Assessing Potential Online Communities

I’m thinking about the ways we plan for community online.  Here are three things I often consider:

x = Where Community Exists
Will the most meaningful engagement happen online because asynchronicity and global reach are important?  Or are sharing the same time and space in face-to-face conversations and activities the way to most meaningfully engage?

y = Technology Infrastructure
Will we build our own technology so that we have control of membership, features, data? Or will we use free and fast pre-existing social media and networking sites to provide the digital backbone of our community?

z = State of Tribe at the Outset
Does our project tap into a tribe that already exists and we are offering another way of interaction? Or do we sense a need for people to connect and are providing them the space they need to do so?

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