Online Community Building

I just read an old (2002) article at oreillynet.com. The article made several main points that I believe are true for science and research sites, or for any other site for that matter. Since the science information organization where I work is just now exploring the addition of social media to it's Web products, I think that the nuggets from the article will be good to keep in mind.

You must know why your site exists
If you can't clearly describe the purpose and content of your site, how will you know if you are succeeding? Worse yet, how will visitors know if they want to join the community? When stating the site purpose, keep the description as simple and as direct as possible.

Users draw other users
As the community leader, or evangelist, it is your job to attract users. Being search engine friendly, submitting links to other sites, and word of mouth are just the beginning. “As a group, your most active users will draw more users than you will. An active user group exudes a sense of community. This attracts people who enjoy the company of like-minded individuals and seek the social rewards of participating in a healthy peer group. People like to fit in, and it takes making several new relationships to produce this impression.”

Users will surprise you
“Community members will continually surprise you, especially if you've never really analyzed an online community before. The issues and themes you find important may never really resonate with your users. They'll latch onto and chase down ideas you've never found important or even knew existed.” You know you've been successful when users start to express a sense of ownership. Eventually their contributions will begin to out weigh your own. As with any other group, or workplace I've ever participated in, you will never be able to please everyone. When you have a critic among your midst, take it with a grain of salt. Just keep in mind that “Some of the best contributors listen and think far more than they speak or type.”

I'd like to add a personal observation here. The science community is loaded with introverts (including me). We are not as prone to comment as would the more social extroverts that you might find gabbing away on Facebook and MySpace; but once we feel at home, you might be surprised at how much we have to say. That is what online communities are about; feeling comfortable enough to let others know what you really think.