Online Communities – Welcome to your Online Suburbia
What do you look for in a community? Could it be security, friendship, maybe support? Think about it. When you are looking for a place to settle down and call home, what type of community do you want? Personally, I would want one that provided me all of those qualities. I want to feel safe, have friends I can rely on and support from my neighbours. So why would I expect anything less from my online community?
I want my online community to provide me with security – the type of security that allows me to feel confident and safe to post my personal ideas and thoughts. Not everyone is as excited or willing to start up a conversation with complete strangers, but if the community’s platform is managed correctly then people would be more willing to dive into a conversation or start one of their own. It’s all about making the members feel like what they have to say is not only interesting, but necessary. Community Managers can do this by asking questions and posting relative topics about the industry that the community is formed around. Getting off topic can leave a lot of members wondering, “why did I join this group to begin with?”
While you may not develop the typical type of friendship in your online community that you would in the ‘real world’, you will definitely form business friendships. Online communities can help people network better than ever before because you are guaranteed to meet people who are currently in your industry. This offers you the option to explore different opportunities within your field; which could ultimately result in a career change or a chance to expand your business. The more people you connect with who are also in your industry provides you with a business friendship that can stretch out across the world. Understanding how different people operate within your selected field will help you become an expert in your profession.
Support has to be the most helpful quality an online community can offer you. The business world is so competitive that at times we do not connect with out colleagues as much as we may want. We are too worried that they could steal our ideas and pass them off as their own; or even worse they could view our questions as ignorance and try to use our weaknesses against us. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but when you think about it, if there is an opportunity for a promotion and the candidates are you and one other person there is no telling what you or the other person would do in order to secure that position. So, online communities takes all that stress away! In your community you can share ideas, discuss best practices and get opinions on how you should better perform. It truly is a win-win situation!
Written by Robin Ray
