Best Practices for Building a Community in SharePoint
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Real World SharePoint: Build a SharePoint Community Mark Miller Founder and Editor EndUserSharePoint.com Chief Community Officer and SharePoint Evangelist Global 360
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Mark Miller, founder and editor of EndUserSharePoint.com, built a community in less than 2 years that receives over 50,000 page views per week and has 13,600 email newsletter subscribers. He shares best practices for how others can build their own communities around Microsoft SharePoint.
Transcript of Best Practices for Building a Community in SharePoint
Real World SharePoint:
Build a SharePoint Community
Mark Miller
Founder and EditorEndUserSharePoint.com
Chief Community Officer and SharePoint EvangelistGlobal 360
Introduction
Mark Miller, Founder and EditorEndUserSharePoint.com
New York City
EndUserSharePoint.com
Community of SharePoint Authors
1,600 articles12,000 comments
50,000 page views a week13,500 newsletter subscribers
Global 360 Chief Community Officer and SharePoint Evangelist
Mark MillerCurrent Speaking Engagements• SharePoint Saturday – Denver, Baltimore• Best Practices Conference, Washington, DC• The Partner Conference, Dubai• SharePoint Techies User Group, Pakistan• The Experts Conference, Dusseldorf• SPTechCon, Boston• The SharePoint Conference, Australia• The SharePoint Conference, New Zealand
Agenda
What is Community?
The Building Blocks of Community
The Best (and Worst) Practicesfor Community Building
Q&A
What is Community?
Definition
“…. a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists”
-- Dictionary.com
“…. group sharing common characteristics or interests”
-- Dictionary.com
“…. perceived or perceiving itself as distinct”
-- Dictionary.com
Why do people join communities?
By Orion Miller, Age 7
“If you don’t know something, somebody else might.”
-- Orion Miller
“With one person, it’s hard to do a lot of things at once.”
-- Orion Miller
“The bigger the group, the better.”
-- Orion Miller
Why do people join communities?
By Mark Miller, Age <unknown>
Initial interest (Lurker)
Looking for an idea.
Initial Participation (Minor Participant)
Identifying with a specific idea so strongly, it breaks down the barrier to initial participation (the penny barrier).
Continued Participation (Evangelist)
Recognition for their ideas and contributions.
Types of Communities
External Internal
External
User GroupsSharePoint SaturdaysWeb SitesTwitterForums
Internal
User GroupsSupport GroupsPower UsersBrown Bag
Q&A
Building Blocks of a Community
Finding and Nurturing Followers
Get Started: Participate
“Community is built through participation and contribution.”
-- Mark Miller
Participate
Leave comments in existing communities
Participate
Ask and answer questions in existing forums
Participate
Join events as a speaker
SharePoint SaturdaysLocal User Group
Get Started: Your First Followers
External Forums
Dessie LunsfordChris Quick
Discussion Forum
Laura RogersEric Alexander
Comments
James LoveJason MacKenziePeter AllenMichael GreeneJay SimcoxAlexander BautzJim Bob HowardSara Haase
Pat Iovanella - Ruven GotzRichard HarbridgeJohn FerringerKerri Abraham
Types of Followers
99% .9%
.1%
Lurkers
99% of your community
Minor Participants
.9% of your community
Evangelists
.1% of your community
Building Blocks of a Community
Community Structure
Vehicles for Participation
Get Started: Blog
SharePointJoel.comJoel Oleson
Get Started: Wiki
SharePointDevWiki.comJeremy Thake
Get Started: Forum
SharePointOverflow.comAlex Angus (moderator)Nick Swan (instigator)Sam Dolan (branding)
How long will it take?
“If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”
-- Anonymous
Worst PracticesWhen Building Community
Worst Practice
Build it and they will come
Provide new content…
Worst Practice
once a week
Worst Practice
Worry about ownership of content
Best PracticesWhen Building Community
Best Practice
Start with a party of one, and act as a content filter.
Best Practice
Provide fresh content… every, single day.
Best Practice
Consistently acknowledge participants, even for the smallest contribution.
Best Practice
Listen to the participants. Conversation will dictate when it’s time to expand the vision.
Conclusion
“I will never be Joel Oleson”-- Mark Miller
“Thank you for coming.”
Mark MillerFounder and Editor
EndUserSharePoint.com
Chief Community Officer and SharePoint EvangelistGlobal 360
