiting list for new members
* Only allow new members to join at certain times (specific time periods, days of the week, holidays, etc)
* Only allow a certain number of new members to join each week/month
* Make being active an ongoing membership requirement
* Make membership temporary new members have to earn the right to stay
* Make completion of detailed profile information a membership requirementExclusivity is attractive
Having an open community can result in a high number of new member registrations, but this wont always translate to active, engaged members. The more exclusive you make your community, the more attractive it becomes. Consider foregoing the ego stroke of artificial member counts, and aim instead for quality over quantity. Change the perception of your online community from a commodity to a privilege. Make members earn the right to join, and earn the right to stay.
Its a bold action, but it doesnt have to last forever. If you dont think exclusive, closed communities can work, read up on the history of Facebook.
Posted by Deneb on October 26, 2009, at 13:20:07
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Dr. Bob on October 25, 2009, at 10:06:32
I also found this, it seems useful.
http://www.communityspark.com/95-things-i-have-learnt-in-9-years-of-community-building/
28th April, 2009 | Community Development | Community Management | By Martin Reed - Community Manager
95 things I have learnt in 9 years of community buildingcommunity building experience
I have been a community builder for over nine years. In this time I have learnt a lot, and I am still learning. Here are 95 things I have learnt so far:
1. You need to know why you want an online community.
2. A strong community cannot be built quickly.
3. You need to have specific goals and targets.
4. Technology doesnt matter.
5. Planning a community should take longer than the design and coding stage.
6. Starting an online community is the most exciting stage of community building.
7. Developing and managing a successful online community is the most rewarding part of community building.
8. Dormant online communities can be turned around.
9. Ads shouldnt distract from your content and they should never have more prominence than the community.
10. Never hide your community it doesnt belong behind a community tab.
11. Make sure members are able to invite friends to your community easily.
12. Poaching members from other online communities rarely works.
13. Social bookmarking traffic is next to worthless. Dont bother chasing it.
14. Search engine rankings do help and they do matter. Dont get obsessed, though.
15. Paid advertising wont always get you the right members for your community.
16. Google is fickle.
17. You will deal with more spam than you ever thought possible.
18. You need to watch what your competitors are doing.
19. Competitors will try to steal your members.
20. There is nothing wrong with stealing ideas as long as you dont copy them.
21. Befriending your competitors is a good idea.
22. Keep your community as open as possible.
23. Dont be fooled into thinking members will use features even if they requested those features.
24. Keep features down to a minimum.
25. Your reputation is important. Defend it.
26. Expand your community slowly.
27. Change your community rarely.
28. You dont need expensive software.
29. You dont need a flashy design.
30. Your community needs to be easy to use.
31. You need to go and find new members they wont always come to you.
32. A lot of people wont understand what you do for a living.
33. If you dont regularly backup, youll be punished.
34. One day, you will need to ban someone from your community.
35. You will be called names, and you will face abuse.
36. All online communities need to have visible (and enforced) guidelines and rules.
37. You have a responsibility to educate your members about staying safe when online.
38. You need to highlight the best content and give strong calls to action.
39. You dont need money to build a successful online community.
40. You need to know what your visitors are doing when on your site.
41. You need to know how visitors are finding your site.
42. You need to know how visitors are interacting with your site.
43. You need to install something at least as good as Google Analytics.
44. Link exchanges can still provide some value, but dont spend too much time on them.
45. If you encourage abuse and arguments, your community will be a hive of negativity.
46. Controversy and suspense encourages activity, but see point 45.
47. Asking questions is the single most effective way of generating activity in an online community.
48. You need to share information about yourself.
49. You need to be approachable.
50. You need to be consistent.
51. You need to be personable.
52. You need to be visible.
53. You need to be proactive.
54. You need to be involved in the community.
55. You will make mistakes.
56. Sometimes you will need to say sorry.
57. Your successes will tempt you to forget about your mistakes. Dont.
58. Sometimes your community will disappoint you.
59. Sometimes your community will overwhelm you.
60. Sometimes your community will make you proud.
61. Sometimes youll feel as though your entire community is against you.
62. Never give cash to your members.
63. Competitions need to be thought out very carefully. They are rarely effective.
64. You need to act as a matchmaker by introducing members to other members.
65. Sometimes youll just get lucky. Theres no shame in that.
66. Sometimes youll be unlucky youll need to work even harder.
67. Youll make friends.
68. Youll make enemies.
69. Sometimes youll want to quit.
70. Sometimes youll want to work 24 hours every day.
71. You need to cater to your members not your own wants or needs.
72. Trust is critical.
73. You need to give out a lot of ego strokes and compliments.
74. You should always try to say yes.
75. Sometimes you will need to say no.
76. You cant please everyone.
77. Some members will always complain.
78. You will feel humbled by your online community.
79. Your members will not always say things you want to hear.
80. Do not edit or delete negative comments about your brand. Respond to them openly.
81. The more you moderate or intervene, the less active your community will be.
82. You need to delegate some tasks to trusted members.
83. You should give trusted members additional responsibilities and powers.
84. Your moderators need to know exactly what is expected of them.
85. Dont focus solely on your power members.
86. You need to work hard to get dormant members active and involved.
87. You cant predict the future.
88. You cant be afraid to experiment.
89. You need to be original and come up with new ideas.
90. Your community needs to be different.
91. It can be easy to forget that a real person sits behind every member name.
92. You need to be passionate about your online community.
93. A community cannot be declared a success based on member count alone.
94. Online communities need a dedicated community manager.
95. Being a community manager is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world.
I deliberately stopped short of 100. Having 100 points could imply that this list is comprehensive and covers everything. It may also suggest I have nothing more to learn. That couldnt be further from the truth.
Posted by Sigismund on October 31, 2009, at 17:56:28
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Dr. Bob, posted by Deneb on October 26, 2009, at 12:50:54
This is worth paying attention to....
>Don't lose existing members of your online community
>keep hold of existing community members
Posted by gobbledygook on October 31, 2009, at 22:30:24
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble, posted by Sigismund on October 31, 2009, at 17:56:28
> This is worth paying attention to....
>
> >Don't lose existing members of your online community
>
> >keep hold of existing community members
Don't issue blocks for eons by mincing and parsing community members' words.
Those inconsistent blocks and PBCs felt like random BLOWS and BULLYING to me.
It did not feel good or safe for this member.Void and emptiness is what I now feel when I come here - with so many members
either blocked or gone (after having had enough...) Many of them were wonderfully
interesting and engaging people who contributed A LOT to babble. I really miss reading
and learning from their thoughtful and insightful posts...not to mention all the fun and laughs.And now the tweetering and facebooking...feels like a mass blocking system...
It's very sad and I feel bad for everyone.Sig - I hear ya. Hanging in there? Hope you are well! Happy Halloween, Sig.
Take care everyone,
Ava
Posted by Sigismund on November 1, 2009, at 14:24:11
In reply to Re: maintaining Babble » Sigismund, posted by gobbledygook on October 31, 2009, at 22:30:24
Void and emptiness?
Yes well, it can be hard to work out what's what.
I don't feel well, certainly.
It's like a crew of the doomed is breaking up with ill effect.On a brighter note, I have managed to read the first hundred and fifty pages of The Devils.
It takes a while for Dostoevsky to set up his scenes, but once he has done so they are wildly funny.Nice to see you, Ava.
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