What Matters (and what doesn't)

What Matters?

• Average time on site.
• How many members are actively participating once a week.
• Members meeting new people who can help them.
• Whether the debates are positive/constructive or negative/destructive.
• You're doing less work than last month.
• You have more super-members.
• More members are volunteering to help you out.
• The ideas and feedback the community is generating.
• Whether employees have embraced the community.
• How many of the discussions are generated by you, and how many by the community.
• The community is recruiting new members themselves.
• How many people you approach join the community.
• Your business is committing to serving its community.
• Members feel they are part of your business.
• Is the community growing or shrinking?
• Offline events and real-world meetings.
• Technical problems.
• Are you closer to quitting?

What doesn't matter?

• Number of members.
• How many ads are clicked.
• Page views.
• Does it look good?
• PR coverage.
• Competitors.
• The number of links you've received.
• Sales.
• Fights.
• Income -vs- Expenditure
• Invites to conferences.

Comments

[tim hoang]

Links don't matter? I know we had a brief debate about the merits of potential members joining your community via SEO but links in are another method of legitimising your community and promoting it. For instance a key PR blogger, say Brian Solis, says I've been on XXXX community this week. That will make me visit the site. If it's relevant I'll join because someone has recommended it to me.

Links in is basically another form of endorsement / recommendation. Though obviously it depends on who is linking.