Chapter 7 was all about how to create a "significant" online community. There was a lot of info in this chapter, so I am choosing to focus on a few main points. One of the things Howard talks about is that a lot of online communities try to sky rocket to the top as soon as they get started, but bigger isn't necessarily better. What draws curiosity and significance to a site can weigh heavily on its exclusivity. For example, think about Pinterest.com. This site is extremely popular, but what makes it so different from all other bookmarking sites? Its exclusivity. You have to receive an "invitation" to be come an active member. When something isn't open to just anyone in the public, the platform becomes much more intriguing. Starting very small and strict helped them build a strong foundation and gain significance. Currently, I believe Pinterest is open to the general public. It probably would have been lost in the mix of all the other similar sites if it had started out this way.
The next point I want to talk about is the nodes. Since I am a Psychology major, I know a lot about Stanley Milgram. So this portion of the reading was of great interest to me. The 6 degrees of separation is a very cool finding that can be put to use on social networks. If you want to get in touch with a celebrity, there are only a few people separating you if you contact the right people. This leads to Howard's discussion on the types of influentials: connectors, mavens and salesmen. In today's society, I believe that the connectors are the most important of the influentials. We are obsessed with celebrities and what they are doing (thanks to Twitter). So if you want to bring popularity and significance to your social media site, finding a connector to shine that spotlight is key.
The checklist of techniques to gain significance that Howard provides at the end of Chapter 7 was very helpful for me to keep in mind for our OHS project. One of my favorites on list is #3: "Participate in influential communities to create trails back to yours". This is so important for OHS. They need to follow bigger animal advocate groups on different social networks so that it will create a path back to their smaller cause.
Haley, I only picked out a few main points to talk about from this chapter as well. I liked your point about how bigger isn't better. Online communities take time to grow and the people in charge of them need to have patience and dedication to make them successful and significant.
ReplyDeleteI also talked about the OHS project and related points to it, like the idea of exclusivity and using nodes as a way to promote the OHS overall as well as the website.