Expanding on Community
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking the last few days about Community. For example, what does that mean - really, what is it specifically, what does it look like and why do I crave it? There has got to be reason this void forces me to drive on and create it wherever I can.
In 1996, my brother and I initiated what would eventually become RockWater. Teens were looking for something relevant to do in the city. It was straightforward — we saw the need for Internet, music and a place to hang out — but that was a distinct target market.
The Citizen Wausau experiment is much more fluid. Our target is dynamic and opinionated, even more so than teenagers.
So here is where I’m struggling: the Citizen Wausau project is elusive and free; it can spike with participation or dry up with silence, seemingly on a whim. No one has the ability to control it - and that freaks me out a bit.
At the same time, it’s exhilarating to watch this site take on its own personality. It’s an organic experience, one that can only be compared to child rearing. In this case, it really is going to “take a village” to raise this baby.
As parents we should discuss things about our baby. How are we going to raise it? What do we want it to do and how shall we go about getting it there? Those sorts of things:
- Should it be just another “news-y” sort of discussion?
- Who’s going to collaborate in contributing to its content?
- What is the sole purpose of CitizenWausau.com?
These are pretty important conversations that need to be wrestled with - we’re only six weeks in and content is only being driven by a handful of people. So maybe this is the time to discuss where we should go from here.
- How should we diversify content?
- Have micro-blogs on topics like Politics, Food, Reviews, Events?
- Who should should take ownership for these pages?
Let’s mull over this idea. Assuming only 20% of our signed up audience participates, that’s about 60-70 people. We could get a lot done with that many people helping, don’t you think?
The idea of taking this online offline seemed to suggest several ideas (and we still fully intend on doing that). Before the first of the year we’ll have a calendar in place to list new events and activities - just like we talked about before; game nights, concerts, poker, computer training, hacking and probably some more parties!
These too take time and effort to create, so we all have to work together. Many hands make for light work (as the saying goes), and Citizen Wausau has got to be a collaborative effort if it’s to form into an actual community site.
So, we should probably get more organized, which is why the calendar would be a useful tool.
Another useful tool we could start using immediately is Twitter. It’s a messaging tool for short form blogging. I’ve created a more thorough explanation on my blog, but I think if we can get people talking, both here and online - that would be a good step to growing this online community.
So let’s talk.
- What would you like to see?
- What part would you like to play?
- What other ways could you contribute?
Andy Laub said:
Some good thoughts here, Marcus. I hope that we can break out of this lull and that Citizen Wausau hasn’t already lost its novelty. We want your contributions, guys (and gals)!
November 26th, 2007 at 1:37 pm #
Dino Corvino said:
Calendar…yeah
November 26th, 2007 at 4:44 pm #
erik said:
It is the bane and boon of Web 2.0.
I noticed there’s a lot of action in the personal blogs. Perhaps our humble editors should sort through those and start moving some to the front page. It’d be an incentive to keep the personal Citizen Wausau blogs up to date and have them keep quality. After all, if your most active members are writing in their personal blogs in the community, how will they find time to write an update for the blog proper?
Expanding on the idea of categories, perhaps there could be a way for people to funnel their own posts in those categories. Then you could have a feed of the hottest posts in any given category.
I’m just tossing ideas around here. Might not be the best ones in the world >.>
November 26th, 2007 at 6:42 pm #
anonemoose said:
I don’t mean to be the fly in the ointment here but……
More people might be commenting if the comment features were working on some of the other blogs. I still can’t comment on Tom Neal’s posts. :(
moose
November 26th, 2007 at 8:49 pm #
Dino Corvino said:
Moose,
Individual bloggers, such as Toms or mine, they have to enable the comment feature.
So that appears to be Tom’s choice.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:54 pm #
anonemoose said:
Dino,
Thank you for the info. Please take the following with a grain of salt because I appear to be in a rotten mood tonight. But I guess if he chooses to not accept comments, I choose to not read.
For what it is worth, the last paragraph in his post about being an “arts pa” seems to invite interaction. I’m at a loss right now and I should just shut up.
moose
November 26th, 2007 at 9:24 pm #
Dino Corvino said:
No Moose, I bet he just does not know. I will send him an email tomorrow. Remember those things are in beta,so we are all learning.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:07 pm #
Marcus Nelson said:
So, back to the questions:
What would you like to see?
What part would you like to play?
What other ways could you contribute?
November 27th, 2007 at 10:48 am #
Andy Laub said:
anonemoose (and others): I will say it right here and now: WordPress MU (what this site runs on) has been an utter PITA to troubleshoot and work with. The comments are supposed to be there, but I don’t know why they aren’t. I am trying to figure it out.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:22 am #
Tom Neal said:
Hello all …
To clarify, I do accept comments on my blog, but Andy notified me recently to say that that function was inexplicably not working for me. In my wordpress admin settings, the comments option has always been enabled, but no luck.
Moose … sorry for the frustration and thanks for your interest. I hope this is fixed soon.
Meantime, maybe I should just double-post (also place my entries on CW proper where you can comment).
By the way, my apologies to all for being a might “dark” lately … been preoccupied with work and such (run silent, run deep).
November 27th, 2007 at 11:50 am #
deepintheheart said:
The draw for me is to be able to maintain a loose connection to a place that still interests me. I am not sure what form my input can or should be in. Not being among you and being among you just the same) is curious in this context.
I can read Wausau news in the WDH.
November 29th, 2007 at 7:48 am #
Ask Andy. • A Little Upgrade said:
[…] won’t see any differences, but this was the first step in isolating the problem mentioned here. Unfortunately, simply updating the site didn’t take care of it, but I’ll keep you […]
November 30th, 2007 at 6:04 pm #
anonemoose said:
Andy,
Thank you for your continued efforts. I didn’t realize that WordPress was a sandwich bread. I learn things every day.
Marcus - regarding your questions, I see a party. At this party there are beverages and light snacks. The guests are separated into groups of four or five and each one is given some paper and a pencil. Each group goes off and addresses your questions or perhaps some new ones. They each come up with their idea of a mission statement for Citizen Wausau. After a certain amount of time which involves small group discussion (and beverages and light snacks), the groups reconvene into a large group. Each group’s spokesperson reports to the group at large regarding their discussion. All the while, the guests at the party are enjoying beverages and light snacks.
In all seriousness, I do think that Citizen Wausau needs to develop a clearer sense of direction regarding what it wants to be. This could be accomplished in a social setting that would be both pleasant and productive with the inclusion of beverages and light snacks.
btw - I know that PITA is really an acronym for something else. I was just having a bit of fun.
moose
November 30th, 2007 at 7:36 pm #
graydiane2 said:
Marcus, Cold weather has a way with negative thoughts. Where are the positive? I like your words.
I have a problem with being accepted to this community. What’s with the beverages and light snacks? pita is “pain in the ass.” Fun, fun, fun ’till your daddy takes the t-bird away.” Just kidding… or take it like a man.
Diane
December 18th, 2007 at 10:45 pm #