Pros
: • Web tools make the process easy and accessible to anyone
Complete control over the design, content and build of the platform
• Customisable for you and your customers’ needs
• Create a unique platform and allow a niche community to grow around it Cons:
• You often need to pay for the service, unlike other networks that are free to use
• Your community will exist in isolation from the rest of the web
• You can’t rely on friends of followers finding your network, since it is isolated
• You are more responsible for upkeep and maintenance of your page
Forums
Forums are online community message boards where users can post and reply to topics. While forums are not as immediate as instant messaging, they allow conversations to grow as participants discuss a topic publicly. Users can link their accounts to friends’ profiles, and can gain credibility based on the number of posts they have written and discussions they have contributed to. Forums can either stand alone as a community platform, or can be integrated into larger social networks (for example, Facebook Pages have forums). Google Groups allows anyone to create a group around a hobby, organisation, location or other common feature; these groups tend to be forum based. In almost all cases, forums are very tightly focused around a single hobby (or an aspect of one), organisation or interest. This makes them a good place for niche product marketing, though this should be kept separate from the actual discussions themselves as this is considered spam in most forums’ terms. Forums also provide a unique opportunity for building a relationship with a brand representative in a social space – MyBroadband (www. mybroadband.co.za) does this very effectively. Most forums are moderated; if a moderator suspects someone of trying to advertise or of not being who they say they are, that person will be reprimanded or even kicked off the forum.
Blogs
A blog (the contraction of “web log”) is an online tool that allows a user to publish articles or posts on any topic; it can also serve as a personal web journal. Good blogs are focused around a clearly defined topic and are updated regularly (though the frequency depends on the nature of the content). Ideally, blog articles are short, easy to read and discuss or explain one central idea. The social part of blogging has two aspects. First, readers can comment on a post by leaving a short text-like message, and can engage in a discussion with other readers and the blogger. Second, blogs can form networks around related interests, or can join blogging
: • Web tools make the process easy and accessible to anyone
Complete control over the design, content and build of the platform
• Customisable for you and your customers’ needs
• Create a unique platform and allow a niche community to grow around it Cons:
• You often need to pay for the service, unlike other networks that are free to use
• Your community will exist in isolation from the rest of the web
• You can’t rely on friends of followers finding your network, since it is isolated
• You are more responsible for upkeep and maintenance of your page
Forums
Forums are online community message boards where users can post and reply to topics. While forums are not as immediate as instant messaging, they allow conversations to grow as participants discuss a topic publicly. Users can link their accounts to friends’ profiles, and can gain credibility based on the number of posts they have written and discussions they have contributed to. Forums can either stand alone as a community platform, or can be integrated into larger social networks (for example, Facebook Pages have forums). Google Groups allows anyone to create a group around a hobby, organisation, location or other common feature; these groups tend to be forum based. In almost all cases, forums are very tightly focused around a single hobby (or an aspect of one), organisation or interest. This makes them a good place for niche product marketing, though this should be kept separate from the actual discussions themselves as this is considered spam in most forums’ terms. Forums also provide a unique opportunity for building a relationship with a brand representative in a social space – MyBroadband (www. mybroadband.co.za) does this very effectively. Most forums are moderated; if a moderator suspects someone of trying to advertise or of not being who they say they are, that person will be reprimanded or even kicked off the forum.
Blogs
A blog (the contraction of “web log”) is an online tool that allows a user to publish articles or posts on any topic; it can also serve as a personal web journal. Good blogs are focused around a clearly defined topic and are updated regularly (though the frequency depends on the nature of the content). Ideally, blog articles are short, easy to read and discuss or explain one central idea. The social part of blogging has two aspects. First, readers can comment on a post by leaving a short text-like message, and can engage in a discussion with other readers and the blogger. Second, blogs can form networks around related interests, or can join blogging
