Coming Together
Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities
By Amy Jo Kim
Peachpit Press, 2000. 360 pp.
$29.99
By Eugene E. Kim
When L'Eggs pantyhose first launched its Web site in 1995, they included a discussion forum called "The L'Eggs Community" where they hoped women on the Web would discuss their important hose-related issues. To the company's dismay, the forum was overwhelmed by pantyhose-wearing men, who ultimately scared away the intended audience.
The L'Eggs fiasco isn't an isolated incident. Anyone who thinks that installing forum software equals building a community may be in for a big surprise. When it comes to fostering a successful community, understanding human behavior is just as important as choosing the right technology. Amy Jo Kim's Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities is a comprehensive primer on building virtual communities.
Based on her experience as a design consultant, Kim discusses nine basic principles and supports them with numerous examples. Kim devotes a chapter to each strategy:
- Define and articulate your purpose.
- Build flexible, extensible gathering places.
- Create meaningful and evolving member
profiles.
- Design for a range of roles.
- Develop a strong leadership program.
- Encourage appropriate etiquette.
- Promote cyclic events.
- Integrate the rituals of community life.
- Facilitate member-run subgroups.
The subtitle of Kim's book describes these strategies as secret; however, they're anything but.
