Category: Strategy

  • Online Community Unconference 2025

    Online Community Unconference 2025

    The Online Community Unconference (OCU) is returning to San Francisco on January 8th. Join me, Carrie Melissa Jones, and Susan Tenby for a full day of in-person collaboration with 100 experienced and engaged community leaders. At the Online Community Unconference you will: All while having a great time experiencing the in-person community of community leaders.…

  • Unlocking Community Intelligence in Events: Embracing Participant-Driven Methodologies

    Unlocking Community Intelligence in Events: Embracing Participant-Driven Methodologies

    As we transition from virtual to in-person meetings, conferences, and workshops, there is a noticeable hunger for novel and engaging experiences beyond the typical “expert in front of the room” sessions. What if every event participant had the chance to be the smartest person in the room? Rethinking Event Models Imagine events, meetings, and working…

  • Community Strategy Design

    Community Strategy Design

    I was first introduced to the concept of a design process in my sophomore year of college. I was taking a sculpture class and we were preparing to start on our self-portrait busts. Our professor had us read “The Universal Traveler” by Koberg & Bagnell, follow the process they describe in the book, and keep…

  • Understanding the Community Opportunity (Community Value Part 2)

    Note: this is the second in a series of posts about community value. If you missed “A Perspective on Community Value”, I’d recommend starting there. In the last decade, many companies have come to understand how valuable (and critical) their direct relationships with customers are. The most strategic organizations understand that these relationships are part…

  • Exiting the Social Boom and the Entering the Era of Transformational Communities

    I feel very fortunate to have established a career developing communities (both on and offline) over the last 20+ years. During this time, I’ve seen a steady series of boom and bust cycles for “community” – large waves of investment and development followed by retreat and divestment. During the transition times between the cycles, one…

  • Customer Communities Are Critical For Business Transformation

    The last few years have seen big brands make extraordinary investments in developing massive “digital transformation” and social media programs. On one hand, these programs have yielded moments of customer connection, advocacy and insight. Unfortunately, for the majority of programs reliant on mass social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, organic reach has dropped effectively to 0 and companies are now forced to…

  • Announcing the C3/A3 Project: The Connected Future of Communities, AI & Automation

    Announcing the C3/A3 Project: The Connected Future of Communities, AI & Automation

    A new set of technologies is emerging to augment human cognition (AI), enhance human agency (Agents) and shape digital experiences and outcomes by taking advantage of a rich set of tools and APIs (Automation). We see these three technological forces (AI, Agents and Automation) as the next immediate wave of disruption in digital experience, and…

  • The Customer Community

    Image © Leigh Prather The last few years have seen big brands make extraordinary investments in developing massive “digital transformation” and social media programs. On one hand, these programs have yielded moments of customer connection, advocacy and insight. Unfortunately, for the majority of programs reliant on mass social platforms like facebook and twitter, organic reach has dropped effectively to 0 and companies…

  • To Develop a Community, Think Network First

    We need a new and more holistic approach to develop modern communities. Using network as a blank canvas allows you to create strategy from drawing from the largest possible pool of value. Thinking “Network” means you are considering the full set of relationships among stakeholders, assets, and increasingly, artificial intelligence actors that could potentially be…

  • Purpose Will Power Future Online Communities

    Purpose “…people’s identification of, and intention to pursue, particular highly valued, overarching life goals.” (Steger & Dik, 2010). a.k.a. “Your reason for getting up in the morning.” Bryan Dik PhD – Professor of Psychology at Colorado State & Cofounder of Jobzology The Fine Line Between Engagement & Manipulation Growthhacking, gamification, content snacks and personalization. Your feed…