Comments on: I don’t create communities, I create online spaces! http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2009/08/11/i-dont-create-communities-i-create-online-spaces/ sharing ideas thoughts and feedback Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:05:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1-alpha by: John Tropea http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2009/08/11/i-dont-create-communities-i-create-online-spaces/#comment-33039 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:11:27 +0100 http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2009/08/11/i-dont-create-communities-i-create-online-spaces/#comment-33039 Samuel...Yes, fostering and supporting is where the efforts should be. One of our CoPs did exactly that. They had a giant ideas forum, and got about 500 posts. Then dissected that into about 10 topic forums within the same CoP. It's not pure emergence where a topic forum organically forms, instead it was a half way point where they took what emerged and formalised it into topic forums as they guessed that's what people are interested in. Then they took the most prominent contributors in those forums and appointed them to be champions. Not sure if they were happy to do this, or told... I agree with you...I think it should be a conversation and mutual agreement. As this sends a signal that if you contribute a lot, people will notice, and assign you a task...the upside is that you have an avenue to drive your own career in the org by being noticed online. You comment makes sense...as I said in my comment, they didn't take the overly formal approach, nor the emergent approach, but a middle space. Good to hear we can speak the same lingo, we are having similar experiences. Samuel…Yes, fostering and supporting is where the efforts should be.

One of our CoPs did exactly that. They had a giant ideas forum, and got about 500 posts. Then dissected that into about 10 topic forums within the same CoP.
It’s not pure emergence where a topic forum organically forms, instead it was a half way point where they took what emerged and formalised it into topic forums as they guessed that’s what people are interested in.
Then they took the most prominent contributors in those forums and appointed them to be champions. Not sure if they were happy to do this, or told…
I agree with you…I think it should be a conversation and mutual agreement. As this sends a signal that if you contribute a lot, people will notice, and assign you a task…the upside is that you have an avenue to drive your own career in the org by being noticed online.

You comment makes sense…as I said in my comment, they didn’t take the overly formal approach, nor the emergent approach, but a middle space.

Good to hear we can speak the same lingo, we are having similar experiences.

]]> by: Samuel Driessen http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2009/08/11/i-dont-create-communities-i-create-online-spaces/#comment-33037 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:48:55 +0100 http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2009/08/11/i-dont-create-communities-i-create-online-spaces/#comment-33037 Nice post, John. Thanks for bringing old posts back! Very true. I like Wenger's book on Communities that says: Communities are there, they already exist. The point is how to we foster and support them. What I was wondering, also relating to your Crowdsourcing post was, can't 'the organization' define which topics they would like to track/monitor. Then put them up on the intranet or a blog and ask the employees who wants to 'voluntarily' track them. The employees that respond will have some passion to follow them. They're the people that have 'shared concern' (Lucas Introna) or 'shared interest'. What I see is that companies don't do the last part. They say: We need to follow certain topics or think/discuss about them. And they then appoint employees to do that. Often these are not the passionate people and they're busy already. Furthermore, it assumes 'the organisation'/management knows who the community members are. No emergence here. And no employees in the communities that should be in there. Does this make sense? Nice post, John. Thanks for bringing old posts back! Very true. I like Wenger’s book on Communities that says: Communities are there, they already exist. The point is how to we foster and support them.
What I was wondering, also relating to your Crowdsourcing post was, can’t ‘the organization’ define which topics they would like to track/monitor. Then put them up on the intranet or a blog and ask the employees who wants to ‘voluntarily’ track them. The employees that respond will have some passion to follow them. They’re the people that have ’shared concern’ (Lucas Introna) or ’shared interest’. What I see is that companies don’t do the last part. They say: We need to follow certain topics or think/discuss about them. And they then appoint employees to do that. Often these are not the passionate people and they’re busy already. Furthermore, it assumes ‘the organisation’/management knows who the community members are. No emergence here. And no employees in the communities that should be in there. Does this make sense?

]]> by: John Tropea http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2009/08/11/i-dont-create-communities-i-create-online-spaces/#comment-33027 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:26:24 +0100 http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2009/08/11/i-dont-create-communities-i-create-online-spaces/#comment-33027 Thx for dropping by Geoff, I'm honored that I left an impression on you Thx for dropping by Geoff, I’m honored that I left an impression on you

]]> by: Geoff Brown http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2009/08/11/i-dont-create-communities-i-create-online-spaces/#comment-33026 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:57:02 +0100 http://libraryclips.blogsome.com/2009/08/11/i-dont-create-communities-i-create-online-spaces/#comment-33026 Love it John. Will be using some of your quotes in future presentations. Geoff Love it John. Will be using some of your quotes in future presentations. Geoff

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