CREATING AN ONLINE COMMUNITY

Building an online community is not an easy task. It takes a lot of dedication, patience, and hard work to create a successful community. A community provides a platform for interaction amongst the members as well as between the members and the administrators of the community. Having a community that is dedicated to your business is the easy part, but keeping the community thriving and growing requires inputs from the administrators as well as members of the community. Let us take a look at the process involved in creating, maintaining and expanding community.

How to Start Creating an Online Community

When you start creating an online community, you need to keep in mind that the community is completely dependent on internet. So you need to ensure that the community is one that can be easily accessed by the maximum number of people. You may need to take into account the internet speed, which is not the same for everyone. Some have high-speed internet while others struggle with very slow speeds. The community has to cater to both kinds of members. International communities that are spread across the globe also have to take into consideration the time zones and availability of the members. Before you begin, you have to decide whether you wish to create a private community where the membership is restricted, or a public community where anyone can join.

To build a community you have to do the following:

• Determine a purpose or goal for it.
• Decide who your target audience will be.
• Design the site keeping in mind the tools for interaction and the structure of your community.
• Decide upon the manner in which you will host the community.
• Create the community using tools available.
• Create interesting content for the community.
• Invite or attract members to join your community.
• Administer it properly so that the community flourishes and expands.

 Who Can Participate in a Community

Online communities exist because people have a common interest and knowledge, which they wish to share with other interested people. Anyone who is interested in the theme or purpose of an online community can participate in it. The motivation to join may be to gain knowledge, conduct research, share ideas, social interaction and more. If there is a strong motivating factor and the desire to socialize, a person can join an online community. Some of these communities are private, and people may need invitations to join up. Most online communities are public communities, and anyone with sufficient interest can participate. There are many different types of communities online for people to join.

Types of Online Communities

Any community is bound together by some common factors. These factors determine the type of community that is available online. The five main categories based upon common factors are:

1. Interest: People who share common interests or passions come together to form a community.
2. Place: People are brought together by geographical areas.
3. Practice: Profession or practicing certain activities is a binding factor of such communities.
4. Ideology: People aspiring to the same humanitarian or global goal and following ideologies to bring about a change come together in such communities.
5. Circumstances: People are brought together by circumstances or external forces.

By Mbogo Tausi

  BAPRM 42611