Blog
Because we offer two different types of community products - a message board product and a social networking product - we often get asked which type of community is best.
The answer is: it depends. You find groups of people clustered online using all kinds of different tools, from comments on Amazon, to videos on YouTube, to more traditional message boards and chats. The best tool for you depends on the type of participant you're trying to attract and the kinds of interactions you want to foster.
A few quick definitions
A message board is built around discussions. You can organize those discussions into folders, or add other features such as blogs and file sharing, but the heart of the product is the discussions that users can browse and contribute to. An example of a message board is the Adobe Forums site. If you start clicking around this site, what you'll find are lots of discussions on lots of topics. The whole site is organized around those discussions.
A social network is built around the individual members. The members can create discussions and blogs, and organize groups, but the focus of the site in on the member profiles and the links between those members. An example of a social network is the Ireland Calls site. If you click around this site, what you'll mostly find are lots of member spaces. Even the discussion groups highlight their members - it's the first thing you see when you enter a group.
Top down vs. bottom up
One question to ask yourself when you're deciding which type of tool to use is whether you want a top-down community or a bottom-up community.
Message boards are top down. Generally a community manager organizes the entire site, creating and organizing folders, reviewing all of the messages on the site, deciding who has access to what, and dealing directly with member issues. Everything is organized from the top down.
Social networks, on the other hand, are organized from the bottom up. Although there is generally still a community manager, that manager does not exert a lot of control over the individual member and group spaces. Members decide how their space will look and who will be able to participate. Even the discussion groups are member-created, with each group having it's own member-owner who monitors what happens inside it.
There are advantages both ways. The important thing is that you have a clear sense of whether you want a community where you exert control throughout the site, or one in which you hand over most of the control to the individual members.
"Top down vs. bottom up" is one important aspect to think about. "Churn" is another. Tune in next week, when I'll talk about how churn may affect your decision.