Digital storytelling: The Marlene Manto Story

On the Road to Community

By Marlene Manto

If P = (I x F) then C = (P^∞)

Toward the end of my learning journey, I began to synthesize my new knowledge and understandings, and distilled it down to this equation. This is a formula for a sustainable online community. Sort of like the meaning of life equaling 42, isn’t it! I realise it needs explaining, so perhaps I’ll start at the beginning…..

What is an online community anyway? There are many, many definitions, but here is one that I feel is fairly comprehensive:

”[An online community is] a social aggregation that emerges from the Net, when enough people carry on public discussions, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace.”
(The Virtual Community: Rheingold, 1993)

My Flexible Learning Leaders journey was all about searching for what it is that makes some communities successful and sustainable…and why some just wither and die? How is an online community different from any other community? Is an online learning community different? Can a community be created…or do the successful ones just ‘happen’ serendipitously?

I started by reading many books to obtain a deeper knowledge of the theories surrounding communities. I also attended conferences and spoke to previous Flexible Learning Leaders and others who have spent time researching and working in this field. Most importantly, I spoke at length with people who were involved in the beginnings of these communities and particularly the participants and contributors who are actively connected and remain loyal to an online community over a lengthy period of time.

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Some comparable threads of similarity began to emerge.

“I feel needed, it makes me feel I am doing my bit, it makes me part of a community, and I enjoy feeling needed. I enjoy the (little but very valuable) good feedback, when someone says they have seen my pages and enjoyed them…I love seeing my hits go up and now I am in the top ten!” (Pers.Comm: 18/11/02)

“I feel like I am somebody who has something worthwhile to say. People listen to me and they comment. Sometimes in everyday life I feel like a nobody.”(Pers.Comm: 2/11/02)

“This is a great place to come because I always find the answer I need. There is always someone here who knows what I am talking about, and can either tell me what I want to know, or give me a clue where I can find what I need. Sometimes I am the one with the answer and this makes me feel good...sort of like I am giving something back.” (Pers.Comm: 5/8/02)

“A month or so ago I went away on holidays for a couple of weeks, and when I got back I checked the discussion boards. Well, there were all these people wondering why I wasn’t talking and asking where I was! They missed me!” (Pers.Comm: 22/8/02)

“This group helped me so much when I was going through difficulties...even more than my own family. They had experienced the same stuff so they knew where I was coming from. When a mate at work was having troubles I invited him on, and he’s now a regular too.” (Pers.Comm: 17/9/02)

These comments all came from interviews with people who are members of online communities, and although merely a small example, together they illustrate that what is the most important to them, are the positive feelings that are engendered through being part of the community. This not only encourages their own continued participation but often encourages them to draw others in as well.

To return to the formula, it will now hopefully begin to make sense:

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I used an algebraic formula to express this because one of the most important points is that there is no recipe for a successful online community. Every community is different…every individual is different…the way people feel is different…every context is different. By using an algebraic formula that contained no numbers I was able to express my hypothesis as a model while still communicating the absolute variability of each situation. A recipe that isn’t a recipe!

The question remains though, that if a community can only be successful if the individuals within it experience positive feelings, is there a way to build a community so as to ensure its success and sustainability?

I believe the answer is a resounding NO…a successful community cannot be BUILT. BUT...I do believe that an online community can be SHAPED so that it responds to the needs of the individuals within it and fosters their positive feelings and therefore ongoing participation, thus leading to the growth and sustainability of that community.

Many of the books I read and people I spoke to began a discussion about online communities from the perspective of the technology requirements, and in fact a number spoke at length about the high-level of technology required to maintain a functional and challenging website. In retrospect though, I have been amazed at how successful some communities are that cope with very basic and often faulty technology. While adequate technology is certainly desirable, this surely proves that a successful community with all the right elements will survive despite the technology, not because of it.

“In my own work I've worked in and designed a number of online communities. What I've found is that the technology is really a very small part of it. Indeed, people will struggle through bad technology in order to access a good community, while people will turn their noses up at even the best technology if they think the community is of little or no value.” (Stephen Downes, online document, accessed 28/11/02) (Full article)

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The reason for this is because while technology is a basic requirement for an online community, in fact all the elements which result in success and sustainability actually have very little to do with technology at all! It’s about the PEOPLE…the human connection!

“The Internet isn’t about dot coms, online malls or customizable coupons. It’s not about routers, servers, browsers, or any of those other fascinating widgets and gadgets.…In fact, the Internet isn’t even about technology. It’s about us…. the vital, thrilling interconnection of people and ideas that happens online.” (Commonspace: Surman & Wurshler-Henry, 2001 p.2)

For this reason, when addressing the question as to how a community can be shaped to facilitate a higher possibility of success, I believe it is crucial to turn the usual debate upside down, and start with the individual. Note that I said the individual…not the group of people who, together, form a community. It is essential to focus specifically on each individual within the community, and not fall into the habit of regarding them as a composite and/or homogeneous group.

While by no means all-inclusive, the following are examples of some of the positive feelings as expressed to me by online community members:

“I feel a sense of identity… I feel that I am accepted for who I am, or who I portray myself as being. I feel like I am 'somebody'.” (Pers.Comm: 13/11/02)

“I feel that I have a stake in this community – it is important to me but I am also important to it. I feel that I have a voice.” (Pers.Comm: 19/9/02)

“I feel that it fulfills a need that is important to me.”(Pers.Comm: 31/10/02)

“People know me, and I am accepted for who I really am…. A whole person, and not just a part of who I am.” (Pers.Comm: 2/8/02)

“I feel I have a place here…I am noticed when I am here, and I will be missed if I am no longer here. This place is real to me and I feel like I belong.” (Pers.Comm: 15/11/02)

“The input that I get from the community is of value to me. When I am the one to give, this communication is valued and appreciated. It feels like we are doing something worthwhile.” (Pers.Comm: 1/11/02)

The ‘secret’ to shaping a successful and sustainable online community, is to shape it so that each individual within it experiences feelings such as those expressed above. Some people will want, or need, to feel all of these feelings, but even if they only experience a few, there is a higher chance that they will continue to participate.

My discussion, as to how a community can be shaped to bring about positive feelings in an individual, is very much at the genesis stage of contemplation and debate, however if you click on the following navigation links (which are based on the above comments) they will take you to some of my initial thoughts and ideas for strategies.

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