This is a question I’ve been asked many times. And too many times I’ve not been asked, but have offered my opinions anyway! The following answer is one I will share with a corporate client that is using private online forums behind the firewall for employee interaction and virtual teaming. It’s really only the start of an answer… but it’s enough to get a conversation started that we can re-visit over time:
Successful forums have a compelling purpose that participants care about. They matter to people. They tend to be either information-driven or participation-driven, or both. The strongest key to success is for the compelling purpose to be greater than the resistance of the group to changing what they currently do.
An information-driven forum is one where key information is posted to the forum as the primary central location for distribution. Participants know the forum is where they will find what they want, and the value is mainly transactional. People show up, grab a file or a link, post a quick comment, and leave. They monitor their email to discover when new information is posted to the forum, but they probably won’t visit otherwise, unless they have important information to share. It’s about content.
A participation-driven forum is one where the key driver is a need to participate with others to learn new material, explore new horizons, figure out problems, or just to stay connected. Participants want to be in touch with each other and it may be difficult for them to stay in touch either face-to-face or by telephone. The forum provides a place where the group can be together that is not dependent on each person’s specific schedule. Content is important in a participation-driven forum, but the primary focus is on people connecting, knowing the content will change from day to day or week to week. It’s about relationships.
