Discussion Shuffling

In our new community,
we do a lot of discussion shuffling.

We tweak which discussions appear, where they appear, and if
they appear at all. This is a classic inception-stage community.

The top discussion is the lead discussion for newcomers. If
we know what someone is working on right now, we instantly create an
environment where members can help one another. It’s interesting for members to
see what others are participating in.

The second and third discussions are the key valuable
discussions where real expertise shine through. We want these to appear highly
as well.

Every day we might make a small tweak. We see which
discussions are popular and which aren’t. We decide which should be sticky and
which shouldn’t. Sticky discussions are an incredibly powerful tool. Some
specific actions here:

• Removing
  the posts that don’t gain a response. Most discussions at this stage are
  initiated by us. If we post a discussion that isn’t popular, we remove it. The
  appearance of popularity is important in feeling a sense of momentum (I’m aware
  I’m shattering the illusion by explaining this). About 30% we posted didn’t
  receive a response, so were removed. 

• Get
  responses to member posted discussions.  If a member posts a quality discussion, we
  both respond quickly with our own opinions and nudge other members with
  relevant experience to participate as well. 

• Balancing
  the popular discussions with those that contain real value. We could have a
  far more active community by posting nothing but board, fun, self-disclosure
  communities. This isn’t our goal. We want real expertise from experts. This
  means posting discussions asking about message content attributes, homogenous
  –vs- heterogeneous groups, and motivation theory. This is the material that
  advances the field and makes the community stand out. 

• Tweak the
  date. We juggle the dates of discussions. Not by much, but certainly to
  ensure the best discussions rise to the top and the least valuable sink down to
  the bottom.   

• Change
  the subject titles. If we see a member post a great discussion with a poor
  subject title, we change it. We e-mail the member and let them know why (we
  want more people to respond). If they want to change it back, we change it
  back.