Community Engagement

There is often no compelling reason, even in online communities, to suggest people go into different rooms to discuss different topics.

In the 25 years I’ve been studying communities, the most depressing part is that people still start communities (social apps, sites, any company that lets people talk to each other) without thinking through who, exactly, is going to manage the community and how. But it would be ridiculous to start a bar without a bartender.

A more sensible way to think about where conversations need to be broken up, that’s not topic, is format. In a physical space, the analogy might be—if half of my guests are drinking wine from expensive stemware and half of my guests are playing Twister, I might send the Twister players into another room so they don’t elbow-knock a glass of Chablis.... See more

Principle 2: Break up the conversation based on how , not what

Now that I’ve told you not to over-complicate your community architecture by introducing too many different options, you’re probably wondering what to actually prioritize into your build. A good way to think about that is to think about breaking down your community into different spaces... See more