Online Community Ideas – best of 2007

I posted the following content in the Online Community Report newsletter this morning, but I wanted to blog this as well.

The Big Ideas of 2007

The following are, to my eyes, the “big ideas” that emerged in 2007. I feel these ideas set the stage for the meaningful activity that will play out in 2008.

The “New New” Online Community
One of the most cogent and comprehensive points of view on the emerging opportunities and challenges with online communities is John Hagel’s. The following post expands on the keynote he gave at Community 2.0, and is one of the best thought pieces written about online communities this year.
Community 2.0 – Edge Perspectives with John Hagel

The Explosion of Social Networks
If Time’s person of the year in 2006 was “You”, perhaps 2007 will be “Us”? Ok, they would have to call it “persons of the year”… 2007 is the year social networking went mainstream. Facebook dominated the headlines, but there were tons of smaller, innovative players attracting attention as well. Controversy spun up around privacy, network portability, and the sheer number of similar experiences available.
Are Social Networks Just a Feature? – GigOm
The Chess game of social networking – Marc Canter
All your widgets are belong to Facebook – Jeremiah Owyang
Video: Social Networking in Plain English – Common Craft
Facebook vs. AOL, redux – kottke.org
Thoughts on the Social Graph – Brad Fitzpatrick & David Recordon
Open standards for social networking – CNET
PeopleAggregator and Open Social Network Systems – Read/WriteWeb

Marketing to Online Communities
The reality is, large portions of marketing budgets are shifting from traditional marketing and into online communities and social media. Marketing activities are driving a lot of the experimentation, innovation and controversy. There have been several very visible “social marketing” disasters, and very few “big wins”, at least that marketers will discuss. Look for the experimentation with different techniques to continue at a frantic pace in 2008, as more marketing dollars shift to online activities.
Would You Let These People Friend You?– Advertising Age
Real World Marketing Through Social Networks – Digital Influence Mapping Project
2011: Net Replaces Papers As Top Ad Medium – WebProNews
Will closed networks hurt themselves or lead to Web 3.0? – Marketing Conversations
The New Advertising Outlet: Your Life ? New York Times
How to Identify & Target The Right Niche Social Media Sites– Search Engine Land
Why Wal-Mart?s Facebook Strategy is Like the I-Rack – Get Elastic
Beyond the Hype: The 10 Most Asinine Trends Online and Why You Should Ignore Them – Advertising Age
A Marketer’s Guide To The Social Graph – Twist Image

Talent & Organizational Design
Many organizations are struggling with organizational design and online community talent acquisition. The bad news? Talent is going to get harder to find in 2008, and most organizations will need to experiment with where community and social media staff belong.
The evolving role of the Community Manager – Online Community Report
Where does the Community team belong? A follow up – Online Community Report
Who Owns Community? – Matthew Lees

Metrics & ROI
Two of the hottest topics our Online Community Research Network studied this year were Online Community Metrics and ROI. Most organizations’ community activities will become less experimental and more disciplined in 2008. Quantifying value (including morphing the concept of ROI) and collecting the best mix of quanatative and qualitative metrics will be key issues. Both the ROI and Metrics report are available free of charge via the links below (requires registration) Highlights from the ROI report include:

• Only 22% of respondents could clearly articulate ROI on community efforts
• The majority of respondents gave a high priority to establishing an ROI model in the near term
• 49% were reporting some dimensions of value back to management on a monthly basis
• “Value” of online community efforts are contextual to an organizations goals and objectives

Online Community Metrics 2007 Report – Online Community Research Network
Online Community ROI Report – Online Community Research Network

What’s coming up in 2008?
The OC Report staff has their own ideas, but we would like to hear yours. What’s in it for you? A $25 itunes gift certificate. Simply fill out the short survey here and tell us the ONE Online Community wish you have for 2008. You may win the $25 itunes gift certificate… and who knows, your wish may come true! Best response will be judged by the OC Report staff, and the winner will be announced on January 2nd.
Take the survey here (less than 5 minutes, I promise).