网络社区怎样才能火起来

    其中有一位成员是专业的制被者，有感于这个群组给她的工作和朋友圈带来的深刻影响，特意邀请群组其他成员给她邮寄布料，希望缝制一床被褥，反映通过eBay结成的纽带。共有114位成员寄来了设计特别的布块。后来，她征得小组的同意后，把这床被褥放到了eBay上进行拍卖，并把拍卖所得收入捐给了加拿大糖尿病协会（Canadian Diabetes Association）的一个特殊儿童项目。购得这床被褥的是群组中的一个活跃分子，此人后来把它借给了eBay，用于展示。

    再看另外一个例子，卡特里娜飓风（Hurricane Katrina）过后，eBay社区的成员开设了一个讨论版块，就可能的灾害性天气相互给出预警。每年10月，一个卖家团体都会自发组织起来，为苏珊科曼乳腺癌基金（Susan G. Komen for the Cure）募捐。“这些群组、讨论版块和论坛活跃着几十万成员，”Liveworld首席执行官彼得•弗雷德曼说。“规模更庞大的eBay网络中则有几千万成员参与，它值得信赖的反馈机制为买卖双方提供了相互评分和评价的机会。”

    金宝汤（Campbell Soup Company）的社区一开始是一个菜谱交流平台，版主是一些喜欢交流家常菜烹饪心得的人。如今，这个网站已涵盖与家庭养育相关的广泛议题。

    网络社区的参与者建立了社会联系之后，也开始举办一些活动，社区的赞助公司也能从中受益，这类活动被称为“协同创作”。比方说，乐高玩具公司（Lego）已越来越依赖其虚拟社区，它不仅能为公司提供新产品创意，事实上还参与到了产品的设计。

    设计网络社区，第一步是要理解稍微宏观一点的背景，掌握客户是使用你的服务的情况。他们还有什么需求没有得到满足？客户之间的网络互动对解决这些未得到满足的需求有什么帮助？

    One member, a skilled quilt maker, was so moved by how her work and friendships had grown as part of the group that she invited members to mail her cloth to stitch a quilt representing the eBay bond. A total of 114 members sent specially designed squares. With agreement from the group, she then sold the quilt on eBay, with proceeds going to a special children's program at the Canadian Diabetes Association. It was bought by an active member of the group who then lent it to eBay to display.

    In another example, members of the eBay community launched a discussion board in response to Hurricane Katrina to give each other advance warning of potentially dangerous weather conditions. Each October, a seller group self-organizes to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. "Hundreds of thousands of members are active in the groups, discussion boards, and forums where this deep engagement happens," says Liveworld CEO Peter Friedman, and "tens of millions participate in the larger eBay network that uses the trusted feedback mechanism through which buyers and sellers rate and review each other."

    Campbell Soup Company's (CPB) community started out as a recipe exchange, which was prompted by moderators who shared personal stories about how they cook for their families. The site now covers a broad range of interests around raising families.

    As participants in these online communities develop relationships, they can begin to take on projects that often benefit the company that sponsors the community, also referred to as "co-creation." As one example, Lego has increasingly relied on its virtual community not only for ideas on new products but actually for help designing these products.

    To design your online communities, as a starting point you need to understand the broader context of how your customers use your services. What are their unmet needs? How might online interaction among customers themselves help to address these unmet needs or opportunities?