Today's BlogHer workshop on blog community architectures, led by Nancy White of Full Circle Associates, elicited a set of common community templates:
One blog, one blogger. Someone fills a niche, and people
congregate around her/him. Often, this person can serve as a bridge to
other bloggers on the same topic. In this case, if the blogger goes
away, there is a vast hole in the community. One attendee shared that
most connections she's had in the last two years have come through her
blog. Also, because she writes about women's issues, people send her
content
- she doesn't have to come up with all of the new ideas.
Community-centric.
This type of community actually grows up between the blogs. A
collection of blogs may all treat with a topic, and each is a voice in
the community. Mommy blogs are a great example of this.
Sites that invite other bloggers in. Sites like BlogHer and Global Voices invite many to participate. Backfence and Share Your Story allow anyone from a preexisting, self-defined community to participate. (Disclosure note: Omidyar Network is a funder of Backfence, and I serve on the board.)
Susannah Gardner, the author of Buzz Marketing with Blogs, has become the center of a blog newbie community. As a case study, this serves as a model for most of the folks in the room. Gardner quirkily revealed that "My community is inherently flawed." Most people coming to her community come to learn, but once they've learned what they need, they leave. This also means that the community is constantly renewing itself and forming new relationships to each other - that over the long term, no longer require Gardner's bridge for sustained connection.
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