community
Community definition- a set of interwoven relationships built upon shared interests, which satisfies members’ needs otherwise unattainable individually.
Successful community- 1) membership is a conscious choice 2) member base has achieved critical mass and sustainability 3) members feel a great sense of trust 4) members achieve benefits in scale 5) roles are not heirarchical or imposed 5) effecitve ficilitaion and site structure keeps commuinty activities on track 6) a spirit of participation and feedback is clearly cultivated 7) a sense of affiliation is achieved through is achieved through ownership of equity in the community 
efficiency in interaction is maximized 9) the community is easily navigable.
Different types of interests that form the foundation of community are 1) information-driven communities- build upon shared interests, facts/opinions 2) activity-driven communities-shared interesting in activities, ex online game or buying ebay) 3) commonality-driven communities-profession, ethnicity, life style..
Communities function- 1) real-time stystem — 1) internet relay chat 2) web-based chat 3) virtual worlds and MUDS (multiuser dimensions) and MOOs (MUDs Object Oriented). 2) Asynchoronous systems – 1) mailing lists 2) newsgroups ( usenet groups) 3) web-based message boards
Three primary ways in which value is created within a community- 1) user to user 2) administrator to user 3) user to administrator
The benefits that community can generate for a parent firm- 1) cost benefits- reduced customer servie costs, reduced customer acquisition costs, reduced costs from decresased product flawas and marketing mistakes, reduced marketing costs 2) revenue benefits – increased customer segmentation and customization, increased branding, deepended customer relationships
Different levels of communtiy are: amy jo kim- 1) visitors 2) novices 3) regulars 4) leaders 5) elders and randall 1) passives 2) actives 3) motivators 4) caretakers …
how to create successful community- 4 stages- awareness,-awareness of community/ curiousity, joining community, exploration/expansion-exploring the community, participationg, commitment-dynamic and interesting state creating value, building membership, , dissolution-flame wars, community goals changed, spotting the departing memember and try to give them incentive to stay