The members of the online community you’ve painstakingly built will spend much of their time talking about really inane things.
They’re going to talk about Susan Boyle, Balloon Boy and the latest Michael Jackson release. In fact, if you do your job right, they’re going to talk about the same things that the rest of the country is talking about.
This is a good thing. It shows they’re moving past the original subject matter and openly discussing broader events. How can your members really get to know each other if they can only discuss you? Talking about other issues shows a willingness on their part to get to know each other better and on a more personal level.
This is where the relationship jackpot lies. You don’t need a lot of members talking about you, you need a lot of members who build their relationships through you. You become the gravity that draws them together.
Believe me, your members boring you is far better than you boring your members.
Nice one, Richard; there is a lot of truth in this.
Do you think there's a 'line' though - particularly on a 'professional' community? At what point does "off topic" become an issue? I like the idea of a 'welcome board', or a place where members can get to know each other better (so to speak).
But I once ever-so-gently chided two individuals for an extended exchange on a thoughtful thread where they went way off topic (and learnt a bit about each other). I feel this was a mistake, and learned from it.
Again, just one of those things a community manager 'feels', once they know their community well, etc.
Posted by: twitter.com/stevebridger | Tuesday, 20 October 2009 at 06:59