Member-only story
How to Be an Outstanding Online Community Member
The secret? Provide more value to the community than you take away.
The first iteration of an online connected community started life in February 1978. Ward Christensen and Randy Suess developed the Computerized Hobbyist Bulletin Board System. A user with a terminal or computer equipped with a modem could call in to leave and retrieve messages.
This very first Bulletin Board System (BBS) is a far cry from the forums, groups and social media we have today. But every form of an online community at its core is about one individual leaving a message for one or more other individuals to retrieve.
Online communities thrive is when the messages left by individual users provide value to the other users. The more value passed between members, the more everyone benefits from the community.
Being a Part of an Online Community?
There are many reasons online communities form, but often it results from a group of people with a common interest. They will come together in one place to share ideas, converse, trade information and develop…
