MIT they discovered that perhaps the hippest profession: app builders, want to work in a place where they can easily meet each other in person , in the center of a city. The distance at which you still make spontaneous and coincidental contact is 30 meters. Does that put a bomb under the value of an online community? I don't think so. As long as the goal and characteristics form the right combination, there is a lot to be gained.
Rheingold (one of the first to study communities) describes a community almost poetically:
“People in virtual communities do just about everything people do in real live, but we leave our bodies behind.”
An online community is a network of people, facilitated by an online environment, who come together around a theme. The tripod people, technology and organization are the carriers. The balance between them is essential.
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No surprise to start with the goal, see the image below. This can be: sharing knowledge, gathering ideas, testing ideas, building a network (customers, employees and/or potential employees), strengthening existing relationships, creating brand ambassadors or building a (knowledge) database. No rocket science so far.
The characteristics of a community will come as no surprise; always and everywhere, sharing information, latvia phone number list structural connection with people, group identity and members as authority. These characteristics apply to all communities. However, depending on the goal and the phase the community is in, the weight is different. And that is crucial for the design of the community.
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Anytime, anywhere
The fact that online communities are available anytime and anywhere means that quick responses are essential. The referees who come together on voetbal.nl aim to share knowledge and strengthen the network and a sense of community with their activities. Directly after (or before) the match you can share questions, emotions and experiences. And get answers. Current events that are playing at that moment are discussed, so that the community remains relevant.