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Online Community Magazines Start your own community based business with no money out of pocket  | | Podcasting from $5/month! |
Online Community Magazines allow you to give everyone a voice in any community (both geographic or niche/industry).It is an online business software that allows you to let community members write columns (also known as blogs), and create and upload audio and video (also known as podcasts).
It allows you to put Featured Articles on the front page (that can lead to audio and video shows), as well as a randomly rotating Featured Member (complete with picture, bio, and link to latest post).
This blog is all about Communities and how to use technology to allow the Community members to reach other people.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines | 5/12/2008 The Online Community Magazines Commercial Creation Center is picking up speed and adding more functions. The Audio Recorder is now public and functional, as well as the Photo Editor, with an additional tab that lets you overlay images or caption boxes on top of an existing image.
Next up will be adding the ability to put a 2-line caption at the bottom of your webcam recordings, take a video that you have created with a camera and convert it to any of our other video formats (like with the screen recorder and webcam recorder). Next is the slide show video maker and then the Audio Recorder mixer.
For now, here are the updated instructions (with nice pictures of a kitty!) to show you the changes to the Photo Editor:
The Photo Editor lets you crop photos, resize images (with easy default selections for image sizes that go on the magazine), and add different size and color text on top of the image. Create logos, ads and slides, or simply resize an existing picture to place on the magazine, including your Profile Photo.
The Photo / Background Tab:
- Load an image first. We provide you with colored backgrounds to create slides and caption boxes with text, and over 200 royalty free photos. You can also load your own images.
- Optionally you can crop the image by clicking and dragging with the mouse and pressing F7.
- Or you can resize the image by pressing the Resize button.
- You can always press Undo.
- However, you must save the image before you can put text over it or add another image or text box.
The Text Tab:
- You can select an area on the image to place the text by clicking and dragging your mouse. Press F7 and the Text Editor box pops open.
- To move the text around the image, click and drag to select a new location and press F7 again, or use your keyboard arrow keys.
You can select a font size from the Edit Text box.
You can also change the color of the text with our Color Picker.
You can only print one color and size of text at a time. But you can click Save and then add more text with different colors and sizes. Repeat this process to create multicolored, different sized text in different areas on your image.
The Add Extra Image Tab:
This can be used to add a Caption Box that you have already created. Sometimes, when you want to put text on top of an image, there are too many competing colors in the background, and no matter what text color you choose, some of the text disappears.
So you can create a Caption Box in our Photo Editor with any color background you want and then overlay it over your picture.
- Just load one of our colored Backgrounds,
- crop it to the right size for your text or Resize it,
- and save it.
- Then add text on top of it
- and save it.
- Now load into the Photo/Background tab whatever image you want to put your Caption Box over,
- save it,
- and then go to the Add Extra Image tab to add your new Caption Box over it like an image.
- Save the completed image.
Add Extra Image can also be used to overlay an image over a picture. You can even create a collage. Sometimes the image will have some transparency. We are working on that issue.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 5/8/2008 Today, Online Community Magazines publicly released the Photo Editor / Text Overlay program AND the simple Audio Recorder for the Commercial Creation Center. We told you about the Photo Editor in our last post, so here is the scoop on the Audio Recorder.
The simple Audio Recorder lets you record your voice simply and quickly. It can be used by itself, or in combination with upcoming modules. There really is no need for a video, because you can't mess this up, it's so simple.
- Choose the device on your computer that you will record with. Normally this will be a webcam or microphone you have plugged in, or your sound card.
- Next, select the type of microphone or input you will use. Normally you just use whatever pops up, but you can be adventurous and try some other options if you want.
- Press Start Recording. Talk. The volume adjusts automatically for you, and you can see the lights move up and down.
- Press Stop Recording when you are finished.
- Press Play to listen to your recording. Press Stop to stop it. And press Save to save it.
Told you - there's not much to it!
We're still looking for beta testers, so if you would like to take it for a test run, I'd love to have your feedback. Just go to http://www.OnlineCommunityMagazines.com and go to the Contact Us form to request the Commercial Creation Center.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazine
| 5/3/2008 Online Community Magazines has released the latest feature for the Commercial Creation Center - a Photo Editor that also creates logos, ads, and slides. Below is the information from the tutorial.
The Photo Editor lets you crop photos, resize images (with easy default selctions for image sizes that go on the magazine), and add different size and color text on top of the image. Create logos, ads and slides, or simply resize an existing picture to place on the magazine, including your Profile Photo.
The Image Tab:
- Load an image first. We provide you with colored backgrounds to create slides with text only, and over 200 royalty free photos. You can also load your own images.
- Optionally you can crop the image by clicking and dragging with the mouse and pressing F7.
- Or you can resize the image by pressing the Resize button.
- You can always press Undo.
- However, you must save the image before you can put text over it.
The Text Tab:
- You can select an area on the image to place the text by clicking and dragging your mouse. Press F7 and the Text Editor box pops open.
- To move the text around the image, click and drag to select a new location and press F7 again. .
You can select a font size from the Edit Text box.
You can also change the color of the text with our Color Picker. Note: Selecting a color will change the location of the text, so try and get that right from the beginning.
You can only print one section of text at a time. But you can click Save and then add more text. Repeat this process to create multicolored, different sized text in different areas on your image.
Watch a video about how to use the Photo Editor.
If you would like to beta test the software, simply send me an email. I think you'll agree that this software is simple enough for any person to use.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 4/29/2008
Online Community Magazines: Simple Multimedia Creation and Affordable Online Marketing for Communities
Online Community Magazines is a community-based business opportunity requiring no out-of-pocket investment. The proprietary software allows Owners to provide easy multimedia marketing for members of their online or offline community. Discounts apply for veterans and people with disabilities.
Holly Springs, GA (PRWEB) April 29, 2008 -- Online Community Magazines is now accepting applications for new community installations of its online multimedia marketing software. Owners of this work at home business opportunity provide affordable online marketing services and easy multimedia production tools to members of their community. Only one Magazine is installed per geographic territory or online niche or industry, and applicants must pre-qualify for ownership by acquiring 10 charter magazine members prior to opening.
AroundCherokeeCounty.com, an Online Community Magazine
This unique pre-qualification system makes Online CommunityMagazines a perfect work at home business opportunity for people with disabilities and war veterans, as well as unemployed sales professionals. In place of financial investment, they are required toprove their ability to gain new accounts within their chosen community. This allows potential owners to verify that they will be successful at running a multimedia magazine for their community, as well as provide them with opening content for their Online Community Magazine.
"The key to the success of Online Community Magazines are the individual owners," says Penny Haynes, CEO of Encouraging Enterprises,Inc., and designer of the software. "They must be a member of the community which the magazine serves, and must be available to their community during business hours. No technological knowledge is needed because the software is intended for use by internet novices. However, complete software training is provided, as well as suggested sales and marketing scripts and materials. The most critical requirements are salesmanship, an urgent desire to succeed, and knowledge of the community and its members."
The Online Community Magazines software can be used as a multimedia business directory, multimedia content creation system, and community internet tv and radio site. Features of the software include RSS, podcasting, blogging, social bookmarking, email subscriptions, a forum, FAQ and community coupon site. For more information about the software or business opportunity, go to http://www.OnlineCommunityMagazines.com.
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| 4/17/2008 The Commercial Creation Center's Screen Recorder, Webcam Recorder and Video Conversion tools are now released.
We will be adding audio recording and mixing with music, digital image slide show videos, video mixing, ad and logo creation and more.
Below are the present instructions and video tutorials for the Commercial Creation Center:
How to Download (watch Download & Install Video Tutorial):
Download the Commercial Creation Center from your Upload Audio/Video page in your magazine.
Save it to a place you will remember on your computer.
How to Install:
Unzip the file (normally by right-clicking on it and choosing Extract or Unzip).
Double-click on wmencoder.exe FIRST and complete that installation.
THEN double-click on setup.exe and complete that installation.
How to Use & Update (watch How To Use the Commercial Creation Center Video Tutorial):
You will find an orange circular icon and shortcut on your desktop now.
Double-click that icon to start the Commercial Creation Center.
You will now see that same orange circle in the system tray
(the lower right hand area of your computer screen).
Click on it and you will see several options:
- at the bottom, Exit, to close out the program
- above that, the list of available recorders and features presently available (we are always adding new features, so update often)
Now, you will see Screen recorder (F11) and WebCam Recorder (F10). Click on either to open them.
- This is the Screen Recorder. Basically, all you do is select what type of video you want to create (for YouTube, for the Online Magazine, full-size as a video to download, for an iPod, etc.). Check as many options as you want - the Commercial Creation Center will convert them for you!
This is the Webcam Recorder Screen - choose as many formats as you like for the finished video.
- Then simply click on the Start (F7) button, or press the F7 key.
- type in a name for your video, and choose where you want to save it, and click Save.
- The video immediately starts recording everything you do on your computer screen, and everything you say into your microphone.
- To stop the recording, press the F7 key on your keyboard.
Now, you can review your video by going to the folder where you saved it.
Or, you can now go to your magazine page, click in the File box, and press Control + V to paste in the location of your video.
Fill out your Upload Audio/Video page with a title, description and key words and press Send.
Watch a video tutorial about Creating a Narrated PowerPoint Video (created with the Commercial Creation Center).
Watch a video tutorial about the Commercial Creation Center (created with the Commercial Creation Center).
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 4/10/2008 One of the Online Community Magazines owners brought up a very good point: some prospective clients understand the idea of a business directory much more easily than a community magazine.
The beautiful thing about our software, as we discussed in the last blog post, is that it can be both an advertising software as well as a multimedia creation software. Its use can be determined by the people who use it. The same can be said about calling it a Business Directory or a Community Magazine with Internet TV and Radio (or audio and video).
People understand what a business directory is, and will pay gobs of money to be in one for their target market.
People will pay $50/month or $500/year for simply one ad in a local online directory. It amazes me. Nothing but an image, and some text. Maybe an ad that rotates with 4 other ads in its spot.
So if you told them that what you offered was like a Business Directory, only on steroids, they might better understand the concept.
Tell them that, instead of only getting to post, one time, some text and an image, that they have the option to post unlimited text (like updates about their business, changes in their menu, customer testimonials, articles about their area of expertise) for only $10/month. Tell them they can create and post unlimited audios and videos about their business with some really simple software for only $30/month. They can be customer testimonials, short commercials, longer shows about how they do what they do - the sky is the limit.
So if getting across the concept of an Online Community Magazine is foreign to your community, tell them it is a unique multimedia directory that empowers them to create their own commercials about their business.
I promise you that you will not have ANY competition with that product. No one else offers what we offer, because we give your customer everything they need to create multimedia advertising.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 4/2/2008 I was Twitter-ing (a mini format of blogging) the following thought: Are the Online Community Magazines more of an advertising platform or a multimedia content creation platform? One of the owners of our magazines simply replied: Both. It depends on what the ower needs it to be.
If your community is not quite up to the 21st century and Web 2.0 technologically, then the software can be used to focus on posting text and image ads, articles for columns, coupons and community events for the calendar. It offers a text-based forum, an accepted way for people to communicate with other members of the community. You also have 30 front page sidebar ads, and 2 header ads, that can be sold as prime real estate, as well as places on the forum.
Those without a web site can utilize their page as their primary home page. You can help them buy a domain name and then point it to their page in the magazine. The page has a Contact Us form built in, a large banner at the top, and a place to put special offers that can be changed at any time. You can also increase your price to charge for multimedia creation for them and just use the simple built in tools on their behalf.
If you are in a more modern community that is open to adopting new media, then you can focus on the Commercial Creation Center's capabilities. People understand the power of video commercials - they see them all the time. Now they can create video commercials easily and inexpensively, and post them on the front page of your community's magazine. They can also post them back on their own web site to engage their visitors.
If you provide telephone call-in lines for your clients (it would only cost you $19.95 a month with the same service I pay for), they can have their clients call in testimonials about their product or services. This is a great way to introduce clients to multimedia in a non-threatening way. The most important thing is that you are available to your clients to help walk them through the process. Once they get the hang of it, they really don't need much help anymore.
Lastly, if you have a community that knows the capabilities of online media marketing, and understands the power of creating multimedia products, then this is a dream come true for your members.
- They can turn their ebooks and written books into audio books.
- They can post multimedia excerpts to advertise their products.
- They can create entire curriculums to sell.
- They can create video tutorials and tours of their products, services and web site.
So wherever your community is, there is a way to utilize the capabilities of the Online Community Magazines software. Find 10 people who are early adopters in your community to come on board, and you are ready for business. And for communities with internet novices, charge more and do most of the work for them. You make more money, they do less and get a full-service product.
Penny Haynes, OnlineCommunityMagazines.com
| 3/20/2008 In today's Online Community Magazine article, we are going to discuss who should NOT be an online community magazine owner.
Everyone is just not cut out for running an online community magazine, and there's no shame in saying that. Certain personalities are better suited for certain jobs, and certain life and career situations are more conducive to making more money. In order to market this business opportunity, I have had to spend a lot of time trying to figure out who my target market is, and isn't.
Full-Time Employees are not a good match for this business.
I don't claim that without reason. I have found out by watching individuals who want to be out of their present 40-hour job try to find just 10 people to join their magazine. Their biggest problem is lack of time.
As one unsuccessful candidate shared with me, "Business owners would want me to meet with them, but it was always during business hours - and I had to go to my job." The only option in this situation is to find a partner who is able to help you find clients and do daytime meetings. Then, when the business is self-sufficient, you can reduce your hours or eliminate your full-time job altogether.
People who dread sales calls and/or can't ask for money from community members.
I am a perfect example of this. I am great at presenting the opportunity to local businesses, but I have a really hard time with rejection - and follow up. Luckily, when I present it in natural networking settings, people then approach me about signing on, which is where my business comes from at this point. I am trying to hire an outside sales person who is a natural at talking with businesses, so I can do what I love, which is the technical and marketing materials side.
People who have their own full-time business (UNLESS this will be an extension of their business, like a Membership Site owner, a Network Site owner, or a Printed Publication owner).
Now, why would I say this? Because I am a full-time business owner. I design and sell the Online Community Magazines software, and that has been my primary focus. So what happens to my local magazine business? It becomes a "back burner" business - what I do when I'm not running my "main" business.
Unfortunately, that has also been the case with many of my beta magazine owners. When I asked them why there wasn't much new content on their magazines, they all responded with the same answer: "I've been busy working on my own business." So, people with their own business won't have the time and dedication to make this business really profitable.
Now, for the people who WOULD make good magazine owners.
- Professional Sales People looking to make money for themselves, instead of another business owner. They have experience with sales, and if they have done it for a while, are probably good at it. This is their opportunity to put their sales training and expertise to good use for their own benefit, running their own community-based online advertising business, complete with multimedia production suite. If they sold high end goods for a living, selling $300/year services should be a snap.
- Business Professionals transitioning from one career to another. Perhaps they have retired from a corporate position, or they have been laid off. In any case, this is a perfect time to start this business, as they can take their lifetime of business experience and put it to good use running their own enterprise.
- Owners of Community or Niche Based Publications, Online Networks and Membership Sites. These people already have easy access to existing clients. The magazine software and commercial creation center provide additional tools, resources, and advertising opportunities to their members and readers. It is a way to generate more streams of income from an existing clientele. For higher end advertising sites, this can bring in a 2nd tier of lower priced advertising for new clients.
I'm sure I will find other "perfect matches" for the business as new business owners emerge. Perhaps you don't fit into any of the do's or don'ts, but you could make a very successful magazine owner. Don't let me discourage you from taking your shot at finding 10 people to start your magazine. That's all you really have to do to get started without any money out of your own pocket.
However, if you know of any people who fit the target market, remember the $500 referral fee I will pay you for sending them my way. There is more than one way to skin a cat, or make money from Online Community Magazines. So if you can't run a business, find other people who can, and get paid anyway. Any questions, just contact me.
Penny Haynes
| 2/22/2008 In today's Online Community Magazines article, we will discuss the importance of remembering people with visual and hearing impairments.
I was contacted by someone who was checking out the Online Community Magazine business for a blind person. She asked me if the site was accessible for the visually impaired. I realized I couldn't really answer that question, as I hadn't tested it.
That's why I decided to go through the magazine as a visually impaired person.
I used a few basic programs, including WebbIE and a text-to-voice program, and checked out http://www.AroundCherokeeCounty.com. I was pleasantly surprised that, with a few small exceptions, the site was very accessible. Since we focus on text and not images for the basis of the site, screen readers could read through our site without any problem. The forms were even accessible, and could be completed by a visually impaired person.
Many problems occur with Flash and Java programming.
Flash is such a pretty format for the internet, but for the most part, it is totally useless when it comes to increasing search engine rankings. But Java programming makes things pop up and perform neat tricks, and I wouldn't want to be without it. I have designed work arounds for the Java items on the site (and will give this to the programmers after this next round of changes), so that hopefully will not be a problem. However, our new Recording Software will include Flash.
Great programmers make all the difference sometimes.
Luckily, I mentioned this early on to our Commercial Creation Center programmers, and asked them to start building in keyboard short-cuts, and they mentioned adding in audio instructions. Once we are finished with this multimedia production suite, this could very well be the first audio/video creation software designed with the visually impaired in mind!
People with disabilities are rarely considered online target markets except for people with products and services specifically for the disability.
However, our system will give people with visual (and hearing) impairments the opportunity to create audio and video, many of them for the first time. Therefore, by using our software, you increase the number of people within your target market by including people who have been, up until now, basically ignored. They have businesses and organizations that need advertising as well - and now you can provide affordable marketing tools and resources for them, for as little as $1 a day!
We are planning to work with Darrell Shandro of Blind Access Journal to test the multimedia creation software and make it completely accessible.
The more people that can take advantage of what our online community magazine software can do for them, the better it is for everyone involved. I would love to see someone opening up a magazine solely for blind people. I have already made sure that our online video tutorials are close captioned for the hearing impaired - I don't want to leave anyone out.
I hope you are coming to more fully understand the power of the Online Community Magazines, and are brainstorming about the different ways you can use it to help your online or offline community prosper.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 2/7/2008 Today, we are going to discuss the latest developments at Online Community Magazines, which include the March 2008 release of our Commercial Creation Center.
One of the things I struggled with most when creating Online Community Magazines was the fact that I had to send the end user somewhere else to create their own audio and video. I had to send them to another site for software, or for instruction, and they basically had to learn something new on their own. People were interested in creating audio and video to market their businesses and organizations - but they were paralyzed with techno-fear at the thought of it.
What if I could create an online audio/video production center that was SO easy, anyone could produce professional media without ever having to leave the magazine?
First, I had to find the most techno-phobic person in the world, so I could design it for and test it on them. Luckily, I am married to him, so that part was relatively easy to handle. Then I got some runner-up technophobes to test the design as well. So far, the response has been "even I could do that" and "it made me really want to try it."
So now, come March 2008, we will have the world's first online multimedia recorder that does 4 things:
- Records their voice, chooses some music, and has the program mix the music with their voice to create a professional sounding audio recording.
- Records video from their webcam, being able to add text, an image/logo, and other things to their recording.
- Records their computer screen and their voice, so they can create a video tutorial about how to do something on the computer, or record a powerpoint presentation with narration, or give someone a tour of their web site, etc.
- Lets them upload audio, video, music and digital images to combine them together to produce a new video.
So now, when you tell a prospective client about your Online Community Magazine opportunity, you can also tell them that the magazine walks them step-by-step through producing audio and video recordings for internet tv and radio!
This increased technology is available nowhere else in the world. This is our own design, and it is available only through the Online Community Magazines software at this time. It also increases the value of the magazines to both the owners and the clients.
Therefore, after March 1, 2008, the price of licensing an Online Community Magazine will increase to $3,000, and the audio/video listing price will increase to $30/month and $300/year.
The owner can still start the magazine with only 10 charter members who will pay $300 for the ability to produce and post on the magazine unlimited audios and videos (we suggest that you give charter members 2 years for the price of one). This also means that you, as an owner, make more money from the end user. Anyone can afford $30 a month to produce unlimited audio and video files to be posted on your site (and which can also be posted on their own web site).
If you would like to join us, you can still do so at the original price of $2,000 through midnight EST February 29, 2008.
Just complete and send in the Pre-Qualification form at http://www.OnlineCommunityMagazines.com/services.html to get started. I look forward to working with you as we create an online marketing experience for our clients that is not available anywhere else in the world!
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 1/26/2008 In today's Online Community Magazines column, we will discuss the importance of including traditional email marketing with new media.
All of the world is not yet ready for audio and video, although the latest information shows that YouTube has surpassed Google in page views. Yes, people are now spending more time watching funny and stupid videos than they spend searching on Google. Knowing that over 60% of people who search on the internet search on Google, that is a LOT of people.
However, people are slow to adapt to new technologies, and so you must add older, more traditional marketing strategies to your new media marketing strategies.
The #1 thing that people do on the internet is Email. Even for all of the spam that occurs, it is still the most prominent activity on the web. It is the easiest way for people to receive the majority of their information. Therefore, you need to cater to their comfort zone and deliver content to them via email as well.
The latest additions to the Online Community Magazines software allows your registered Users to subscribe VIA EMAIL to any show, column or category on the site with only one click.
If they click on the "+" icon next to a show or column, they will automatically receive emails whenever a new post is created. They can change the default settings from every 3 days to whenever they want to check for new episodes and articles, or just turn the email feature off. They can also go to their subscriptions page and choose to receive emails from any of the categories in the magazine. This makes it very easy for them to receive any information which interests them.
The default for most online businesses registrations is for the registered User to receive emails with the latest information about the site.
We are in the process of adding that feature as well, so that once someone registers at the magazine, they will automatically get emails every few days with the latest posts from the entire magazine. This is an extra added value for your paying clients, because they will be seen by anyone who chooses to continue to receive these emails. All they have to do is post on a continual basis.
Younger Users, as well as media-savvy older Users, will appreciate the fact that the media is downloadable, that they can load it onto their iPod, and even receive notice of new shows and columns on their cell phone.
Yes, just about anyone with a cell phone can now subscribe to any of the shows or columns with an RSS Reader. One such mobile RSS Reader is Viigo, which I have on my blackberry (or should I say, crackberry), and I am able to check out the text and images on any show or column for any RSS feed to which I subscribe. I get Yahoo! News, and my guilty pleasures are my People and Entertainment subscriptions, as well as Dilbert comics. For RSS readers for other phones, check out FreeRange.
Just as some people still buy physical CDs instead of simply downloading audios, some people will still want email notices of new shows instead of simply subscribing to them with an RSS Reader.
That's why Online Community Magazines is striving to make the software a one-stop resource for marketing to your community using new media and traditional email marketing. Let your clients know that once they have a column or show, other people will be able to subscribe to them via email and get notified when new information is posted. It is just like giving them a free ezine program at no additional cost. Keep that in mind as you brainstorm your marketing strategies to bring in new clients.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 1/1/2008 In today's Online Community Magazine Blog we will talk about how you must keep the momentum going in order to keep the hits coming.
For the sake of Online Community Magazines' Research and Development, I tried an experiment during the month of December. I didn't do any big contests during the holiday season, and basically just let the AroundCherokeeCounty.com site sit still. I wanted to see the difference in the hits and visitors on the site. These are the results and my plan of action.
During September, October and November, hits jumped from around 39,000 in August to 312,000 - 348,000 - 408,000, with unique visitors jumping from 705 to 1885. In December, though, after the finale of the Idol Contest and the close of voting, hits dropped down to 70,000 and unique visitors to 905. Although it's still better than before the Idol Contest, it just goes to show how a live contest where people bring others to the site to vote for them can increase hits 100 fold and almost triple unique visitors.
So during this down time, I have been spending time thinking about my target market, who would want to be seen in the magazine, what they would want to show off, as well as what would they want to see in the magazine. Some websites are single-minded, but since Online Community Magazines are community oriented, you have the challenging task of trying to meet the needs of many demographics. The downside is that it takes some trial and error. The upside is that you get to do a lot of marketing experiments and do things no one else has ever done before.
So I have several goals in mind for 2008 and the development not only of AroundCherokeeCounty.com, but Online Community Magazines as a whole.
- Increase Search Engine Ranking for my key words. High Ranking is a great selling tool for potential clients, as well as a good way to increase hits and unique visitors.
- The best way to do this is to start submitting existing feeds, such as the tv network and radio network, to other RSS, Podcast and Blog Directories. This will syndicate the name of my site and the content thereon all over the internet.
- I can also encourage the individual column and show owners to submit their feeds to the Blog and Podcast Directories, since their URLs will come back to the magazine site, as well as their media links. I could hire a high schooler to do this type of data entry, and offer to do this for businesses for only $25 for each column or show. Businesses would want this because it would increase their own website's search engine ranking as well.
- Our magazine already builds the name of your magazine into the feeds, but I'm also adding to my to-do list of things for the program a way to embed magazine owner chosen keywords and basic information, as well as itunes required images, in the itunes portion of every category and network feed. This should help tremendously with search engine optimization.
- We can also do this by encouraging clients to syndicate their content onto their own and other web pages with our syndication code tool. This will create links back to the magazine and increase Search Engine Rankings.
- Another project in the works is creating widgets that people can put on their desktop to automatically see the newest tv and radio shows, and possibly see contest questions. This also creates links back.
- Increase Hits and Unique Visitors to the Site. This is different than increasing your Search Engine Rankings.
- Have more User Participation Events. Create additional contests in which people want to participate AND that other people want to view. The smartest way to do it is to partner with businesses to keep costs down for prizes, provide your locations for free and help increase your advertising reach.
- Use Technology to Make Participation More Accessible. We plan to stream the on-site events live on the internet (with live chatting capabilities as well), and offer live online voting during contests for people who don't vote in person. We will also record the streaming video for later play from an archive.
- Determining the types of events to hold, advertising them to the right people who will spread it by word-of-mouth, and determining how and where to hold them and what the voting criteria will be takes a LOT of thinking. From now on, I will try not to do solely popular consent, because people who shouldn't win can do so by having the most friends or relatives. I will try to have a guest judge and average the score between the judge and the live voting.
- Increase User Generated Content for the site (get new customers and more content). This is where you need to think about the demographics of your community, who you think will enjoy reviewing the site, and who would enjoy creating content for the site. The site will never be for everyone, so find out who really can benefit from being on it, and who will go online to review it.
- Politicians! With election years coming up, and political issues continually popping up, contacting elected officials and hopeful candidates is a good idea.
- Elected Officials get a free column because they are a part of the government. However, if they want to have a live streaming video show, or record an audio or video to say something, that would be $10 - $30/month, or $100 - $300/year.
- The Candidates can have a column for $10/month, or have a live streaming show with an archive of their recordings, or an audio or video show for $30/month.
- Either way, this is a group of people who DEFINITELY have something to say and want to be able to be heard. If you get enough of them in one place with the ability to respond in real time to oponents' claims, this could be really fun. In addition, the people in your community who care about politics would be able to have their say as well on the Forum, or they can have their own column or show as well.
- Another thought is to have an undecided high schooler do a show where they research each candidate's views, keep a score card, and interview each candidate in person. This would be a magazine sponsored show (unless you get a non-partisan sponsor, or bi-partisan sponsor), and would attract visitors.
- Churches. With the ability to stream live internet tv, they can share their services live, and also record them for later review in an archive. For $300 a year (or $30/month), they can be a part of the Live Internet TV network you can have on your site. Yes, they can do it on their own site for free, but then they will only reach the people in their own church. You are offering them visibility to the rest of the community, in hopes they might draw new people to the congregation.
- Home Schoolers. Offer the ability for area home schooling groups to do group classes via the internet. Not everyone is good at or enjoys teaching every subject, and home schooling groups are created to share the burden. If they take turns teaching the subjects for each other, and do it live over the internet, keeping the recordings the lessons for later review, everyone in their group will benefit.
- Businesses.
- They will, of course, want to show off their products and services. They can do Do-It-Yourself shows featuring their products (shows featuring cooking, gardening, clothing, make-overs, etc.). They can just put their products up in text and image format with links for people to buy, but that would be much less interesting.
- You can also offer offline and online networking, streaming and recording the events.
- Teens. They love showing off their talents, doing competitions. One video student at a high school has asked me to do a video production contest. I'm going to see if I can make it high school vs high school with a cash prize going to the school that wins, and prizes to the team members who win. It will combine a "behind-the-scenes" show with the final video that they produce. They will be judged by the final video, but have to do well on the behind the scenes show as well.
- Single Adults.
- This one could be wildly popular, but would have to be watched very carefully for inappropriate content and inappropriate ages. But if you set up a category for Personals, where people can put videos up about themselves, show what they love to do (family friendly ownly), that could be very popular. They could have their own "reality" show about themselves that people could watch to get to know them better.
- You can even set up a special place in the forum for these people to communicate (you can set permissions for groups). You can also set up chat for them, but only if they are registered on the site (you need to do your best to protect the participants, although you would include a waiver somewhere in order to participate.) This is not for the faint-hearted (and I'm not sure I'd be up to it).
So these are just some of the ideas I plan on implementing in 2008. I'm interviewing a high school intern who wants to work in PR, and if all works out, she can be my legs and voice to get my name out to the community, and inform potential clients of what we can offer them for only $10 - $30 a month.
- Get 100 businesses paying $10/month and you have $1000 a month.
- Get 50 more businesses paying $30/month, and that's another $1500 a month.
- Get them all to pay up front, and you have $30,000.
- How many businesses, churches, politicians, single adults, teens and homeschoolers do you have in your community? Multiple that by $10 - $30 a month, and you get the picture.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 12/11/2007 Our Around Cherokee County Idol Contest is officially over, and our online community magazine racked up 400,000 hits and about 1900 unique visitors in November alone. A winner has been crowned, $100 is going to one lucky voter who picked the winner all the way back in the first round, and people are asking "When is the next contest?" I consider that a success.
Well, our Around Cherokee County Idol Contest is officially over. A winner has been crowned, $100 is going to one lucky voter who picked the winner all the way back in the first round, and people are asking "When is the next contest?". I would say that this Online Community Magazine is definitely a success.
We ended up with 400,000 hits on the site in November after only being truly open for 6 months. We had almost 1900 unique visitors that month as well. And for me, the true measure is that we moved up in the Google rankings - from absolutely nowhere to 16th page for 'Cherokee County'.
Of course, my goal is 1st page and 1st place, but since I haven't done outside advertising, and the widgets and syndication tools aren't all in place, that's really, really good. Once people start using the syndication tools (re-printing their columns and shows automatically on their own websites, hence linking back to our magazine site), and I get the contest widget up (another marketing idea I came up with), things should really heat up.
My only question now is, "What next"? In order to bring traffic to your website, you have to have something that draws people. You can spend money advertising, but you can also offer something they can't get anywhere else. So what contest or event will bring them back?
I'm considering a modeling contest, a dancing contest, videos of Christmas lights, and even a daily contest once I get the widget created. I've decided that I'd rather spend $150 a month on prizes so someone can win once every day than spend money on hit and miss advertising. I'll tell you more about the widget is completed :)
Oooooooh, and another really cool thing I tried was live internet broadcasting on the site. I streamed the entire 2 hour Idol event on the internet, and that has me thinking about what else in the community could be streamed live through our site. Local football games? Music concerts? Talk about helping people in the community have their own shows cheaply! If they have a webcam and a wireless connection, they can do a live show for $10 a month!!!
I'll continue to share new ideas for drawing traffic to your magazine within your community as I come up with them and/or implement them. I just with the programmers could program as fast as I can dream things up! So what are you waiting for? You could be running your own Online Community Magazine right now.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 11/15/2007 When you are using new technology to create a new type of community marketing model like Online Community Magazines, you have to take some risks, and learn from trial and error.
As my main promotional event for the grand opening of my online community magazine, AroundCherokeeCounty.com, I hosted an Around Cherokee County Idol Contest. I don't believe that any type of Idol contest has been hosted in this way before (probably because nobody had the online community magazine software!). Contestants are recorded, placed online for viewing and for voting, and then move through several rounds until 12 finalists participate in a live Finale with judges who determine the winner(s).
Now, I really had no model to go by except for the television show, so I had to make everything else up myself. I was, however, determined to do whatever I could to prevent duplicate voting, unlike the tv show, and to encourage the participants to the best of my ability - not let people tear them down. These are the only cornerstones I held on to - the rest was basically play it by ear.
The contest has been very successful in my eyes, especially with only grass roots advertising. Over 300,000 hits on the site each month, and over 1700 unique visitors (we are headed for over 2000 this month). However, if I could do things differently (because hindsight is normally 20/20), this is what I would do:
- I would NOT assume that everyone who wanted to listen to or view the contestants, or wanted to vote, had ever registered on a website before. Unfortunately, people thought the process was very convoluted, when actually it was the norm of all sites. They register at the site, they receive an email confirmation with a link to activate their registration. Then they were to log in so they could vote. Therefore, I would have created a video that showed them STEP-BY-STEP exactly what to do, and put it in a prominent place. Better late than never, I finally did that in Round 3.
- I would make it clear from the very beginning that it was the Contestants' responsibility to keep up with the contest, the results, the rules, and the communications. Interestingly enough, people joined the contest and then never checked their email or their phone messages, and therefore never moved on, even if they had enough votes. I would make them acknowledge these things at the time they registered, so I wouldn't have to chase them down for an additional Terms & Conditions.
- I would make sure that every communication I sent out on the forum had information about how NOT to receive the communication. People in the forum can choose not to receive messages in the forum, but they really would never know how. So at the bottom of every message, I would put instructions on how to stop receiving the emails.
- I would have created an Excel spreadsheet from the very beginning (not during the 2nd Round!) of all of the participants and all of their information. Capturing all of their information in one place is very important, and you will use this information throughout the next rounds. Keep it updated with their newest email, because they will change emails throughout the contest without telling you, and then say they never received your messages.
- I would have attempted to gather more businesses to provide prizes for the winners in exchange for promotion of their business. I was so busy handling the contest that I didn't do enough business promotion. Finding a partner who could handle that part would have been the best solution, but I haven't found such a person yet. I did find a group to sponsor the contest for $2000, which was absolutely fantastic - especially since 15 or so columns and shows came into the magazine as a part of the deal. I just wish I could have done more.
- Oh, and as for advertising, I had a flyer ok'd by the school system, and ASSUMED that the principals would let them be given out at the schools. Well, I was half right. The middle schools distributed them, but most of the high schools did not. Wish I had figured that out BEFORE I printed out 17,000 flyers! So when you create your flyer, take it to ALL of the schools for approval BEFORE you actually print the flyers out. It will save you a LOT of money.
It really has been a great experience, and I'm documenting everything I have done so that anyone running an Online Community Magazine can duplicate it in their town without having to learn the big stuff by trial and error. The people that participate feel very fortunate to be a part of it, as do their parents (even parents of grown contestants).
I found out that a contestant and a client happened to know each other and I came up in the discussion. They were talking about how much good I was doing in the community! That is the type of publicity and reputation you want to build in your community, so people will work with you.
Therefore, whatever it takes, give to your community first, and do things for community members. If you are going to spend money, invest it in the community. Love your community, and eventually, your community will love you.
Any questions, you know where to find me - Online Community Magazines!
Penny Haynes
| 11/2/2007 You can find many opportunities to expand your Online Community Magazine business by finding ways to help people in your community. Today I will talk about Partners In Education, and utilizing talented and well-trained high school students to build your business.
One of the first things I did when I opened AroundCherokeeCounty.com, my personal Online Community Magazine, was to join the local Chamber of Commerce.
I had traditionally been solely an online entrepreneur, and moving to the offline world was a big move for me. I didn't know anyone, hadn't networked in person, and I didn't know where to start. So the Chamber of Commerce was a great way to start, especially their small and intimate 12 at 12 luncheons.
Another opportunity the Chamber of Commerce afforded me was to be a part of the Partners In Education project.
This would allow me to mentor and intern several high school students in my business. Since audio and video are a big part of what I do, I ask for students who are in the Video Broadcasting classes, and possibly those who work on their school's tv or newspaper. This year, I have 2 or 3 people who have shown interest in working with me, and this will be a huge help to me.
High School students who are well-trained and eager to get experience are a fantastic find.
The young gentlemen I am working with all want to have a career in video broadcasting, and one wants to learn business marketing. What a perfect fit for me! I can teach the business marketing gentleman much more about my business, including sales and administration.
High school students also charge much less for what they do, but are thrilled to make $10 to $15 an hour for projects, and even $7 an hour for other work.
You get to bless them with paying projects (some higher paying than othere), while they provide you with relatively inexpensive labor. I have already started offering present and prospective clients affordably priced audio/video production, explaining to them that they can utilize highly trained high schoolers at a fraction of the cost that I charge. They are helping these students get experience and wages while the students help the client produce a great audio or video show.
So when you start your magazine, remember that you will have the opportunity to bless students with jobs, bless clients with inexpensive but high quality audio/video work, and bless yourself with affordable and rewarding help.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 10/20/2007 Online Community Magazines are different than many other businesses in many ways, but the way I want to talk about today is how you don't have to put money out of pocket if you don't have it.
I am well aware that it takes money to make money, but also realize that many people are "stuck" without money, and therefore can't move forward in a business that can earn them money.
That is why, at Online Community Magazines, we want to do everything in our power to enable you to raise money if you don't already have it. We provide you with marketing tools, an Order Form you can customize, a generic 2-sided Flyer to show around, and even a 15 minute video that tells prospects why they should be in the magazine. We can also customize the video with your contact information as well.
You must be comfortable with sales if you want to run an Online Community Magazine, but we also provide you with a comprehensive sales script and outline.I utilized a fantastic sales model built by Michael Pink, who, as a salesman for Xerox, had a 100% cold call success rate while everyone else might make 1 out of 4 sales. It is a biblically based sales program, meaning that it is based on biblical principals, and stresses integrity and honesty while pointing out the prospect's need for the product. Not only did I base all of our sales outlines on their model, I had one of Michael's right-hand men review it. I am proud to say that he pronounced that I had covered all of the bases for our business with the presentation.
We have a recorded interview with one of our first magazine owners who pre-sold memberships to start her magazine.She shares some of her insights, and I will be adding interviews with other owners who will share their experiences of what worked best for them. Highest on the list of things that made her experience so easy was that she already had a good relationship with the prospects she and her partner approached. They had a track record of integrity and doing what they said they would do - many people said, "If you say I should do this, then I'm doing it." If you have that type of relationship with people in your community, then doing pre-sales will be a snap.
One prospective magazine owner has decided to pursue a few large sponsors instead of 10 - 20 column and show owners. With her background in Marketing, and her myriad contacts within her community, it was easier for her to go to the "big boys" who had seen her in action in other ventures, and convince them to invest in a year of advertising on the header, sidebar, header of the Forum, or Featured Article area. Normally the Featured Article is sold on a weekly basis, but this prospective owner found a single sponsor who has many people to promote, and who could feature a different person or sub-company every week.
Another way you can raise money more quickly is to offer 10 people you know a lifetime Charter membership in the magazine for only $300.
This enables you to start your magazine quickly, with 10 columns or radio/tv shows by people who feel very lucky to get in on the ground floor with you. You can also throw in free sidebar ads for the first month (or possibly longer, since you can utilize around 30 sidebar ads), and a week of being the Featured Article on the front page. I would also throw in a lifetime membership on the Coupons Site if they are a retail or service provider.
If you have been waiting for the opportunity to run a legitimate work-at-home business without putting out your own money, then Online Community Magazines is your dream come true.If you are interested in moving forward with your community's magazine, then please visit http://www.OnlineCommunityMagazines.com/services.html
and go to the bottom of the page. Fill out and send in the Pre-Qualification form to penny@1stpod.com so I can get to know more about you, your background and your community, and then we can discuss how we can get your magazine up and running. (I use Spam Arrest, so if you send me mail, you will get a reply email from Spam Arrest. PLEASE click on the link that tells me you are a real person so the email will come through correctly.)
Any other questions? Use my Contact Us form here. I hope to hear from you soon and help you realize your financial goals.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
678-459-2437
| 10/15/2007 People who are interested in Online Community Magazines sometimes mistakenly believe that online business directories are their competition in this business.
However, that isn't an accurate comparison.
- We offer constantly changing entertainment, education and information - they basically post static business information.
- We offer an unlimited amount of audio/video uploads that remains visible on the internet - they allow you to replace one audio/video upload (therefore deleting the old one).
- We offer unlimited articles to be written in your area of expertise (which are archived and kept live online for search engine robots) - they allow you to put one block of information about your business.
- We offer the ability to syndicate (reprint) your posts onto other audio/video/text directories, giving you even more online exposure and helping people find you in other locations - they only offer exposure on their site.
Business directories are utilitarian in nature, Online Community Magazines are entertaining and instructional.
When people visit a business directory, they are looking for something in particular, and once they find it, they leave. With Online Community Magazines, there is a multitude of entertaining and informational content, so people can stay and browse and see what's new. Nobody goes to a business directory and spends time on the site browsing the content for pleasure.
We have several local business directories within my territory, but we don't consider each other competition.
The owners and I talked, and we realized that although our target markets may be the same, we offer wholly different services. Our purposes for our websites are different. Personally, I think it would be boring to have a site that has nothing but advertising on it. With our magazines, you get to help other people be creative, and even get creative yourself.
So don't think of an Online Community Magazine as an online business directory - it is a multi-media magazine where the community (not just businesses) create the content.
Everyone can be on the front page, everyone can have their say (within limits, of course), and everyone can read what's going on. And best of all, it is a fun and interesting place to hang out online.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines & 1st Podcast Publishing
| 10/3/2007 For AroundCherokeeCounty.com, I attempt to involve as many people as possible in my marketing efforts. I don't overlook anyone as a possible viral marketer. That's why I started the Around Cherokee County Idol Contest. Even though the majority of the participants are under 18, I'm getting the opportunity to network with their parents and talk to other businesses about it.
For example, a business associate of mine offered me 2 tickets to a rock concert, along with VIP passes, for my daughter. Since she would not be able to go, I decided to offer them as a drawing to the people who had joined the Around Cherokee County Forum (which is a part of the Online Community Magazine software setup). We did a live (via telephone and webinar) drawing, and the next day I delivered tickets. I had an opportunity to meet the winner and her father, and spoke with her mother on the phone.
Other parents have expressed how glad they are that I have provided an opportunity like this for their children to show off their talents. Adults in the contest have said similar things. Almost 400 people signed up in the forum in one month, so all of them know the name of my site and my name.
When I attended a local arts & crafts festival, I was greeted at the gate with "There's the Around Cherokee County lady!" It was the head of a local non-profit which I had showcased on the site. Owning the magazine lets me meet with and give things away to non-profits, churches, government offices and schools.
Another way I am doing offline marketing is offering static cling window decals that advertise both the AroundCherokeeCounty.com site AND the Idol contestants. They can put this little 7" x 5" decal that says, "Vote for ______ in the Idol Contest at AroundCherokeeCounty.com", in their car window or storefront to get people to vote for them. At the same time, obviously more people will learn about and visit the site.
I also went ahead and purchased magnetic signs for my car. They were on special for $50 (for a pair), so I did that. The white sign definitely sticks out on my red car! But that is the point. People notice it, read it, and once they have seen it enough times, they will check it out.
Even though I have been talking about the geographical community magazines, where the members all live and/or work in the same county or city, if you were creative, and your online community was willing to travel, you might also create an offline event for your niche or industry-related community, such as a conference or an Expo. This would make it a business expense for their travel, and you would have an opportunity to network in person.
So if you are worried that an Online Community Magazine would not let you work with people face-to-face, that's a misconception. Instead, it puts you in a position to do good for a lot of people, and for which they will be very grateful. Join your local Chamber of Commerce and meet other businesses. Combining both online and offline marketing and networking really pays off when working in a Community.
Penny Haynes, Online Community Magazines
| 9/30/2007 Online Community Magazines offer communities the ability to show off what they know, and post what is known as "User Generated Content", or UGC.
User Generated Content is better known as the stuff that people write and upload for the rest of the world to see. You Tube is one example, as well as iTunes' Podcast Directory, and My Space. People want to have their say, and hope that someone will pay attention to them so they can have their 15 minutes of fame.
Online Community Magazines allow people to express themselves in text, images, audio and video.
Community members love to comment on what other people have said or done. Some would love to have their own talk show to discuss their own opinions or debate others. Other people would love to make videos to express themselves.
What happens when you combine UGC from a community of people who have something in common?
You get a search engine optimized site with content generated by the community, instead of by a privileged few. Keeping the information related to the community can help you increase search engine rankings for the site. Relevancy also keeps visitors to the site interested and returning.
Online Community Magazines' use of articles, audio, video and a forum lets everyone participate in varying measure.
- People who want to have their own page and write content that will get higher visibility pay a nominal monthly or yearly fee to do so ($10/month or $100 a year).
- People who want to upload audio and/or video get even greater visibility, as their front page posts also include their name and 90x90 image ($30/month or $300/year).
- Then people who just want to make comments here and there and don't care that much for visibility can utilize the forum to express their opinions - for free.
- These choices allow EVERYONE in the community to interact and have a say.
Online Community Magazines will install everything and show you how to generate interest in participating in the magazine. Our Flagship site, http://www.AroundCherokeeCounty.com received in ONE MONTH over
- 300,000 hits,
- 1600+ unique visitors, and
- added over 300 forum members in September 2007 alone.
For more information, go to http://www.OnlineCommunityMagazines.com.
Penny Haynes, 1st Podcast Publishing
| 9/26/2007 I'm here today to tell you the dos-and-don'ts of building a website community, but I can only give general guidelines. Every community is different, and every administrator of a community is different, so an aspiring community leader needs to adjust adjust accordingly.
http://www.digital-web.com/articles/building_an_online_community/Building an Online Community: Just Add Water By Matt Haughey Published on August 14, 2001 I'm frequently asked how MetaFilter came to be, what the secret is, and what I've learned in the process of building it. I didn't have a tidy plan or set path when I started, I watched several big communities grow from nothing and prosper and I took my lead from them, but a good lot of what I know now was gained from trial and error. During those first few months, I picked up a lot of experience in dealing with new members, and got a chance to try out several different techniques to help growth and deal with problems. I noticed a lot of trends, I made a few mistakes, but above all I learned a lot in the process. I'm here today to tell you the dos-and-don'ts of building a website community, but I can only give general guidelines. Every community is different, and every administrator of a community is different, so an aspiring community leader needs to adjust adjust accordingly. ...In case you were wondering, the title is a bit of a joke, building a website into a vibrant community filled with many contributors is very difficult and is impossible to break down the exact steps, but I'll do my best. 1. Make sure you really want to do this You know how interviewers ask someone who has lived a full life and they're near death, if they could re-live their life again, what they would do different? You have to ask yourself that before you lift a finger building a community. Are you ready to be a leader? Are you ready to do all the work necessary to create not just a normal, engaging website, but one that many others can use? Are you ready to spend every waking moment watching it? Are you ready to stay up all night re-coding main areas of the site after someone hacks the files? Are you ready to keep it up, day in and day out for as long as you can stand it? I can't underestimate how much time you will spend on a community website. It will take longer to create, often months to get rolling, with constant tweaking and twiddling of the code to keep everything running smoothly. I was lucky when I started MetaFilter because at that point in my life, I had plenty of free time, I was itching to learn a new programming language, and I had a laid-back job where I could take lots of little breaks to check in on the site. If someone asked me if I'd do it all over again starting today with my current life, I probably wouldn't, because I don't really have the time and energy to start a new multi-user community site from scratch. This is the most challenging point in the list, but it's good to get this one figured out before you plunge full speed into new development. 2. Have both a compelling idea and compelling content There are lots of possible reasons to start a community, but generally it's good to focus on a specific topic. Having a specific topic means you'll have an easier time explaining your site's purpose, and quickly find like-minded people to contribute their thoughts and content to your community. MetaFilter was created with the loosest of intentions, to simply have a weblog that covered anything on the web, and it took about nine months of daily posting before anyone noticed it existed. I guess having comments and allowing others to post was a compelling enough idea that lead to a busy site, but a frequent question from first time visitors was (and still is) "what's this site all about?" If my site was a model airplane owner's group site, with a well-defined mission and idea for its purpose, I'm sure I could have found other members a lot sooner. Compelling content is more important than you probably think. The most well-defined group purpose, with lots of motivated members, will go nowhere unless there is something to draw everyone together and get people contributing. This rule could go for any site really, but it's important to have the best possible writing, design, photography, etc. that you can, and update as often as possible. This is where community sites can excel over single person operations. With a diverse enough membership, you can have an expert artist, fantastic writers, great photographers, and senior programmers to build the best community site imaginable, and everyone pitching in can update the content on a frequent basis. It's not exactly easy to get big membership numbers on which to draw for ongoing content, first you have to convince people to join your site, and contribute or comment on other work, and for that you need to start with good content. It's sort of a Catch-22, but once you get a group of members creating good content, it creates a strong positive feedback loop that leads to growth, popularity and quality. 3. Seed content sets the stage In the early months of a community site, it's important that there is good content there, and that the comments or audience interaction are as close to optimal as possible, so that others reading the site can get a feel for how they are expected to act. If you're building a site that covers politics and you're dreaming of lively debate with a specific slant, make sure your first few articles, essays, or threads cover a good topic, and that some discussion follows where users (more than one) are debating things in an intelligent way. New members will see what is currently on the site, and react accordingly. If there is considerate and helpful criticism, others will usually follow. If there are "first posts!" and posts making threats on other members, other such garbage will follow that as well. If it's a company discussion forum, set up some threads and have some friends start discussions. If it's a community of airplane enthusiasts, try and find 2 or 3 people to help start the site off the same way, by finding content and discussing it in a proper manner. You're not shooting for having hundreds of fake discussion posts with no one, you're just trying to convey a code of conduct by starting with things you can use as examples, and new members can follow. 4. Create some basic guidelines and be as fair as possible When you're the administrator on a community site, it's important that you set the examples to follow. Post regularly and intelligently, and keep a high profile on the site so others know of your presence (this keeps some troublemakers away, since they know that the site owner will quickly catch wind of their mischief). Follow the Golden Rule, treat others as you would like to be treated, and watch for unsavory patterns that form. If you catch something that's happening with some regularity, and you'd like to see it stop, make it part of the rules of the site, and explain somewhere why people shouldn't do it (start by putting a pointer somewhere near the posting forms, so curious contributors can read them if they like). Keep track of these rules, and put them somewhere people can easily find them on the site. When you have to enforce them, be nice about it, and show people the rules and how they broke them. The world isn't a black-and-white place, so a lot of things will be up to your judgement, but explain as fully as you can why you chose to enforce a certain thing, and point out what the person can do to prevent it from happening again. What users of a community don't want to see is a headstrong leader who rules with an iron fist, and seems to take pleasure in enforcement. Users also don't want to see a leader that changes his or her mind from day to day, enforcing rules with some users, while letting friends or long time members get away with murder. Users don't want to be yelled at publicly when they make their first mistake, and they want to be given second chances. Fairness and consistency are key practices when you're running an online community. 5. Have a place to talk about the site, somewhere on the site I've had a lot of success with a special section of MetaFilter designed to talk about issues around the site, bugs and features users wish for, or any etiquette that may have been breached, and I created it because I noticed people were talking about the site on the site itself fairly regularly. Gone unchecked, I noticed it created circular discussions where people talked about other parts of the site on the site itself and it appeared to be senseless navelgazing. Having a separate section conveniently allows that to run in an organized fashion, while at the same time keeping the main site free of looking like one big game of Duck-Duck-Goose. It doesn't necessarily have to be on the site itself, or even on the web. It could be a many-to-many email list for interested parties to participate in, if that will easier for you to implement. 6. Spread the work out as much as possible If it's possible, have a few trusted friends act as moderators and administrators and allow people to contribute and streamline the code that runs the site. When the day-to-day maintenance can be spread out among several people, it's okay if someone goes on vacation, gets busy with work or gets ill, or takes some time off from the site. If lots of new features are being requested, several people can work on them, and debug them faster. This situation isn't always possible, and there are only a few projects that come to mind, such as evolt.org where a sizeable, diverse group keeps a site running. 7. Deal with troublemakers as quickly and nicely as possible If you're running a community site of some sort, there's a good chance that people are going to try and mess with it, push the envelope, and hack at it for no good reason. The important thing for you to do as the administrator is deal with problem members as soon as possible and as carefully as possible. If you act rashly, or too strongly, you may incite a casual hacker into a full-blown making-your-life-a-living-hell type of hacker. You want to defuse any situation before it gets out of hand. Start by emailing the person as soon as you can (but give yourself a little time to think, don't send anything too rashly or in the heat of the moment), and asking them gently if perhaps they didn't catch the guidelines pages, or that you'd prefer if they did their thing in a different way. Be careful of your wording in these emails - you don't want to sound threatening or patronizing in any way. You might want to have a friend review the message before sending it to make sure it's neither of those things. A short email reminding a trouble-making member of the error of their ways can usually take care of 90% of problems. Even if a member is doing something obviously malicious, they'll usually stop when called on it. If that doesn't stop the problem member, the next thing to do is enforce some sort of penalty. This would usually be something like taking away posting rights or moderation rights, posing some new limit on their participation in the site. You will probably want to email them, letting them know what you've done, why you've done it, and most importantly what they can do to get the ban lifted. Hopefully, you'll never need to proceed after these first two measures, because a situation can quickly escalate into a war of willpower. If you have to start banning members, doing so will prove quite difficult. You may take all rights away from their account, block their IP address or range of IP addresses, and/or remove their contributions from the site. There are trickier means of hiding a problem user's activity from the rest, but I won't go into that here. It's not a path you'll ever want to take, and no one "wins" in the end; it's just a big waste of energy for all involved. The bottom line is to stop unsavory behavior by defusing nasty situations as early as possible, in as nice of a way as possible. 8. Highlight the good, recognize the work of others I'm still searching for the perfect way to do this, but you'll encourage good contributions by recognizing and highlighting the best your community has to offer. This is especially true when your community is larger, and you need something to point to as a casual "Hall of Fame" that new users can take their cue from. This can take many forms, you can use voting/moderation to let the community pick its favorites, you can utilize some sort of Brownie Point system where members earn credits for good contributions which are displayed somewhere (an ego stroking stop, basically), or if you're lacking the extra technology just keep track of them by hand in a "Best of" setting. Building an inviting place that attracts users and maintaining high quality content on a bustling community site is far from easy, but these key points should help get you going in the right direction. http://www.digital-web.com/profiles/matt_haughey.shtml
| 9/25/2007 The future of the internet lies in COMMUNITIES.
The internet is so massive that it very easily becomes too cumbersome to manage. Information overload is a buzz word, and so people are banding together by common interests and creating communities. The one thing communities want to do is communicate with one another - something |
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