Mark's CV and Clients

Tending the Garden

OK, let's have a quick review of where we are so far. If everything has gone smoothly (and there is no reason why it shouldn't) we should have achieved the following:

• Chosen appropriate platform software and hosting solution.
  
• Identified and invited spark plugs and cheerleaders, and invited them to join the community as premiere members. We hope that we've gotten between 10 and 25 regular contributors at this point.
  
• We've showered these premier users with attention, and have begun to develop an online code of conduct that will trickle down as the community develops. Also, we have identified several potential helpers and moderators.
  

What Now?

Planting the seed

OK, the ground has been prepared and we are ready to plant the seeds. There is an interesting dilemna in the early stages of a community. It's hard to get anyone to come and participate when there is no real content (read value), and you can't really get value until you have people participating...so what do you do?

You can of course make some educated guesses about what the members might find valuable, and make some of that content available...but this is a short term, and questionable strategy. More beneficial is the have a look at your user letters and comments, and search for a couple of different "types" of people.

Cheerleaders: These folks are usually well established in their communities, and are the ones that everyone goes to when they want to hear the latest 'gossip' or news. They are social butterflies, and thrive in their role.

Spark Plugs: Sometimes they are the same as cheerleaders, but often they are very different. Their work is usually more behind the scenes, and they tend to have more follow through than the cheerleaders. They take an idea from the cheerleader, and spend time investigating and developing it.

Once identified, you should consider making these folks a very special group in the community. There are many terms for this, but most software will allow you to have different levels of membership...whether you call them pioneers, or moderators, or anything else...it is important for them to know that they are a select group.

The best approach I've found is to simply ask them if they will help you. Most people will respond in a positive manner to a direct request for help...and those who are too busy, or disinclined will sort themselves out at this stage. Invite them to be Charter Members, and consider having a special T-Shirt, or Cap that you can send them if they agree.

Hopefully, you will have ended up with a group of between 10 and 25 people. These will be crucial folks to the overall health of the community...treat them well.

Preparing the Soil

Let's talk a little bit about what it is not. There is no magic trick, no voodoo, nor shortcut for building an electronic community. It requires the same type of effort as building any community...a sports team, church, or political group. It takes care and feeding much like a garden. You plant seeds, and at first it looks as though nothing is happening. In a while, the very first shoots begin to come up. If you've prepared the ground right, planted good seeds, and cared for the garden, then you'll have a harvest that goes beyond what you might have imagined.

Preparing the soil: In some ways, this is the easiest part of the task, but it does take planning. In this early phase of things, we need to figure out what we want to grow, and prepare the soil accordingly.

My experience has been that few people are looking for an alternative to Yahoo, they already have a favorite news portal. What this community will want to do, if we do our jobs right, is to talk, learn and share about your specific area of interest.