Online Communities

ONLINE COMMUNITIES
What are they and how do we organise them?

Online communities consist of what are usually like minded people who come together online to participate, debate and share information. These online communities (sometimes referred to as virtual communities) are not however just about communicating with people globally with whom you have the same interests, but is also about staying in-touch with real-life friends and acquaintances. These virtual relationships are maintained effectively through the use of social software such as topical sites, chatrooms or even interactive virtual worlds (Dibben, 2008).

The website for an online community can serve several purposes:
- provision of information about the community and how to participate.
-hosting of the tools of communication and conferencing; and
- knowledge management for the community- providing ways to organise relevant information contributed by the community and history of the community
(Dibben, 2008)

The majority of the difficulties that lie with organising an online community are due to it's "uncontrollable nature." As stated by one freelance technology consultant in an interview, "an organisation has to deal with a community that is more difficult to control than one built in real-life, since members can interact between each other quite easily, even organise themselves independently." (Cutrupi, 2006)

Ultimately, the way to successfully organise an online community and ensure it's success and longevity is to follow the following steps:
- build personal relationships among community members
- develop an active, passionate core group
- create forums for thinking together as well as systems for sharing information
- make it easy to contribute and access the community's knowledge and practices
- create real dialogue about cutting edge issues and information
- focus on topics important to the community
- find a well-respected community member to coordinate/facilitate the community
- make sure people have time and encourage participation
- get key though leaders involved
(Dibben, 2008)

Online communities are a great way to allow people from varying backgrounds, contribute ideas on common interests and ideals.