Allison Leahy's Posts (29)

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Richard Millington leads a 60-minute presentation on the advanced social sciences that underpin our work as community builders. He takes us beyond motivation and covers topics such as roles and labeling effects, the new best friend theory, conformity, the bystander effect, group polarization, and eleven other concepts that can help you build bigger, better, and more active communities.
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The answers to all your burning community health questions are in the data. Watch this webinar and learn how to diagnose community health through three key metrics: growth, activity, and sense of community. Then devise a data-driven strategy to improve the quality and frequency of engagement in your community.
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Are Comments Bad for Science?

Popular Science declared that it is shutting off comments because "comments can be bad for science." The logic driving this decision is that less informed, quick-to-react readers may dominate the discussion and lead others astray. We argue that there are better ways to approach the problem at hand and offer alternative solutions to keep the community in tact.
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Metrics can paint a vivid picture about whether your existing, active members are more or less engaged in the community, and they can highlight anything that might be a cause for concern. If you want to answer questions about how healthy your community is, begin by gathering data. Join us October 1st at 11am Pacific time to find out how to capture and interpret the data that will tell you if you have a healthy community.
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Unleash The Power of Groups on Ning 3.0

We are excited to announce the all new Groups feature for Ning 3.0. Groups have always been an effective way of creating spaces in your community for more targeted conversations, and now you can do so much more! Hit the jump to see some of our favorite examples and learn more about the redesigned Groups feature.
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The goal of every community manager is to progress your community through its lifecycle. If you achieve this, you maximize what your community can be, the benefit it brings to your organization, and the benefits that members gain from the community. Watch the recording of Richard Millington's presentation to learn more about The Online Community Lifecycle and improve your approach to community management.
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Upcoming Webinar: The Community Lifecycle

The Online Community Lifecycle is the single most important thing a community manager can know. Attend our upcoming webinar on August 29th, and at the end of one hour you will have a full understanding of this concept. It might just completely change the way you approach your community.
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There are three paths to gaining influence in your community: likability, reciprocity, and expertise. In this video, Richard Millington explains the benefits and pitfalls of each approach and reveals the reasons for cultivating an insider group. If you want to learn how to steer the direction of the community while keeping its members happy, watch this essential community management talk.
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Shamshir Rai Luthra is a welfare activist, community catalyst, and quotable visionary who has developed four Ning communities to spread his message of oneness through self-knowledge and self-expression. Read on for our interview.
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An online community is destined to fail if there is not enough interest in the concept for the community. So what does it take to create a community with a brilliant concept? Richard Millington explains.
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Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias can teach us a thing or two about community: He's recognized as one of the 50 most influential celebrities on the internet and there has been some semblance of an international fan forum present at EnriqueIglesias.com since the late 1990s. We caught up with Enrique's management team to chat about the engine that powers all that activity and the motivations behind the recent site redesign.
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Rokkus Radio is more than a radio station, it's a community with bucket loads of personality, a lot of heart, and a dedication to trans-media storytelling. We caught up with the charismatic founder of Rokkus.com, John Starr. In this interview, John takes us through aspects of the launch and daily operation of a narrative radio station and alternate reality entertainment-based community.
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A breakdown of Ted Rheingold's ForumCon 2013 presentation "How to Make Social Work For Your Forums" including a definition of sociality, a look at the three levels of sharing, how to avoid platform fatigue, and engagement hacks for optimizing your community's presence across popular social platforms.
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On June 21, 2013 at noon, thousands of geospatial professionals will switch on their survey grade GPS devices to simultaneously measure and record information about their location in the largest scale land surveying project ever undertaken. The project is sponsored by the Land Surveyors United (LSU) community. We asked LSU Founder Justin Farrow to explain the significance of Survey Earth Day to the community and planet.
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Events are an important component to any community's growth strategy. No matter what type of community you have, there are events that you can hold on a recurring or one-time basis to foster a deeper sense of community. Breda Doherty, co-founder and director of Hubb.it and a community management consultant with FeverBee, joined us to discuss the impact of events, explore different types of events, and explain how events can fit into your community strategy. Watch the recording.
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Chris Wiltsee, Senior Director of Business Development at BandPage, takes a moment to chat with us about music marketing and offer further context for the BandPage + Ning integration.
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