If you’ve read this already, you might have missed some really important lessons.
- Don’t Set Restrictive Objectives. We’re not using Twitter as they expected. We send links, filter information for friends, share news/ideas and explain what’s caught our attention at any moment. If the Twitter team had tried to guide their community to set objectives, they would have killed the business.
- Spam-Free Philosophy. Twitter didn’t spam anyone to join. Friends of the creators joined, then their friends, and more people. No-one spammed strangers to join. You want 90% of your members to hear about the community from friends, not you.
- Ignore the Media. Twitter ignored the media. No-one pitched the press to write about it. Instead they grew until they became too important for the media to ignore. This works for niche communities too.
- Low Costs. Every community should cost as little as you can afford. The cheaper it is to launch the community, the less the need for instant results and profits. Now you can get on with doing your job.
- Don’t Ask For Anything. Twitter didn’t ask users for money, nor many personal details to join. They didn’t make us jump through any hoops or try to make money directly from us. The less you ask your community for, the bigger it can be.
