Transcript

A Presentation About Community, By The Community

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SO WHAT’S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT ONLINE COMMUNITIES?

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SOCIAL IS BECOMING A PART OF ALL MEDIA STREAMS

Social dimensions are paramount to most people …and most forms of entertainment
“The desire to be part of a group that shares, cooperates, or acts in concert is a basic human instinct.” Clay Shirky
Source: Future Foundation: Entertainment Futures 2007 Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kicey/ 

Media brands are increasingly defined less by the platform and more by the community

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EMPOWERED USERS, UNLIMITED CHOICE

Everyone is a media owner

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THE RELATIONSHIP IS NO LONGER LINEAR

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In the old days, hierarchy was the network

Charles Frith, Punk Planning, Bangkok…http://www.charlesfrith.com/
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“The other guys think the purpose of communication is to get information. We think the purpose of information is to foster communication.”
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO Facebook

Jason Oke, Director, Strategic Planning, Juniper Park, Canada…http://jasonoke.wordpress.com/
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The internet is for people. For people to form groups Groups with shared purposes

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WE HAVE TO RELEARN WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW

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SO WHAT’S THE BIG SECRET?

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ONLINE COMMUNITIES CAN BE A PUZZLE

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UNTIL YOU REMEMBER THAT IT’S NOT ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY

"Over and over again, connecting people with one another is what lasts online. Some folks thought it was about technology, but it's not.“
Seth Godin

Image: http://www.gapingvoid.com/ 

“It’s about relationships”

Andrew Rogers, Head of User Content Development, RBI…http://engagement101.blogspot.com/ 

AND BEING HUMAN

“At some point the anonymity of the internet transformed into a social networking clearinghouse of daily minutiae…and most of us willingly opted in, choosing the ease and comfort of virtual intimacy over a lonely existence of real world disconnectedness”
(The Psychology of Sharing, Scott Lachut)

Jon Howard, Strategy Director, Quietstorm …http://jonhoward.typepad.com/livingbrands/
Image: Wollas (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wollas/2571298396/ 

AND BEING HUMAN

Facu Medina, Argentina…http://www.alwaystrytogowithsomethingelse.blogspot.com/ 

AND BEING HUMAN

Communities are like dysfunctional families. Dysfunction is natural, not abnormal.
Stanley Johnson, Senior Creative, Wunderman, 

Online communities aren’t like the real world, they ARE the real world.

Being authentic and polite are the ONLY ways operate

As people change, so will the online communities they form - being right isn’t important, but being right there is

Predicting how we form and shape our communities online is impossible. But it is safe to say that the future will be awesome.

Sam Ismail, Digital 

THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE
More authority Something worth talking about More links More word-of-mouth referrals

More loyal users More loyal customers

More traffic More people talking about your brand

Higher repeat visits More repeat custom

More useful site Better customer experience

Higher levels of interaction More opportunities to interact

More content More feedback, ideas 

SO HOW CAN I CREATE A COMMUNITY? 

WRONG QUESTION 

“Communities already exist. Instead, think about how you can help that community do what it wants to do” Mark Zuckerberg 

UNDERSTAND THAT MOTIVATIONS ARE DIFFERENT

Blog Her/Compass Partners 2008 Social Media Study 

Listen when online communities speak : they often perform the role of an oracle

Photo credit: John William Waterhouse, ‘Consulting the Oracle’, 1884 (reproduction of original painting)
Anjali Ramachandran, Strategist, Made By many, http://one-size-fits-one.blogspot.com/ 

AND ACT ON THEIR FEEDBACK

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AND GET STUCK IN

Encourage discussion, be a part of it
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Community is not a place. It’s about people. People own their communities: brands don’t.

Katy Lindemann - Naked Communications - kitschbitch.com
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The community decides. You don’t 

“One part anarchy, one part aristocracy,

one part democracy, one part monarchy”
Jimmy Wales on the Wikipedia Community 

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Every community has super-users – high authority, highly active

Know who they are 

BUT COMMUNITY HAS LAYERS, RESPECT THEM ALL

citizens
sidekicks
lower profile content generators

super users
‘enabling’ networks

social networks, blogging software etc
Gemma Teed, Strategic Planner, Brahm … 

BECAUSE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNITIES COMES FROM OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PEOPLE

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If you want to know what technology will change the world, watch young mothers and don't watch teenage boys - young mothers have no time for any technology that isn't useful and doesn't work. Clay Shirky, 2005

Dan Thornton, Bauer…http://thewayoftheweb.net/
Pic by skeddy in NYC on Flickr (CC Licence) 

THE RAPIDLY CHANGING ROLE OF CONTENT

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Media owners shouldn’t lose sight of what they’re really good at: Delivering content 

BUT THE VALUE EQUATION IS CHANGING

Content

= Attention

Content, tools, services

= Attention, participation, interaction, content

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SO CONTENT IS NO LONGER KING, IT IS NOW THE ENABLER

“Content isn't king.. If I sent you to a desert island and gave you the choice of taking your friends or your movies, you'd choose your friends -if you chose the movies, we'd call you a sociopath. Conversation is king. Content is just something to talk about” Cory Doctorow
Graeme Wood, Client Planning Director, Zed Media ... http://graewood.blogspot.com/ 

SO SUCCESS WORKS DIFFERENTLY

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CREATE CONTENT THAT IS REMARKABLE

If the web is a mass of conversations, then get talked about

Create content and services that are worth passing on

Make it as easy as possible for your fans to find it and spread the word
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ADD VALUE

"In the past you were what you owned. Now you are what you share." Charles Leadbeater – We Think
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It’s like having a beer with millions. Still need a good gag or a story for anyone to care. 

How Community Engagement Models work:
Brand Benefit
Information and Reduced cost to Serve

BRAND NARRATIVE

DATA THROUGH DIGITAL CHANNELS

BRAND UTILITY

(Being interesting)

Leading to Behavior Change

(Being Useful)

Customer Benefit
Involvement 

VIDEO DIDN’T KILL THE RADIO STAR

…BUT SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CHANGED COMMUNICATIONS FOR GOOD 

• 3 million online donors
• 6.5 million online donations …$500m

• Almost 2x as much as McCain
• Of these 6m were $100 or less • Average online donation $80 

Mobilising Offline And On

500,000 blog posts

35,000 volunteer groups 200,000 events

4.8 million facebook fans

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The “Purpose Idea”: What are you for?

Mark Earls, Author of HERD…http://herd.typepad.com/ 

COMMUNITIES CAN AFFECT REAL, POSITIVE CHANGE

Daniella’s story

http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2009/01/neighbors-neighborhoods.html 

Thousands of people from around the world create, upload, share, discuss and purchase original LEGO creations online every day

They probably wouldn’t all fit around this table

Willem van der Horst, Strategist, iris Digital…http://icecream4everyone.blogspot.com/
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The Power of Online Communities The Power of Online Co mutinies

Apple Stock Crash

Motrin Moms Whole Foods Disclosure

Dell Hell 

Ian Fitzpatrick, Almighty, Boston, Massachusetts (http://weblog.hvyset.com) 

So What About You?

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FIRESTARTERS: 5 REASONS BLOGGING IS WORTH IT
1. You start fires. Blogging forces you to come up with new stuff. To be interesting.

2. It means you understand the value of connection. And are connected. To great thinking and other interesting people. 3. It means you get digital…the nuances and potential of social media. And how it works. Because you’re doing it, not looking at it.

4. It’s by far the best way to network

5. But most of all, it shows you’re bothered. You have an opinion. You’re not afraid to express it. You're passionate about your subject. And real passion is rare indeed. 

Eaon Pritchard, Head of Digital, Geronimo … http://www.eaonpritchard.blogspot.com/ 

Andy Hunter, Reboot Strategy, Austin TX. http://experiencefreak.com/blog/ 

Without online communities my brain would starve

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IT’S ABOUT BEING GENEROUS WITH YOURSELF

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THE MORE GENEROUS YOU ARE, THE MORE YOU GET BACK

Quote: Paul Arden “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be” 

So there you have it

Thousands of pounds worth of consultancy…freely given.
That’s how community works. 

Particular and public thanks to all those who have contributed to make this presentation what it is.
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