The tools come second
Kommein’s Deb Ng asks today whether forums/discussion boards are needed to provide an community with a gathering place.
I say no.
Tools and technology account for only 20% of a community’s success
Forums are merely a technological tool that is featured in many online communities — including many of those that we build and manage for clients. As Forrester Research analyst Jeremiah Owyang often points out (disclosure: LiveWorld is a Forrester client) — and we happen to agree with him — technology contributes to but a small part of a community’s success or failure (20%). The people/services part — the planning and strategy, the relationship building, etc. — is far more important (80%) in the long run.
The choice of tools should always come after the strategy, and not the other way around. The needs of the business and the community drive the choice of technologies.
But when you ARE deciding on the tools…
Forums are certainly one way to go, but there are plenty of other tools that can be used — often in concert — for supporting online communities. Among them:
- User profiles
- Ratings and reviews
- Photos
- Widgets
- Blogs
- Videos
- Microblogs
- Podcasts
- Answer boards
- Live events
And more are on the way as social media evolves.
Online tools make it easier than ever to connect with people (often in geographically-dispersed areas) around shared interests. But you still need the engagement of people — usually on the community management side, and always on the membership side — for your community to grow and thrive.
