Paul has done a fantastic job with Hampton People.
On the surface it's a hyperlocal community which is just taking off.
But go back to 2009, and he was getting less than 10 members a month. An organization would have shut the community down. Paul pushed through it. He kept those 10 members a month active. He kept stimulating discussions and making his community part of the landscape.
Now it's taking off. His members are helping each other find missing cats, standing up to corporate giants, and ultimately, developing strong bonds between members of the community.
It's easy to think communities are easy. You only see and hear about successfu communities. This might misleading you into thinking that; a) starting a community is easy b) It doesn't take much time and c) It's unlikely to fail (after all, you don't see many failures right?)
Most communities in the early stages will struggle to get started. You will feel you're not getting anywhere. Stick with it. Push through this phase (Seth would call it The Dip). It might take a few months, it might take a few years, but persistence really pays off in community building.
Remember, most organizations wont push through this phase. They will quit at the first sign of stagnation. There are big rewards for those that keep pushing.
p.s. Also admire the simple Ning layout. All the activity in the community at a snapshot.
Many thanks, Richard. Your advice via this blog has been really useful. I think the most obvious point from my experience is that building a community really does take a lot of time and effort. Hampton People's Network is a volunteer thing that I do in my spare time, so I have only been able to devote a limited amount of hours a week to it and it really has taken time to grow. But I think it is getting there now and that is really rewarding! Thanks again for your help.
Posted by: Paul Johnston | Monday, 23 May 2011 at 11:11