learning, teaching and research (archive)

http://ubershibs.tigblog.org/post/248681

Giving users ownership of the community is something that some organizations do well, and others… don’t do at all.

http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/dmal.9780262524827.161 page 16 

There are two things that determine the value of social networking tools: (1) the functionality of the tools themselves, and what they allow people to do, and (2) the people who are using the service.”27 Having the most sophisticated and easy-to-use online community platform does not guarantee success, nor does having access to a large number of members. A site has to be relatively usable and have appealing technology so that people can easily accomplish their goals, just as it has to have a critical mass of the right kind of users. If the tools are frustrating, or there are very few members, a site is not likely to be used. As MySpace demonstrates, successful online communities do not necessarily have to be the best designed, but at least have the right people.