Most recent edit on 2005-05-30 11:23:01 by pcp05305053pcs.wanarb01.mi.comcast.net
Additions:
Most of the sites I visit don't seem to follow these rules, or at least not in an obvious way. The one I am studying does have a list of members, but profiles are optional (as are real names). It is also largely devoid of any content beyond the message posts themselves. Both of these areas (additional content and helping integrate new members into the group) could be enhanced to improve the user experience. I hope our continuing discussion will produce some ideas for achieving this, because I am probably the only person in my eCommunity actively concerned with such at the moment--although we added three members over the weekend.
Deletions:
EverettWiggins : Most of the sites I visit don't seem to follow these rules, or at least not in an obvious way. The one I am studying does have a list of members, but profiles are optional (as are real names). It is also largely devoid of any content beyond the message posts themselves. Both of these areas (additional content and helping integrate new members into the group) could be enhanced to improve the user experience. I hope our continuing discussion will produce some ideas for achieving this, because I am probably the only person in my eCommunity actively concerned with such at the moment--although we added three members over the weekend.
Edited on 2005-01-24 16:50:21 by PaulResnick
Additions:
At the same time, I found PowazekChapter2 was also very useful for community builders to consider in what to offer to their participants (members/subscribers/visitors). Because with all the supporting mechanisms mentioned by Kim, content would still come first (I am not intending to steal the chapter title from Powazek – it is just something I agree upon), particularly during the period of launching a new ecommunity. In the interview with Matt Haughey recorded in Chapter 2, Matt Haughey stressed the absolute importance of content from his experience in hosting his open topic weblog “MetaFilter”: “during the first six months of the site, there would usually be no discussion at all, so the links would have to be extremely interesting in order to get people to come back to the site”. He also mentioned the difference between “speaking at the community of readers” and “speaking to them”. Good stories that attracted posts were usually personal, engaging, funny, or enlightening.
Deletions:
At the same time, I found Powazek Chapter 2 was also very useful for community builders to consider in what to offer to their participants (members/subscribers/visitors). Because with all the supporting mechanisms mentioned by Kim, content would still come first (I am not intending to steal the chapter title from Powazek – it is just something I agree upon), particularly during the period of launching a new ecommunity. In the interview with Matt Haughey recorded in Chapter 2, Matt Haughey stressed the absolute importance of content from his experience in hosting his open topic weblog “MetaFilter”: “during the first six months of the site, there would usually be no discussion at all, so the links would have to be extremely interesting in order to get people to come back to the site”. He also mentioned the difference between “speaking at the community of readers” and “speaking to them”. Good stories that attracted posts were usually personal, engaging, funny, or enlightening.
Edited on 2005-01-24 14:39:03 by EverettWiggins
Additions:
This section describes the ways in which elders can be valuable members of the community. Whether or not they are officially involved in running the community, elders serve as role models and have a big influence on the community’s interactions. Novices and even regulars may look to elders to see how to behave in the community, and the elders’ experiences help to pass on the community’s culture to all members over time. It is suggested that the community developer find ways to capture the valuable knowledge of a community’s elders, either through providing a forum through which elders can express their thoughts and advice, such as a regular column, newsletter or chat service, or by involving elders in the decision-making for things such as new features or member benefits the community is considering adopting.
NoorAliHasan: Maybe Metafilter is so successful because it doesn't have any prescribed roles (contrary to Kim's assertions in Chapters 4 and 5)? Metafilter is a flat organization - everyone is empowered to post and make comments (there are no designated leaders). However, as members make more comments and post more stories to the front page, they become better regarded in the community. Some members are "A-list" bloggers (i.e. Jason Kottke or Joi Ito) and already carry blogger/Internet celebrity with their contributions. Then again, maybe Metafilter is so successful because much of its content lies elsewhere?
EverettWiggins : Most of the sites I visit don't seem to follow these rules, or at least not in an obvious way. The one I am studying does have a list of members, but profiles are optional (as are real names). It is also largely devoid of any content beyond the message posts themselves. Both of these areas (additional content and helping integrate new members into the group) could be enhanced to improve the user experience. I hope our continuing discussion will produce some ideas for achieving this, because I am probably the only person in my eCommunity actively concerned with such at the moment--although we added three members over the weekend.
Deletions:
This section describes the ways in which elders can be valuable members of the community. Whether or not they are officially involved in running the community, elders serve as role models and have a big influence on the community’s interactions. Novices and even regulars make look to elders to see how to behave in the community, and the elders’ experiences help to pass on the community’s culture to all members over time. It is suggested that the community developer find ways to capture the valuable knowledge of a community’s elders, either through providing a forum through which elders can express their thoughts and advice, such as a regular column, newsletter or chat service, or by involving elders in the decision-making for things such as new features or member benefits the community is considering adopting.
NoorAliHasan: Maybe Metafilter is so successful because it doesn't have any prescribed roles (contrary to Kim's assertions in Chapters 4 and 5)? Metafilter is a flat organization - everyone is empowered to post and make comments (there are no designated leaders). However, as members make more comments and post more stories to the front page, they become better regarded in the community. Some members are "A-list" bloggers (i.e. Jason Kottke or Joi Ito) and already carry blogger/Internet celebrity with their contributions. Then again, maybe Metafilter is so successful because much of its content lies elsewhere?
Edited on 2005-01-24 10:54:49 by NoorAliHasan
Additions:
Mostly at this point, I'm wondering if everyone can spot the ways in which their online community uses the techniques and methods Kim describes. What happens when they don't? Are the methods Kim suggests things we could consider as ways to interact with or make/suggest changes to our communities in terms of our class projects?
NoorAliHasan: Maybe Metafilter is so successful because it doesn't have any prescribed roles (contrary to Kim's assertions in Chapters 4 and 5)? Metafilter is a flat organization - everyone is empowered to post and make comments (there are no designated leaders). However, as members make more comments and post more stories to the front page, they become better regarded in the community. Some members are "A-list" bloggers (i.e. Jason Kottke or Joi Ito) and already carry blogger/Internet celebrity with their contributions. Then again, maybe Metafilter is so successful because much of its content lies elsewhere?
Deletions:
Mostly at this point, I'm wondering if everyone can spot the ways in which their online community uses the techniques and methods KIm describes. What happens when they don't? Are the methods Kim suggests things we could consider as ways to interact with or make/suggest changes to our communities in terms of our class projects?
NoorAliHasan: Maybe Metafilter is so successful because it doesn't have any perscribed roles (contrary to Kim's asertions in Chapters 4 and 5)? Metafilter is a flat organization - everyone is empowered to post and make comments (there are no designated leaders). However, as members make more comments and post more stories to the front page, they become better regarded in the community. Some members are "A-list" bloggers (i.e. Jason Kottke or Joi Ito) and already carry blogger/Internet celebrity with their contributions. Then again, maybe Metafilter is so successful because much of its content lies elsewhere?
Edited on 2005-01-24 10:53:42 by NoorAliHasan
Additions:
NoorAliHasan: Maybe Metafilter is so successful because it doesn't have any perscribed roles (contrary to Kim's asertions in Chapters 4 and 5)? Metafilter is a flat organization - everyone is empowered to post and make comments (there are no designated leaders). However, as members make more comments and post more stories to the front page, they become better regarded in the community. Some members are "A-list" bloggers (i.e. Jason Kottke or Joi Ito) and already carry blogger/Internet celebrity with their contributions. Then again, maybe Metafilter is so successful because much of its content lies elsewhere?
Deletions:
Edited on 2005-01-23 17:40:26 by CathyLu
Additions:
CathyLu : Kim Chapter 4 raised an interesting concept – “membership life cycle”, which is very practical for online community builders to grasp and follow as guidelines to consider in making design and implementation decisions for their communities. The metaphor of “visitors”, “novices”, “regulars”, and “elders” illustrates the commonalities between an ecommunity and an offline community. This is a quite insightful concept for community builders in making user-friendly and user involving approaches to support people going through transitions of roles.
At the same time, I found Powazek Chapter 2 was also very useful for community builders to consider in what to offer to their participants (members/subscribers/visitors). Because with all the supporting mechanisms mentioned by Kim, content would still come first (I am not intending to steal the chapter title from Powazek – it is just something I agree upon), particularly during the period of launching a new ecommunity. In the interview with Matt Haughey recorded in Chapter 2, Matt Haughey stressed the absolute importance of content from his experience in hosting his open topic weblog “MetaFilter”: “during the first six months of the site, there would usually be no discussion at all, so the links would have to be extremely interesting in order to get people to come back to the site”. He also mentioned the difference between “speaking at the community of readers” and “speaking to them”. Good stories that attracted posts were usually personal, engaging, funny, or enlightening.
In sum, we could see what considerations need to be taken in building a successful community, a place that supports different roles of community members and also a place where people can exchange great ideas and thoughts.
Edited on 2005-01-23 16:45:46 by RebeccaTremaglio
Additions:
Mostly at this point, I'm wondering if everyone can spot the ways in which their online community uses the techniques and methods KIm describes. What happens when they don't? Are the methods Kim suggests things we could consider as ways to interact with or make/suggest changes to our communities in terms of our class projects?
Deletions:
Mostly at this point, I'm wondering if everyone can spot the ways in which their online community uses the techniques and methods KIm describes.
Edited on 2005-01-23 16:44:23 by RebeccaTremaglio
Additions:
In general, this chapter seems to be helpful in giving each of us the opportunity to investigate our chosen communities to see whether or not they use any of the methods Kim discusses (how they welcome new members, for example, or if and how they capture the wisdom of their community elders).
One thing that might be beneficial, however, is the use of more relevant examples pulled from sites that depend on text-based discussion as their major form of interaction. While it is interesting to see how members can grow and extend their participation on sites like Ultima Online, most online communities that are not game-based will need to utilize less graphically-dependent methods of communicating the status of someone with a particular role, such as leader or elder. A discussion of how to support ways in which new members can quickly and easily learn about the roles of leaders on an email list, for example, would not have been unwelcome.
Mostly at this point, I'm wondering if everyone can spot the ways in which their online community uses the techniques and methods KIm describes.
Deletions:
In general, this chapter seems to be well-organized and helpful, giving each of us the opportunity to investigate our chosen communities to see whether or not they use any of the methods Kim discusses (how they welcome new members, for example, or if and how they capture the wisdom of their community elders). One thing that might be beneficial, however, is the use of more relevant examples pulled from sites that depend on text-based discussion as their major form of interaction. While it is interesting to see how members can grow and extend their participation on sites like Ultima Online, most online communities that are not game-based will need to utilize less graphically-dependent methods of communicating the status of someone with a particular role, such as leader or elder. A discussion of how to support ways in which new members can quickly and easily learn about the designated roles of leaders on an email list, for example, would not have been unwelcome.
<Make connections with other readings for this week, or with outside resources, or with an on-line community you know about.>
Edited on 2005-01-23 16:39:58 by si-diad-32-xp.si.umich.edu
Additions:
<Make connections with other readings for this week, or with outside resources, or with an on-line community you know about.>
Class Discussion Comments
Deletions:
<Make connections with other readings for this week, or with outside resources, or with an on-line community you know about.>
Edited on 2005-01-23 13:34:15 by RebeccaTremaglio
Additions:
KimChapter4 in Kim2000 Roles: From Newcomer to Old-Timer
This chapter gives an overview of the typical roles that members of an online community play. These roles include Visitor, Novice, Regular, Leader and Elder. While not everyone will take on every one of these roles in his or her involvement with the community, there is a bit of an evolutionary process at work here. Everyone will have to be a visitor before joining the community, and everyone who joins will be a novice for some length of time. How deeply involved a person gets in an online community is, of course, determined in no small way by what that person wants and gets out of belonging to the community. However, the way the community itself handles the initial experiences of the novice can help influence whether or not that person goes on to become a regular member. The community can also help those regular members who are inclined to become even more involved take on leadership roles and responsibilities. Lastly, the community structure can support avenues for elders to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas with all members of the community to enhance everyone’s overall experience. This chapter focuses on tools community developers can use to support the role of each community member.
The membership lifecycle is the process by which a visitor becomes a member and goes through progressive levels of involvement in the community. Again, it is noted that not every member goes through every stage, but that at a couple of key transition points, the community would do well to recognize and be prepared to support the evolution of the individual’s growing interest level. These points are the transition from visitor to member, and the transition from regular to leader. The chapter also discusses ways to build the community so that members at all stages of the lifecycle can find what they need on the site.
Kim suggests creating some sort of “Welcome Center” for visitors to the community. This can take other names but the idea is to have a place where visitors can feel comfortable while learning about the benefits that membership in the community would offer. Common elements effective in a Visitors Center include an FAQ, a guided tour, information about the history & purpose of the community, the requirements and benefits of membership, a site map, and policies and guidelines for participation. These items can take whatever form the community founder feels is most accessible to the visitor and which helps to express the community’s brand.
Deletions:
KimChapter4
Chapter Four
Roles: From Newcomer to Old-Timer
This chapter gives an overview of the typical roles that members of an online community play. These roles include Visitor, Novice, Regular, Leader and Elder. While not everyone will spend the time and energy required to take on every one of these roles in his or her involvement with the community, there is a bit of an evolutionary process at work here. Everyone will have to be a visitor before joining the community, and everyone who joins will be a novice for some length of time. How deeply involved a person gets in an online community is, of course, determined in no small way by what that person wants and gets out of belonging to the community. However, the way the community itself handles the initial experiences of the novice can help influence whether or not that person goes on to become a regular member. The community can also help those regular members who are inclined to become even more involved take on leadership roles and responsibilities. Lastly, the community structure can support avenues for elders to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas with all members of the community to enhance everyone’s overall experience. This chapter focuses on tools community developers can use to support the role of each community member.
The membership lifecycle is the process by which a visitor becomes a member and goes through progressive levels of involvement in the community. It is noted that not every member goes through every stage, but that at a couple of key transition points, the community would do well to recognize and be prepared to support the evolution of the individual’s growing interest level. These points are the transition from visitor to member, and the transition from regular to leader. The chapter also discusses ways to build the community so that members at all stages of the lifecycle can find what they need on the site.
Kim suggests creating some sort of “Welcome Center” for visitors to the community. This can take other names, such as “Welcome Wagon,” but the idea is to have a place where visitors can feel comfortable while learning about the benefits that membership in the community would offer. Common elements effective in a Visitors Center include an FAQ, a guided tour, information about the history & purpose of the community, the requirements and benefits of membership, a site map, and policies and guidelines for participation. These items can take whatever form the community founder feels is most accessible to the visitor and which helps to express the community’s brand.
Edited on 2005-01-23 13:29:44 by RebeccaTremaglio
Additions:
There is also a special portion of this section devoted to the fact that site staff members, even if they are new, are automatically considered to be elders by novice and regulars members, if only because they have more control over the way things will develop in the community as a whole. The site staff serve as role models for the community. Kim suggests finding ways to capture the staff’s strengths and skills so that they benefit the community and make members comfortable trusting and interacting with the staff.
In general, this chapter seems to be well-organized and helpful, giving each of us the opportunity to investigate our chosen communities to see whether or not they use any of the methods Kim discusses (how they welcome new members, for example, or if and how they capture the wisdom of their community elders). One thing that might be beneficial, however, is the use of more relevant examples pulled from sites that depend on text-based discussion as their major form of interaction. While it is interesting to see how members can grow and extend their participation on sites like Ultima Online, most online communities that are not game-based will need to utilize less graphically-dependent methods of communicating the status of someone with a particular role, such as leader or elder. A discussion of how to support ways in which new members can quickly and easily learn about the designated roles of leaders on an email list, for example, would not have been unwelcome.
It also would have been interesting to see more of a discussion of the pitfalls a community might encounter if and when it fails to employ any particular group of Kim’s recommendations.
Deletions:
There is also a special portion of this section devoted to the fact that site staff members, even if they are new, are automatically considered to be elders by novice and regulars members, if only because they have more control over the way things will develop in the community as a whole. The site staff serve as role models for the community. Kim suggests finding ways to capture the staff’s strengths and skills in a way that benefits the community and makes members comfortable trusting and interacting with the staff.
<Are the major claims correct? Is anything important left out?>
Edited on 2005-01-22 16:25:52 by RebeccaTremaglio
Additions:
This section acknowledges that new members are vitally important to the sustainability of online communities, in that they are the ones who will likely become regular ongoing participants in the group. However, being new, they do have special needs that the community must support. Kim posits that one of the most important aspects of acknowledging the new member is with some sort of membership ritual. This can be as simple as having the new member confirm their email address works in order to activate their membership on the site, but can be more elaborate as the community’s norms and purpose dictate, such as a welcome note from the founder or an elder, or a gift or special offer of some kind, such as a discount coupon. Once this is done, the new member can be pointed towards a set of resources that might be of help or interest to him or her. The new member should also be given the opportunity to develop an online profile that marks him or her as a regular, allowing for other members to get to know the novice in the same fashion as the novice will be looking to learn about others. The idea is to make sure the new member is acknowledged and welcomed, while being introduced to the norms and culture of the community around them. Some methods of doing this include holding new member introductory chats, providing a forum specifically for new members to ask questions or introduce themselves, or providing a place to practice skills they will need to be successful as a regular.
Deletions:
This section acknowledges that new members are vitally important to the sustainability of online communities, in that they are the ones who will likely become regular ongoing participants in the group. However, being new, they do have special needs that the community must support. Kim posits that one of the most important aspects of acknowledging the new member is with some sort of membership ritual. This can be as simple as having the new member confirm their email address works in order to activate their membership on the site, but can be more elaborate as the community’s norms and purpose dictate, such as a welcome note from the founder or an elder, or a gift or special offer of some kind, such as a discount coupon. Once this is done, the new member can be pointed towards a set of resources that might be of help or interest to him or her. The new member should also be given the opportunity to develop an online profile that marks him or her as a regular, allowing for other members to get to know the novice in the same fashion as the novice will be looking to learn about others. The idea is to make sure the new member is acknowledged and welcomed, while being introduced to the norms and culture of the community around them. Some methods of doing this include holding new member introductory chats, providing a forum specifically for new members to ask questions or introduce themselves, or providing a place to practicing skills they will need to be successful as a regular.
Oldest known version of this page was edited on 2005-01-22 16:25:01 by RebeccaTremaglio []
Page view:
KimChapter4
Discussion leader/summarizer:
RebeccaTremaglio
Key Points/Claims
Chapter Four
Roles: From Newcomer to Old-Timer
This chapter gives an overview of the typical roles that members of an online community play. These roles include Visitor, Novice, Regular, Leader and Elder. While not everyone will spend the time and energy required to take on every one of these roles in his or her involvement with the community, there is a bit of an evolutionary process at work here. Everyone will have to be a visitor before joining the community, and everyone who joins will be a novice for some length of time. How deeply involved a person gets in an online community is, of course, determined in no small way by what that person wants and gets out of belonging to the community. However, the way the community itself handles the initial experiences of the novice can help influence whether or not that person goes on to become a regular member. The community can also help those regular members who are inclined to become even more involved take on leadership roles and responsibilities. Lastly, the community structure can support avenues for elders to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas with all members of the community to enhance everyone’s overall experience. This chapter focuses on tools community developers can use to support the role of each community member.
The Membership Lifecycle
The membership lifecycle is the process by which a visitor becomes a member and goes through progressive levels of involvement in the community. It is noted that not every member goes through every stage, but that at a couple of key transition points, the community would do well to recognize and be prepared to support the evolution of the individual’s growing interest level. These points are the transition from visitor to member, and the transition from regular to leader. The chapter also discusses ways to build the community so that members at all stages of the lifecycle can find what they need on the site.
Supporting Visitors
Kim suggests creating some sort of “Welcome Center” for visitors to the community. This can take other names, such as “Welcome Wagon,” but the idea is to have a place where visitors can feel comfortable while learning about the benefits that membership in the community would offer. Common elements effective in a Visitors Center include an FAQ, a guided tour, information about the history & purpose of the community, the requirements and benefits of membership, a site map, and policies and guidelines for participation. These items can take whatever form the community founder feels is most accessible to the visitor and which helps to express the community’s brand.
There is also some discussion in this section of how visitors should be allowed to interact with the community, if at all, before they join and have a persistent identity. The pros of letting visitors participate include capturing their initial enthusiasm for the site and allowing them to get involved right away. Cons include the problem that visitor participation can commonly disrupt community discussions, alienating regular members. For this reason, community developers are encouraged to limit the number of places that visitors can participate without joining. This helps both to keep members happy with places that they can visit without fear of visitor disruption, and to entice visitors to join with the promise that there are benefits that only members enjoy.
Supporting Novices
This section acknowledges that new members are vitally important to the sustainability of online communities, in that they are the ones who will likely become regular ongoing participants in the group. However, being new, they do have special needs that the community must support. Kim posits that one of the most important aspects of acknowledging the new member is with some sort of membership ritual. This can be as simple as having the new member confirm their email address works in order to activate their membership on the site, but can be more elaborate as the community’s norms and purpose dictate, such as a welcome note from the founder or an elder, or a gift or special offer of some kind, such as a discount coupon. Once this is done, the new member can be pointed towards a set of resources that might be of help or interest to him or her. The new member should also be given the opportunity to develop an online profile that marks him or her as a regular, allowing for other members to get to know the novice in the same fashion as the novice will be looking to learn about others. The idea is to make sure the new member is acknowledged and welcomed, while being introduced to the norms and culture of the community around them. Some methods of doing this include holding new member introductory chats, providing a forum specifically for new members to ask questions or introduce themselves, or providing a place to practicing skills they will need to be successful as a regular.
Supporting Regulars
This section discusses some of the ways in which a community can help members who are interested in getting more involved do just that. Regulars need to feel like the community is their place, one in which they feel comfortable to thrive and extend their participation as far as their interest impels. Suggestions for how to foster regular participation include rewarding members for continued participation and finding new ways to keep them engaged in the community.
Rewarding regulars for continued participation can take many different forms. For example, regulars can be offered a way to customize some aspect of the way they interact with the site, from personalized content on an interface to quick access to a history of their activity and transactions or accomplishments on the site. The community can also support ways of interacting with friends members make in the community, such as buddy lists or private, member-owned chat rooms. Members can also be offered the opportunity to make enhancements to their own personal profile so that other members can see more about their achievements, interests or involvement with the community over time.
This section also has a sidebar discussing four common personality types of regular members of an online community: achievers, explorers, socializers, and killers. It discusses the main motivating factors for each type’s involvement with the community and briefly mentions how keeping these motivators in mind can help guide and enrich the development of an online community.
Supporting Leaders
Some regulars in an online community may be motivated to take on responsibility for how the community grows and thrives. These people are community leaders, and this section describes how a community might define and support their roles. Some of the specific leadership roles cited by Kim include: support providers, hosts, greeters, cops, event coordinators, teachers, and merchants. While not every community will have a need for each of these roles, some combination of these will surface in nearly all online communities. In preparing a regular for a leadership position, Kim suggests that the transition be marked with some sort of leadership ritual which marks the special set of privileges and responsibilities the leader is about to take on. This ritual would include some aspect of special training, crucial to the leader’s ability to function effectively in their new role.
Supporting Elders
This section describes the ways in which elders can be valuable members of the community. Whether or not they are officially involved in running the community, elders serve as role models and have a big influence on the community’s interactions. Novices and even regulars make look to elders to see how to behave in the community, and the elders’ experiences help to pass on the community’s culture to all members over time. It is suggested that the community developer find ways to capture the valuable knowledge of a community’s elders, either through providing a forum through which elders can express their thoughts and advice, such as a regular column, newsletter or chat service, or by involving elders in the decision-making for things such as new features or member benefits the community is considering adopting.
There is also a special portion of this section devoted to the fact that site staff members, even if they are new, are automatically considered to be elders by novice and regulars members, if only because they have more control over the way things will develop in the community as a whole. The site staff serve as role models for the community. Kim suggests finding ways to capture the staff’s strengths and skills in a way that benefits the community and makes members comfortable trusting and interacting with the staff.
Critique
<Are the major claims correct? Is anything important left out?>
Connections with other readings, ideas, etc.
<Make connections with other readings for this week, or with outside resources, or with an on-line community you know about.>