Activated Communities

June 18, 2007 · Comments

Chris Penn had a rocking booth It’s one thing to have a community of friends and an audience for your blog, podcast, or videoblog. It’s another thing altogether to have an activated community of people who will take action and bring about actual change at your request. I need your help in thinking more about this, but I feel there’s something here.

What’s An Activated Community?

It’s one thing to lean back and consume content. You watch TV, but rarely do you see something that motivates you to take a next step. You read the newspaper and use it as something to talk about at work. This is what most people do, and it’s partly why these things are here: to consume. For instance, listening to an album of music doesn’t usually have a “call to action” prescribed at the end- it’s just there for you to enjoy.

An activated community is when one’s audience becomes something with strength behind it, guided towards some kind of cause or end. It could be for a social effort, a marketplace request, a simple awareness effort. But in my definition (until you help me change it), an activated community is one that can be rallied to take some kind of action upon request whenever reasonable.

Examples of Activated Communities

Recently public radio host Ira Glass from This American Life reached out to his audience to say that the streaming bill for the Internet part of his show was excessive, and that the makers of the show couldn’t afford to pay for it any longer. He reached out to his audience and asked for support, and they were able to help. In fact, they were very generous, and the show will certainly go on. This is an easy example of a community taking an obvious action.

Another community action? Virtual Hot Wings put on by Matthew Ebel with help from Christopher S. Penn and Michelle Wolverton (and I don’t know who else). This was an effort to sell a virtual CD of all kinds of special bonus music content from one of podcasting’s musical shining lights, Matthew Ebel. The effort so far has done well for Matthew, and if you haven’t picked up your download of HOURS of music, consider dropping $20 US to show that an artist doesn’t need the US recording industry’s machine to get work done.

Reasons to Activate

It doesn’t have to be about money. Sometimes, on Twitter, I just reach out to the community at large to ask a question, something to raise thoughts and awareness. Why? Because I like giving people something to think about that isn’t just idle chit-chat. No reason beyond that. Sometimes, it’s about raising community thoughts and awareness.

Another way to use an activated community is for advice and information. I like asking questions about who uses which products. I much prefer recommendations from friends than I do magazines. I know that sometimes I’ll miss some professional opinions, but I trust the source of my friends more than I trust someone who might be jaded, might be looking to please a lower denominator than I classify myself, etc.

Tools for an Activated Community

Here’s where I need your help the most, I believe. I’m thinking about what tools we need to be a REALLY useful and active community. And by “useful,” beyond money, there’s a lot of what we can do that is just awareness-driving. The most frustrating thing I heard over and over again about PodCamp was that people didn’t know it happened. Meanwhile, Chris Penn and myself and all the organizers sent what felt like tens of thousands of emails. And yet, people weren’t aware.

Here’s a partial toolkit for awarenes:

  • A Digg account. – Use this for promoting stories and blog posts and podcasts that want higher attention.
  • A LinkedIN account. – Build your own network, link it to mine, and then we both expand our awareness and our reach. Because if I’m seeking out someone in your network, I can now ask you to help me connect to them. This builds connectivity to people you might need to reach very quickly.
  • A Twitter account. – To get the word out quickly. Re-twittering helps tons.
  • A Facebook account. – I think groups on Facebook are a quick way to get mail out to people easily. It’s also a good opt-in / opt-out mechanism.
  • A Flickr account. – What if some of our activation requires visuals? I guess you could add a YouTube account for the same purpose, just in case we want to shoot video.
  • A PayPal account. Sometimes it’s just about a donation to a cause. When a friend says their servers are down because of bandwidth bills, it’s nice to be able to drop a few bucks in the till to help them over a hump. (Sometimes it *is* just about money).
  • And what else?

Returns to an Activated Community

For someone to be driving such an active community, I believe there should be a return on effort to the community at large. I suppose people don’t mind if you ask them to Digg the occasional article. But should you be requesting something more, such as donating money, there should be some kind of return on the effort. What that becomes is up to you. It’s up to you and your community to determine the value of these actions, and why one would keep doing it, etc. But give them SOMETHING for their efforts. Otherwise, it’ll feel like a take, take, take thing.

What Did I Miss?

The best thing MY community offers me is their wisdom and intelligence. I’ve made all several hundred of you my advisory board. I trust you to steer me straight, to point me towards the good stuff, etc. What did I miss? What tools did I miss? What ideas are missing from this? Help me flesh this out. I think there’s something there. I welcome your thoughts.

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  • Hello! Good Site! Thanks you! tblsjykfqtndr
  • Wis.dm is a tool I'm messing around with in an attempt to create two way communication in my social SOA (service orientated architecture). When I post an article to my blog that raises a question; first I publish the blog posting and create the question in wis.dm with a link to the article. I then post the question to del.icio.us, which is read by twitterfeed and then posted to twitter automagically.
  • Ed M
    One tool you missed Chris is one you have on your blog, that is your list of upcoming events using upcoming.org. I have used this tool to find events of interest to me.

    One problem with this blog sidebar tool is that I rarely focus on peoples sidebars unless I am new to there site. And then I use them to become familar with that person and then focus more on the ever changing main content. The idea that there is mix of static and changing information is an important one and how to best present the differnet information so that is read by the viewer could be a whole other discussion.
  • Because there are dedicated fans that believe in Matthew's work, Virtual Hot Wings is a great way to bring awareness of what fans can do for the artists that they love.

    But Whitney's question is what has been poking at me for days. Now that we have the awareness what do we want to do with it?

    Helping Matthew was my primary and still is my primary focus, because I believe in what he does. Keeping the momentum going has been work, but with Virtual Hot Wings, you're getting more than just some CD pasted together and there is more to come for that $20 investment of a great musician.

    That said, there is so much more that can be achieved with the concept of VHW, there are approx. 10,000 bands/artists on PMN. I am motivated to do something bigger, to give exposure to all of those artists or at least a good majority of them. I am only one person which is where community comes in.

    The question of rewards to the community has come up for me in relation to gaining support and participation of the fan video concept on http://www.matthewebel.net. People love rewards, people need motivation to do something good, even if it is something fun and worth doing. So it's a valid question, one I am attempting to answer today as we gear up for making deadlines for the fan video.
  • One tool missing in your list, taking Podcamp for example, is having those who attended in the past to write about how they benefited from attending and have reminder posts or a button on their blog about upcoming Podcamps. Because if those people did indeed benefit it means that their community has grown and they are reaching more people than they did before attending. That's the ripple in the pond growing larger and larger.

    Another tool again goes to the people who have attended a Podcamp is to comment on blog posts that deal with issues that were resolved for them at Podcamp. When another reader comes across that comment that gives a hopeful solution to the writer's dilemna what do other readers do? They click on that person's name to be taken to their website or blog.

    Blogs are the grassroots campaigns of the past. Where we used to sit around in someone's living room and discuss issues we now can do it on blogs What starts out as a single post spreads throughout the community and beyond by others commenting on a post or blogging about their take on someone else's post.

    Look at how people rallied around, discussed, vented, came up with a "blogger's code of conduct" and such because Kathy Sierra wrote about the death threats made against her on her blog. It was amazing.
  • One thing that has not been mentioned is newsletters. I'm just adding that tool, as it is a huge one for me.

    And should not be overlooked.

    Some may say newsletters are old school, but I tell you they still work, people still do like getting regular content they signed up for. (they want the drip feed, they signed up for the course, the tips, the info, some people are lazy, give it me, I want it....)

    Social media and the interaction rocks, but some users, many many, like a massive % of them seem to lurk still, and those lurkers will act if you tell them, which can be as simple as "click this link" because I said so.

    Another thing, putting out a newsletter to 10s of thousands of people is also more efficient than engaging with all of them, which is immpossible.

    How could a political candidate possibly engage with every voter, she can't, but she can reach them in a channel which is personal to them, even if the content may be slightly generic.
  • Hey Chris, here's my response to your post:
  • Leadership inside an activated community is a must, but I still don't think it's a one-person task. I think it's something where someone gives the cry and others marshall the forces. It's not exactly top-down, but it's where one idea rolls into natural drivers, and then the starfish goes out there and reaches their various circles.

    Something Doug Haslam from Topaz Partners the other night was good. Imagine ripples in a pond. You spread the word, and your friends ripple that info out. They spread the word on their circle, and that's another ripple. Suddenly, there are hundreds of ripples. It becomes a gorgeous thing when information balloons.

    But how do we ensure it balloons? Perhaps this is really a discussion about marketing. About campaigns.

    Am I really asking what to do with a "buzz team" or something?

    I think not. I think that's ONE way to use this power. But what about a barn raising? How will we use this ability when a friend is in need? How will we use this to raise the roof?

    I'm thinking there's more thinking to be had here.
  • Ok, so then back to the original purpose- Once you have an engaged community, what do you do with them?
    1. Growth and expansion of the conversation
    2. Start new fun projects; get help on existing ones
    3. Change the world in big and small ways. It can be political organizing, fund raising for great projects and causes, it can be influencing the influencers.

    Moving the engaged, those that will act towards some common goal requires some more "spider" than "starfish", go with the flow, kind of leadership.

    A classic problem of "Now that I have you all here....What now?"
    Answer- What do you want to do? New HD radio channel filled with our quality content? New cable channel where we take over public access with an hour show devoted to the best of Internet TV? You decide, and then we help you go for it.
  • Chris, valid points brought up. I remember reading Bjorn Jeffery's (one of our speakers at our web2.0 Hej! 2007 conference) blog about the value of internet currency.

    In a nutshell, it says in order to 'attract' users, some form of currency will be used during the 'transaction' and he listed them down below here:
    http://www.goodold.se/blog/trend/2007/04/25/tra...

    This might be helpful to you for your understanding of the 'activated community'.

    Cheers
  • I think this is in sync with the folks above, but my thoughts:

    I always say that content is 1st-- that relates to the comment above about "cause." You have to have something compelling to get people to respond. The compellingness quotient increases or decreases depending on the medium.

    Twitter? Low threshold: ask people to read a blog post and respond, ask a quick question about what people like about Ning or Drupal (which I have done), and get a quick answer. Want people to download something, contribute comments to a podcast, or even buy something? More commitment is required more buildup (of your community), and more credibility, which you need to build up first before people will jump for you.

    Diva's comment about podcasting is something that has been on my mind. Podcasting is funny-- the nature of the medium is that it really does not encourage participation, simply because it is asynchronous. Sure you can participate by sending in a comment, but why should you? Why should I? Give me a reason.

    I comment on podcasts because those podcasts mean something to me, and, frankly, I want these people to value my opinion and listen to my podcast in return.
  • Good points...
  • I often find myself missing what the "key" is to achieving this activity. We can go on the Mayhem Podcast and ask people to submit entries for Fan fo the week and get a few each week. But run a contest, promising to send prizes (of small, nominal, importance) or ask for questions for an underground artist on WPAJ, and get next to nothing.

    Kind of doing this by the seat of our pants, as always, but some interesting things I'm going to start considering on my endeavors.
  • Give people a reason to participate. That simple. (reminder, simple != easy) What is compelling about your cause that will make people want to participate?

    If people aren't calling/emailing already, then the tools for a community won't make any more of a difference.
  • Don't forget about the participation in other people's smaller niche communities. ie blogs, etc.
  • So where people took this was somewhere else. You're asking "How do you engage a community?" I was presuming I've already got an engaged community.

    We can do that, too. Let's bring up a post about HOW to engage a community.

    But my point is that once you get them, how do you take advantage of it?
  • Reading the comments of others since I posted mine, I got to thinking about community building as it applies to podcasts, and I thought of...

    ...Romper Room!

    Remember that show? At the end the local host would hold up a mirror with the glass removed and say "I see Billy, and Susie, and Byron, and Mica...."

    Perhaps the simplest way to get people involved is to build a sense of community by personally addressing individuals you know listen. People then get the concept that as listeners they are connected to other listeners and join in the conversations, too.

    On the flip side, name checking your listeners may come off as either overly insular or pompous if your listeners happen to be people like Jeff Pulver, Jason Calacanis and Guy Kawasaki.
  • Well I guess I was well behind...just opened a facebook account now...a lot of things to coordinate thogh..too many sites...
  • I hear ya, Chris.

    A perfect example for me was Pixelodeon. I'm pretty connected but didn't hear about it until 2 days before it happened. I asked people where they heard about it and was surprised that it was mostly just 2 forums.

    I hesitate to recommend using a Wiki, as that rarely seems to work out, but a mail list management system like Constant Contact (or is it Constant Comment? One is a service, one is a Tea) would seem a good tool beyond Facebook. Not that there's anything wrong with Facebook, mind you...

    A good old email newsletter may not be too passe yet either.
  • Funny, I've been thinking about this very thing for my Online Music Marketing podcast -- how to engage listeners and make it a real community, rather than just me spouting off my mouth every episode. Taking a page from Mitch Joel and others, I'm trying to make Online Music Marketing more of an "audio community". I've added a free call-in line from k7.net, which is something I'd consider adding to your list Chris. Hopefully folks will call in with pertinent questions and comments that will make it more interesting and relevant for everyone. That's the idea, right?

    Miss ya at PAB buddy, hopefully see you soon!
  • Chris,
    I think that what is missing in your post is the cause. if you want people to act, you need a cause that will unify them. it can be a big idea (communism) or a simple common ground (we think that Ebbel is a great musician). So, you need somehow to find a simple idea that people will agree with and will agree to take action with regards to this idea. I am having the same problem with the internet TV brainstorming - how can i continue the discussion about it.
    from tools perspective - i think you need some collaboration tool for the members of your community such as google groups, ning, or something like that. this way you keep everyone engaged in your activity, and they can feel they are a part of something.

    But again - first you need the idea, then the tools are quite simple to find.
  • ps. Diva- call your own line and leave a message to stop it from expiring!
  • It's all about engagement.

    You can't always make people engage. Captivating attention can be hard. Rallying the troops behind something requires an appeal to motivating factors (happy to give you a list...) but also knowing people are motivated by very different things, in different proportions..

    The "lightening in a bottle" created by PodCamp is hard to articulate to others, or how such magic can be replicated elsewhere. If you sit alone, you think you are fine- you have no way to measure or gauge how much meeting others in this community is going to mean to you if you are unwilling to engage and take that risk. You are isolated rather than connected.

    Social media can be safe online, where meeting people in person can be hard and downright scary, if you lack a certain core of self-confidence and importance. Where it's easy to reach out on twitter, it can be challenging to think what'll happen if you meet someone you admire from afar and they think you are a no-nothing jerk-That's scary.

    While that is so far from what happens at these "New Media Playdates", it can be the barrier to trying something new. The old may be boring, but it is predictable and safe.

    That's really why I think there needs to be some serious thought to the new Media School and the section that is about personal empowerment- the "coursework" you need to do one your own, through things like The Artist's Way and Strengthsquest to know yourself a little better. It helps solve some of those "I don't know myself or my values, let alone my true talents" issues so many people have.

    To have an activated community, you need engaged people. People are willing to engage when they feel not only welcome, but that they can be both a giver and a taker to the group.
  • I wish I knew more ways to engage an audience. From a podcasting perspective alone we struggle to get the listeners to talk to us. It's at the point where we are no longer keeping a voice mail for messages. Twice now the free service has run out due to inactivity and ends up costing us $ to reprint business cards and time in changing the website and such. It's pretty frustrating.
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