Must-Reads
The Art of
Hosting
Howard Rheingold hits the nail on the head in this often-quoted piece
on what good hosting looks like.
Case Study:
the IBM/Electric Minds 'Kasparov v. Deep Blue Chess Match'
How IBM used conferencing to involve fans of the chess event of the decade.
Chasing
the Chat Dollar
Using online conferencing and chat to further business goals.
How
Online Social Networks Benefit Organizations
Wondering how virtual communication can help your company or group? This
article explains why you need what you need to further this goal.
John Coate's Cyberspace
Innkeeping
An early essay about hosting online that still holds true today.
There
Goes The Neighborhood
Is a collection of web pages such as Geocities a "community?"
Articles and Papers
A
Sense of Well Being
The Well, an old and influential virtual community, celebrates its 15th
anniversary.
Amateurs
Lead Web Community-Building
Why amateurs often get it right, when business often gets it wrong.
An
easy way to spread the word
How a business-backed community can enhance your corporation, if it's
the right kind of community with the right expectations.
Building
Online Communities
Transcript of a Netpreneur panel discussion on what makes online communities
work.
Building
Online Communities: Transforming Assumptions Into Success
Geared toward non-profits, there is plenty of good information here for
any organization or business interested in starting an online community.
Building
Stronger Brands through Online Communities
Using online communities for branding.
Case
Study: Building an Online Community -- Lessons from the "Global Knowledge
for Development" list
Excellent discussion of what was learned by organizing a temporary online
community in connection with a major f2f conference.
Civic Networks:
Building Community on the Net
1997 paper that suggests the net be used to strengthen existing geographical
communities.
Community
Will Drive Wireless Web
Will online communities play a large role on the wireless, portable web?
Community or Ghost Town?
Tips on when to know you're ready to launch an online community.
Corporate
IT Exploits Community Applications
IT managers find uses for community applications.
Deepening
Brand Loyalty
Online community can be your fly on the wall to your customer's thinking
as well as the flypaper that "sticks" customers to your site.
Encouraging
Cyberculture
1997 paper on way to encourage a thriving cyberculture while minimizing
the more negative aspects of online interaction.
Do
Communities Pay?
Online communities can help establish relationships with potential customers,
but it remains to be seen whether they can consistently generate revenue.
E-tribes
and Marketing: Virtual Communities of Consumption and Their Strategic
Marketing Implications
Marketing via a virtual community must be done with a light touch and
appropriate expectations.
The Epic
Saga of the Well
A Wired Magazine cover story on one aspect of The Well's history.
How
To Build An Online Community
Good advice from the manager of Zdnet's Executives Online forum.
Imagined
Electronic Community: Representations of Virtual Community in Contemporary
Business Discourse
A critical look at the history of e-commerce and it's stance toward community
over the past decade.
It
Takes An E-Village
CIO (Chief Information Officer)'s look at how companies are using online
communities.
Knowledge
Diffusion through "Strategic Communities"
Creating internal communities for businesses.
Learning in the
New Economy
It's not enough to create learning organizations - a thriving business
also creates learning communities.
Online Communities
Arthur Anderson studied 15 online communities to attempt to figure out
what makes them last, and how business should respond to communities they
set up online. You need Adobe reader to access this article.
The
Road to Webville
This Yahoo! Internet Life article looks at the various type of communities
online.
Seven Rules To Follow
When Creating an On-Line Community
Criteria to follow to keep your identity while starting your associations
virtual community.
Successful
online communities allow customers to speak their minds and companies
to meet their business goals.
How companies can make the best use of online communities.
Surfing is Passe;
Join an Internet Community
How communities can build loyalty to your business-if managed properly.
They
Built Online Meeting Places But the Venture Capital Didn't Stay
Venture Capitalists get cold feet about online community - but only when
the model is poorly conceived.
Tools,
Techniques and Trust
A paper given at the First International Conference on Virtual Communities
by Cliff Figallo.
Toward Understanding
Community
What exactly is an online community?
Web
site e-mail can be a black hole
Corporate giants put up email contact addresses and then don't respond.
How not to interact with your customers.
Your Community of Customers
A different perspective of smaller online spaces for small business customers.
Conferencing/Chat Software
Think of It
Reviews of various text-based conferencing platforms.
Web Based Discussion Software
A useful companion to the Wooley site is this page of David Strom's site
for information on audio/video conferencing products.
Net History
Hobbes
Internet Timeline
PBS Internet Timeline
Triumph of the Nerds
How the "nerds" changed computing and creating the net.
Usenet History
History of the first general conferencing system on the net.
Resources on Virtual Community Building
Bibliography
on Chat Communication
An extensive listing of online and offline articles and resources on chat.
Community-Building On The Web
The companion site for Amy Jo Kim's excellent book on how good communities
are created and sustained.
Facilitation:
The CoIL FAQ on Roles and Responsibilities
From the Community Intelligence Labs, a FAQ about why and how forums should
be hosted.
Full Circle Associates
Comprehensive list of online facilitation resources.
Hosting Web Communities
Information and related links for Cliff Figallo's impressive book.
International
Conference on Virtual Communities
Conference proceedings and speeches
Moderator
Guidelines
Lisa Kimball talks about what an online moderator actually does.
The Moderators
Home Page
Resources for online host/moderators and those wishing to learn more about
this new skill.
Online Community Report
A free twice-monthly newsletter on what is happening with online communities.
Resource Center for Cyberculture
Studies
This not-for-profit organization's purpose is "to research, study, teach,
support, and create diverse and dynamic elements of cyberculture."
The Virtual Community
Online text of Howard Rheingold's seminal study of community on the web.
The Virtual Community: Bibliography
Rheingold's extensive bibliography, updated 2000
Virtual Community:
An Annotated Bibliography
This 1995 student paper from Amherst University provides you with an quick
overview of some of the major scholarly literature on virtual communities
before the mid-90s along with a bibliography. There are no links and the
material is quite basic in format, but it's worth a review if you are
relatively new to the notion of community on the Internet.
Well Conferencing and Community
Resources
Links and articles from one of the oldest online communities.
Related Resources
About.com
- Internet Conferencing
Cluetrain Manefesto
What corporations should learn from the net.
Cybersociology
Cyberstudies
Web Ring
EFF "Net Culture & Cyber-Anthropology"
The
Psychology of Cyberspace
Content Guide to Cybersociology
