Service Management

(Online Community)

Presented by: Rafael Y. Paragas

Dr. Sonia Dela Cruz Professorial Lecturer

Online Community

Online Community Developing an Online Community Strategy for Building Online Community Community Life Cycle Types of Online Community Domains of Online Community Rules in Making an Online Community Netiquette Safety and Privacy

What is an Online Community

An online community is a virtual community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. Those who wish to be a part of an online community usually have to become a member via a specific site. An online community can also act as an information system where members can post, comment on discussions, give advice or collaborate.

Developing an Online Community

When developing an online community, it is important to have the technologies necessary to keep members interested, manage assets, and uphold community relations. Developers take into consideration whether all the online community members are good at using technology. If an online community is not workable for some users, they may be discouraged.

Developing an Online Community

Online communities are developed to encourage individuals to come together to teach and learn from one another. They encourage self learners to discuss and learn about real-world problems/situations as well as focus on things such as teamwork, collaborative thinking, personal experiences.

Developing an Online Community

A developer's main focus is to create a technology that adheres to the interests, as well as the social and basic needs, of the community. An online community's main goal is to serve as a common ground for people who share the same interests.

Strategy for Building Online Community

1 - Let Your Members ���Know Why

•  Let the potential members of the community know why you are providing an online community, and how being an active member of a community would benefit them.

Tactic 2 - Showcase Your Community

2- Use every opportunity to showcase your online community���

a)  Introduce it to your members in an

initial introductory email, and then in periodic follow up emails.

b) In regular newsletter, mention or welcome new groups that have been formed.

2- Showcase Your Community cont…

c) Put into the community library all documents and files that your organization would like to make available to your members. d) Set up occasional forums on topical events to keep refreshing the content.

3 - Seed the Community

•  Seed the community with groups, forum postings, blogs, etc., so that early adopters aren’t faced with an “empty” community. ��Invite selected members prior to public launch to participate and to help seed the community with comment and other content.

4 - Make it Easy

• Make it as easy as possible for people to sign up and to use the community tools. ��If your community is closed to non-members, be sure to add accessible descriptions of the community in your list of membership benefits to entice non-members to become members. ��

5 - Designate a Facilitator or Moderator

•  Designate a staff person to be the fac i l i tator or moderator of the community, checking periodically to make sure that members are using the forums and other tools as intended, encouraging members to “speak up”, enforcing the rules if necessary and making sure that comments & questions about the organization are acknowledged and answered, as appropriate. ��

6 - Acknowledge Community Members

• Acknowledge those members who use the community frequently. ��This acknowledgment can be made within the community site itself, in the organization’s newsletters, or the organization’s main website.

7 - Seek and Use ���Members’ Input

Seek input from the members on your organization’s agenda and other organizational issues. �

Consider polling members within the community on a regular basis. Take what you learn from the community and put it into practice in the organization. �

Give credit to the community for their input. Once members discover that their participation in the community can actually have an impact on the organization itself, interest in the community will be that much stronger.

8 – Use Forum for ���Announcements

Use forum or an avenue to publish ongoing lists of group events, and have members participate by adding other events that they consider relevant to other members. �

Encourage users to use forum by seek ing the i r input d i rect ly into organizational planning (e.g., by putting drafts of tributes, awards, mission statements, and then seeking input from members).

9 - Announce News First in Community

Announce new initiatives and other important organizational news in the community first. This will help establish the community as a living, informative part of your online presence.

10 - Keep the Community Fresh

•  Keep the community fresh. �� Pay attention to what elements of

the community are being used heavily, and which are not. � If you find a lot of discussion on a

particular topic, consider creating a forum and/or group especially for that topic. Consider archiving outdated library items.

On-Board: This is the starting p o i n t o f a n y c o m m u n i t y , characterized by people (seekers) looking for value (content), most of w h i c h i s c r e a t e d b y t h e community’s founders.

Establ ished: The community is becoming self-sustaining, with the members (influencers, originators, etc.) creating and maintaining value within the community, although some reliance on the founders is still necessary.

Mature: Users are organized into clear types (influencers, seekers, moderators, originators, etc.) and t a k e f u l l o w n e r s h i p a n d responsibility for content. Little to no supervision is required by the founders, who become no more than credible participants.

Types of Online Communities

Gender based Virtual Communities

•  Online communication is more equal, that women are able to participate and complete thoughts, in effect "softening social barriers." (Shapiro 1999)

•  Online interaction is merely a reflection of real world conversation where men dominate.

Cyber Activism

•  Use communication technologies for faster communications by citizen movements and deliver a message to a large audience.

•  Internet technologies used for cause-r e l a t e d f u n d r a i s i n g , l o b b y i n g , volunteering, community building, and organizing.

Cyber Activism-Criticisms

•  Marginalizing minorities and elderly citizens due to lack of access to or confidence in emerging technologies

•  Make public feel involved rather than to advance actual participation.

•  Impression of being part of a much larger network than is necessarily the case.

Marketing through Online Communities

•  C ommu n i t y m a r k e t i n g c r e a t e s communities around products.

•  Able to engage your customer base in a natural setting.

•  Can strengthen bond between company and consumer - create loyalty through personal investment.

•  Can be used to reinforce, or manipulate brand image.

Implications on Traditional Communities?

•  Many claim off line interpersonal relationships are affected-No longer know how to communicate in face to face situations.

•  More people looking for partners online rather than in bars or cafes or through off line friends.

•  Claims that marriages are destroyed due to online affairs through communities

•  Claims that virtual communities are an escape from real world problems.

•  More people stay at home rather than to go out and socialize - Meetup.com tries to fix that!

Four Domains Of Online Community

Four Domains Of Online Community

a. Social – Social interaction – Solidarity – Individual & Institutional relations

Pol. Sci Family Online Community

Four Domains Of Online Community

b. Political – Collective formation of goals – Implementation of policy – online voting – online campaigning

Four Domains Of Online Community c. Economic

– Production, distribution & consumption of goods and services

– company blogs (promote branding, image)

– online stores – netizens sell things online (community: a small word-of-mouth-built fanbase)

– price comparisons

Four Domains Of Online Community

d. Cultural – Examines shared values & symbol systems

– gathering of people based on common themes, lifestyles

– religious communities, art communities, music communities • Different Cultures , Different Channels

Rules For Making Online Communities Work

1.  Define the purpose of the community.

2.  Create member profiles that evolve over time.

3.  Promote effective leadership.

Rules For Making Online Communities Work

4. Define a clear, yet flexible, code of conduct. 5.  Organize and promote cyclic

events. 6.  Provide range of roles that couple

power with responsibility.

Netiquette

The 10 Commandments of how to behave on

the Internet

Netiquette

Rule 1: Remember the Human Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life. Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace Rule 4: Respect other people’s time. Rule 5: Make yourself look good online.

Netiquette Rule 6: Share expert knowledge Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control. Rule 8: Respect other people’s privacy. Rule 9: Don’t abuse your power. Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes.

Safety and Privacy Issues

Online Harassment a. Flaming- According to a study conducted by Peter J. Moor, flaming is defined as displaying hostility by insulting, swearing or using otherwise offensive language.

Flaming can be done in either a group style format (the comments section on YouTube) or in a one-on-one format (private messaging on Facebook).

Safety and Privacy Issues

Republic Act no. 10175 AN ACT DEFINING CYBERCRIME, PROVIDING

FOR THE PREVENTION, INVESTIGATION, SUPPRESSION AND THE IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER

PURPOSES.

This Act shall be known as the “Cybercrime Prevention Act of

2012″.

Safety and Privacy Issues

b. Cyber bullying is also prominent online. Cyber bullying is defined as willful and repeated harm inflicted towards another. Cyber bullying victimization has ascended to the forefront of the public agenda after a number of news stories came out on the topic.

Safety and Privacy Issues

Republic Act no. 10627 AN ACT REQUIRING ALL ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO ADOPT POLICIES TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS THE ACTS OF

BULLYING IN THEIR INSTITUTIONS

This Act shall be known as the “Anti-Bullying Act of 2013”.

References http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/cyberstalking.htm http://www.gov.ph/2012/09/12/republic-act-no-10175/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_activism