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Learnings from running communities on slack, discord and ...
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Strong onboarding: A strong onboarding journey is one of the most significant and high value processes to set-up while building a community. Joining a new community is the online equivalent of moving into a new neighborhood. For most people — a new environment with tens of new people can be initially overwhelming to navigate. Ensuring that new members know exactly what to do when they join, and understand the layout of the community truly helps in increasing their engagement and participation. Some of the best community managers include a quick video as part of the onboarding experience — showing new members around. Depending on the size of your community — setting up quick 10 minute calls with new community members can also go a long way in ensuring retention and participation. “The key is to get new members to engage as soon as they’ve join — by getting them to introduce themselves and creating a culture where other members warmly welcome and engage with each introduction.” Regular townhalls for feedback: Most communities don’t ask their members for feedback. Most members also don’t proactively reach out to their hosts for feedback. I’ve realized that creating time and space for members to actively think about what they like and don’t about the community and then inviting feedback from them is tremendously helpful in building a community that is truly valuable to its members. This can be done via individual conversations or by hosting townhalls every once in a while for open conversation, questions, ideas and comments by members.
Regular townhalls for feedback: Most communities don’t ask their members for feedback. Most members also don’t proactively reach out to their hosts for feedback. I’ve realized that creating time and space for members to actively think about what they like and don’t about the community and then inviting feedback from them is tremendously helpful in building a community that is truly valuable to its members. This can be done via individual conversations or by hosting townhalls every once in a while for open conversation, questions, ideas and comments by members. “Doing so can help us nurture more communities on the internet — building dynamic spaces where meaningful connections thrive and members can engage in enriching, stimulating discussions.”
Why some communities die a slow death “Unfortunately, running a community is harder than starting one — most online communities face decay within a few weeks of their inception.” Drawing from personal experience having — participated and run tens of online forums, open and closed communities — why I think communities die
Why some communities die a slow death “ewer people post.” Drawing from personal experience having — participated and run tens of online forums, open and closed communities — why I think communities die
Why some communities die a slow death “People stop even checking the feed, forum, or board.” Drawing from personal experience having — participated and run tens of online forums, open and closed communities — why I think communities die
Why some communities die a slow death “Eventually, the community dies, an empty shell of a once-bustling virtual town.” Drawing from personal experience having — participated and run tens of online forums, open and closed communities — why I think communities die
No active management: There are a few key tasks that a community manager/builder needs to perform in order for a community to thrive. These include curation (ensuring that the right people enter the community, and the wrong people stay out) and moderation (ensuring that participation is healthy and professional). Community managers also need to foster connections among community members and design activities (like AMA’s, polls, workshops) that increase engagement among members. this is especially important while kickstarting a new community. In the absence of active curation, moderation and deliberate efforts to increase engagement — communities die a slow death. “Good communities have different spaces that serve the needs of different people.” Single host communities that don’t cultivate other good hosts: Often communities rely heavily on the person that started the community and seldom function without intervention from them. Good community leaders cultivate a layer of leadership under them to distribute work and responsibility evenly — else the community becomes less a community and more a public audience for 1 person.
No active management: There are a few key tasks that a community manager/builder needs to perform in order for a community to thrive. These include curation (ensuring that the right people enter the community, and the wrong people stay out) and moderation (ensuring that participation is healthy and professional). Community managers also need to foster connections among community members and design activities (like AMA’s, polls, workshops) that increase engagement among members. this is especially important while kickstarting a new community. In the absence of active curation, moderation and deliberate efforts to increase engagement — communities die a slow death. “In the absence of such spaces — the top 5% loudest people dominate 95% of all conversations in communities.” Single host communities that don’t cultivate other good hosts: Often communities rely heavily on the person that started the community and seldom function without intervention from them. Good community leaders cultivate a layer of leadership under them to distribute work and responsibility evenly — else the community becomes less a community and more a public audience for 1 person.
In the last 2–3 years, I’ve run multiple communities on platforms like Slack, Discord and Whatsapp, and been a part of many more. Here’s a snapshot of my learnings. “Rather than become “fans” or “followers” of influencers, people are striving to join social communities that are well nurtured and where members engage and interact in meaningful aways.” In this article I capture learnings from having participated and run these communities across platforms. I talk about why some community thrive, while die a slow death — and what steps can create an enabling environment for a thriving community.
Drawing from personal experience having — participated and run tens of online forums, open and closed communities — why I think communities die “These include curation (ensuring that the right people enter the community, and the wrong people stay out) and moderation (ensuring that participation is healthy and professional).” Inability to create an inclusive space: Good communities have different spaces that serve the needs of different people. Like in a party — you can’t expect everyone to take the stage when they come in. Some people want to take their time to engage, and find quieter corners for deep conversations. In the absence of such spaces — the top 5% loudest people dominate 95% of all conversations in communities. Over time, as people feel excluded from the conversation — they start to leave.
Drawing from personal experience having — participated and run tens of online forums, open and closed communities — why I think communities die “Community managers also need to foster connections among community members and design activities (like AMA’s, polls, workshops) that increase engagement among members.” Inability to create an inclusive space: Good communities have different spaces that serve the needs of different people. Like in a party — you can’t expect everyone to take the stage when they come in. Some people want to take their time to engage, and find quieter corners for deep conversations. In the absence of such spaces — the top 5% loudest people dominate 95% of all conversations in communities. Over time, as people feel excluded from the conversation — they start to leave.
Drawing from personal experience having — participated and run tens of online forums, open and closed communities — why I think communities die “In the absence of active curation, moderation and deliberate efforts to increase engagement — communities die a slow death.” Inability to create an inclusive space: Good communities have different spaces that serve the needs of different people. Like in a party — you can’t expect everyone to take the stage when they come in. Some people want to take their time to engage, and find quieter corners for deep conversations. In the absence of such spaces — the top 5% loudest people dominate 95% of all conversations in communities. Over time, as people feel excluded from the conversation — they start to leave.
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