Chapter 1
Fostering an Online Community
In This Chapter
- Getting the inside scoop on how online communities work
- Benefitting from online communities
- Digging into the community manager's job
Tribe, clique, group, network, club, collective, collaborative, and clan are just a few of the words used to describe online communities, or places where groups of like-minded people converge on the Internet. You probably even belong to a few online communities yourself. It doesn't matter if you're a gamer, a knitter, or someone who creates video, the people you share and interact with over the Internet are your online community.
Online communities start out slowly, with a few tentative members at a time. Sooner or later, personalities emerge, friendships and alliances form, and cliques and heated discussions follow. If left to their own devices, online communities can become free-for-alls. However, properly managed online communities flourish into a positive experience for all involved.
In this chapter, you discover what it means to be a part of an online community and why a community manager is the backbone of both the community and the brand. You find out why online communities are important, how community members benefit from the brand, and how the brand benefits from the community. Finally, this chapter discusses your role as an online community manager and how online communities absolutely can't flourish without you.
Understanding What an Online Community Is
A community is a group of ...
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