building a virtual community the experience leif isaksen, antiquist
DESCRIPTION
Communities Of Practice & Communities Of Correspondence Social networks vs ‘vocational spaces’ Antiquist: –targeted different communities –Proactive invitation Rapid, then steady growthTRANSCRIPT
Building A Virtual Community
The Experience
Leif Isaksen,Antiquist
A Community For I.T. Practitioners In Cultural Heritage
“Antiquist is primarily a communication
network - a way for us to talk, argue,
experiment, share ideas, and solve common problems.”
• Relaunched in September 2006
• 180+ ‘antiquistas’ (9 mods)
• Academic, commercial and governmental spheres.
Communities Of Practice & Communities Of Correspondence
• Social networks vs ‘vocational spaces’
• Antiquist: – targeted different communities
– Proactive invitation
• Rapid, then steady growth
membership
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8-200610-200612-20062-20074-20076-20078-200710-200712-20072-20074-20076-20078-20070
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no emailabridgeddigestemail
Encouraging Participation
• Antiquist– mixed moderatorship
– ‘relaxed’ style– annual workshop– placements
• Result - hard to tell but contributions from all groups.
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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poststhreads
Average no. of authors per thread
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join month9-200610-200611-200612-20061-20072-20073-20074-20075-20076-20077-20078-20079-200710-200711-200712-20071-20072-20073-20074-20075-20076-20077-20078-2007
Openness
• Encouraging candour was key principle
• Antiquist– people subscribe personally (not in public role)
– closed list until recently
• Seems to have made no difference.
• Members definitely prefer openness
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
(In)formal Membership
• Sign-up doesn’t imply representation
• Antiquist– ‘Requests for information’
– Fora for discussion
• Frustrating but necessary.
Keeping Contact
• Integration vs fragmentation
• Antiquist – List most successful
– Wiki useful for events/projects
– Blog dead• Spam an issue• Regular ArchCamps
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Inter-community Cooperation
• Antiquist– Quite a lot of cross-posting between DC, DA+H, FISH.
– Other connections mainly at moderator level (idea sharing etc.)
• Would like more, but difficult in practice.
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Final Thoughts
• Innovation tends to be Moderator driven• Be clear about purpose and demographic• Provides real service• Builds social as well as work networks
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.