Comments on: Imitation Community: Follow-up http://www.communityguy.com/1680/imitation-community-follow-up/ Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:20:30 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Sean Moffitt http://www.communityguy.com/1680/imitation-community-follow-up/comment-page-1/#comment-38669 Sean Moffitt Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:12:08 +0000 http://www.communityguy.com/1680/imitation-community-follow-up/#comment-38669 Jake,<br>Heh, this was a good post...sorry I got to it so late.<br><br>Two things here:<br><br>1) I don't think what Communispace does is particularly evil or addiction making - they are giving consumers a voice at the corporate table - that is a big motivator for people - to feel listened to. Sure it may be only marketing research, but there are other communities that form for funding or crowdsourced solutions or customer support or brand ambassadorship. Sometimes simple focus makes for better community. No issues with them on that front.<br><br>2) I see your point that you would like customers to have true co-ownership, an expanded role. It is the nirvana of community-building. You know and I know that many companies are just not ready for it and a well-supported community launch tumbles down like a deck of cards - bad objectives, bad timeframe, bad staffing, bad dialogue, bad benevolvent leadership, bad tech 2.0....<br><br>3) Ok I had a third point - there may have been some subtext there on the value of private vs. opened source communities..I'm increasingly of the mind that private communities for certain brands are the way to go. It goes against what I have been promoting for the last 4 years but the idea that you can't participate in social media by having some type of walled garden is false. Many of the best communities revolve around a hive of super committed people that are treated differently than the rest - mozilla calls it the Meriocratic hierarchy...you likely implemented a lot of this at lego where secure access is given to some and not others.<br><br>I just think that if you grab a 1,000 super zealous fans - they will shout down any critique from a crazed blogger more than a camp of 25,000 loosely committed individuals.<br><br>Not too sure, whichg of the above three points stands as a different lense to your Communispace issue but the net effect is that you might not like Communispace and their practices but it's a hell of a lot better than what's going on in most companies. Jake,
Heh, this was a good post…sorry I got to it so late.

Two things here:

1) I don't think what Communispace does is particularly evil or addiction making – they are giving consumers a voice at the corporate table – that is a big motivator for people – to feel listened to. Sure it may be only marketing research, but there are other communities that form for funding or crowdsourced solutions or customer support or brand ambassadorship. Sometimes simple focus makes for better community. No issues with them on that front.

2) I see your point that you would like customers to have true co-ownership, an expanded role. It is the nirvana of community-building. You know and I know that many companies are just not ready for it and a well-supported community launch tumbles down like a deck of cards – bad objectives, bad timeframe, bad staffing, bad dialogue, bad benevolvent leadership, bad tech 2.0….

3) Ok I had a third point – there may have been some subtext there on the value of private vs. opened source communities..I'm increasingly of the mind that private communities for certain brands are the way to go. It goes against what I have been promoting for the last 4 years but the idea that you can't participate in social media by having some type of walled garden is false. Many of the best communities revolve around a hive of super committed people that are treated differently than the rest – mozilla calls it the Meriocratic hierarchy…you likely implemented a lot of this at lego where secure access is given to some and not others.

I just think that if you grab a 1,000 super zealous fans – they will shout down any critique from a crazed blogger more than a camp of 25,000 loosely committed individuals.

Not too sure, whichg of the above three points stands as a different lense to your Communispace issue but the net effect is that you might not like Communispace and their practices but it's a hell of a lot better than what's going on in most companies.

]]> By: Marvan http://www.communityguy.com/1680/imitation-community-follow-up/comment-page-1/#comment-35763 Marvan Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:35:36 +0000 http://www.communityguy.com/1680/imitation-community-follow-up/#comment-35763 Hi,this is about Market research is not just something you do manually. You can actually get some market research software to assist you in the quest of updating yourself with the market of your choice. Hi,this is about Market research is not just something you do manually. You can actually get some market research software to assist you in the quest of updating yourself with the market of your choice.

]]> By: Jake McKee http://www.communityguy.com/1680/imitation-community-follow-up/comment-page-1/#comment-35762 Jake McKee Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:45:14 +0000 http://www.communityguy.com/1680/imitation-community-follow-up/#comment-35762 Thanks for the reply, I look forward to hearing more!<br><br>What would you think about doing an interview about your experiences, learnings, and future? Thanks for the reply, I look forward to hearing more!

What would you think about doing an interview about your experiences, learnings, and future?

]]> By: Shashib http://www.communityguy.com/1680/imitation-community-follow-up/comment-page-1/#comment-35761 Shashib Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:52:53 +0000 http://www.communityguy.com/1680/imitation-community-follow-up/#comment-35761 Jake: I assure you that Network Solutions is absolutely committed to building communities online, particularly within the small business and web developer markets. Marketers often get over excited about data, but people are what drive communities and businesses, alike. We know that, and plan on expanding our efforts to better embrace our fellow community members.<br><br> <br><br>Thanks for this excellent post.<br><br> <br><br>ShashiB at Network Solutions Jake: I assure you that Network Solutions is absolutely committed to building communities online, particularly within the small business and web developer markets. Marketers often get over excited about data, but people are what drive communities and businesses, alike. We know that, and plan on expanding our efforts to better embrace our fellow community members.

Thanks for this excellent post.

ShashiB at Network Solutions

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