A crowdsourced presentation about how online communities work with contributions from 30 planners, strategists, digital specialists and some of the most reknowned thinkers in social media strategy.

1. A Presentation About Community,
By The Community
neilperkin.typepad.com
Image credit: http://dicksdaily.co.uk/

2. WHO AM I?
neilperkin.typepad.com

3. This is a presentation with a difference.
Because it’s written not by one person, but by many
It’s a presentation about the power of online communities.
And since almost everything I have learnt about how online communities work
have come from being part of one, I figured it would be best if I let them tell you
how it all works.
So I put a post on my blog, and asked them to contribute one slide on what
they felt was important.
And almost 30 of them did. Planners, strategists, digital specialists, media
owners…very bright people all. So look out for the credits at the bottom of their
slides.
I have added my own slides to give context and cohesiveness to everyone’s
thinking, but these are the words of the community.
So enjoy.

4. SO WHAT’S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT ONLINE COMMUNITIES?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pogonophobia/

5. Source: Future Foundation: Entertainment Futures 2007 Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kicey/
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

6. Media brands are increasingly defined less by the platform and more by the community
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hankins/

7. EMPOWERED USERS, UNLIMITED CHOICE
Everyone is a media owner
http://www.flickr.com/photos/esparta/

8. THE RELATIONSHIP IS NO LONGER LINEAR
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timothyschenck/

9. In the old days,
hierarchy was
the network
http://www.flickr.com/photos/splorp/
Charles Frith, Punk Planning, Bangkok…http://www.charlesfrith.com/

10. “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
http://www.flickr.com/photos/differentperspective/114394347/
Jason Oke, Director, Strategic Planning, Juniper Park, Canada…http://jasonoke.wordpress.com/

11. The internet is for people.
For people to form groups
Groups with shared purposes
http://flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/
David Cushman, Brando Digital…http://fasterfuture.blogspot.com/

12. http://www.flickr.com/photos/adviceposters/sets/72157602720078403/
WE HAVE TO RELEARN WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW

13. SO WHAT’S THE BIG SECRET?
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

14. ONLINE COMMUNITIES CAN BE A PUZZLE
www.spy.org.es/upload/actuacion/imagen-35.jpg

15. "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/
UNTIL YOU REMEMBER THAT IT’S NOT ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY

16. “It’s about relationships”
Andrew Rogers, Head of User Content Development, RBI…http://engagement101.blogspot.com/

17. “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)
Image: Wollas (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wollas/2571298396/
Jon Howard, Strategy Director, Quietstorm …http://jonhoward.typepad.com/livingbrands/
AND BEING HUMAN

18. Facu Medina, Argentina…http://www.alwaystrytogowithsomethingelse.blogspot.com/
AND BEING HUMAN

19. Communities are like dysfunctional families.
Dysfunction is natural, not abnormal.
Stanley Johnson, Senior Creative, Wunderman, Melbourne…http://branddna.blogspot.com/
AND BEING HUMAN

20. 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 Strategist…http://www.samismail.com/

21. Higher repeat visits
More repeat custom
More loyal users
More loyal customers
Higher levels of interaction
More opportunities to interact
More useful site
Better customer experience
More content
More feedback, ideas
More traffic
More people talking about
your brand
More links
More word-of-mouth referrals
More authority
Something worth talking about
THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE

22. SO HOW CAN I CREATE A
COMMUNITY?

23. WRONG
QUESTION

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

25. Blog Her/Compass Partners 2008 Social Media Study
UNDERSTAND THAT MOTIVATIONS ARE DIFFERENT

26. 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/

27. http://www.flickr.com/photos/twenty_questions/
AND ACT ON THEIR FEEDBACK

28. AND GET STUCK IN
http://slimgoodies.tumblr.com/
Encourage discussion, be a part of it

29. Community is not a place. It’s about people.
People own their communities: brands don’t.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/piet_musterd/1858568495/
Katy Lindemann - Naked Communications - kitschbitch.com

30. The community decides. You don’t
John Dodds … http://makemarketinghistory.blogspot.com/

31. “One part anarchy, one part aristocracy,
one part democracy, one part monarchy”
Jimmy Wales on the Wikipedia Community

32. 91 90
Every community has super-users – high authority, highly active
Know who they are

33. ‘enabling’
networks
social
networks,
blogging
software etc
super users
sidekicks
citizens
lower
profile
content
generators
Gemma Teed, Strategic Planner, Brahm …http://almostalwaysthinking.com/
BUT COMMUNITY HAS LAYERS, RESPECT THEM ALL

34. BECAUSE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNITIES
COMES FROM OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PEOPLE
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pulpolux/

35. “Our focus should be not on emerging technologies
but on emerging cultural practices.” – Henry Jenkins,
Professor of Comparative Media, MIT and author of
Convergence Culture: When Old and New Media Collide
Faris Yakob, Chief Tech Strategist, McCann Erickson New York…http://farisyakob.typepad.com/

36. Pic by skeddy in NYC on Flickr (CC Licence)
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/

37. THE RAPIDLY CHANGING ROLE OF CONTENT
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inflite/

38. Media owners shouldn’t lose sight of what they’re really
good at: Delivering content
Will Humphrey, Strategist, Lowe London …http://wannabeadman.blogspot.com/

39. BUT THE VALUE EQUATION IS CHANGING
Content = Attention
Content, tools, services
= Attention,
participation,
interaction, content
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wespionage/

40. Graeme Wood, Client Planning Director, Zed Media ... http://graewood.blogspot.com/
“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
SO CONTENT IS NO LONGER KING, IT IS NOW THE ENABLER

41. SO SUCCESS WORKS DIFFERENTLY
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8998965@N05/

42. Make it as easy as possible for your fans to find it and spread the word
If the web is a mass of conversations,
then get talked about
Create content and services that are worth passing on
CREATE CONTENT THAT IS REMARKABLE
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldflints/

43. ADD VALUE
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artsyt/
"In the past you were what you owned. Now you are what you share."
Charles Leadbeater – We Think

44. It’s like having a beer with millions. Still need
a good gag or a story for anyone to care.
Jim Dowling, Managing Partner, Cake Group…http://jimdowling.typepad.com/

45. How Community Engagement Models work:
Brand Benefit
Information and
Reduced cost to Serve
BRAND
NARRATIVE
(Being interesting)
DATA
THROUGH DIGITAL
CHANNELS
Leading to
Behavior Change
Customer Benefit
Involvement
BRAND
UTILITY
(Being Useful)
Mark Hancock, Strategy Director, Agency.com…http://www.holycow.typepad.com/

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

47. VIDEO DIDN’T KILL THE RADIO STAR
…BUT SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CHANGED
COMMUNICATIONS FOR GOOD

48. • 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

49. http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesofthings/3009655146/
Mobilising Offline And On
4.8 million facebook fans
200,000 events
500,000 blog posts
35,000 volunteer groups
Ben Akin-Smith, Head of Strategy, Enable Interactive…http://www.akin-smith.com/

50. The “Purpose Idea”: What are you for?
Mark Earls, Author of HERD…http://herd.typepad.com/

51. COMMUNITIES CAN AFFECT REAL, POSITIVE CHANGE
Niko Herzeg, Holland …http://ontimewithnowheretogo.blogspot.com/
Daniella’s story
http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2009/01/neighbors-neighborhoods.html

52. Thousands of people from around the world create, upload, share,
discuss and purchase original LEGO creations online every day
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 tableThey probably wouldn’t all fit around this table
http://www.flickr.com/photos/misbehave/
Willem van der Horst, Strategist, iris Digital…http://icecream4everyone.blogspot.com/

53. The Power of Online Communities
The Power of Online Co mutinies
Simon Kendrick, ITV …http://curiouslypersistent.wordpress.com
Dell HellMotrin Moms Whole Foods DisclosureApple Stock Crash

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

55. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kamshots/
So What About You?

56. 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.
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.
4. It’s by far the best way to network
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.

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

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

59. Without online
communities my
brain would
starve
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spinksy/2951033544/in/set-72157607291515677/
Matt Moore, Innotecture, Australia …http://engineerswithoutfears.blogspot.com/

60. IT’S ABOUT BEING GENEROUS WITH YOURSELF
http://thisisindexed.com/

61. 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”

62. So there you have it
Thousands of pounds worth of consultancy…freely given.
That’s how community works.

63. Particular and public thanks to all those who have contributed to
make this presentation what it is.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alphadslr/

64. neilperkin.typepad.com