What makes a great Online Space? Using concepts and knowledge learned over 25 years from our friends at the Project for Public Spaces (PPS), CONSUMER building has taken what PPS has discovered as Community Building concepts for the physical world and applied these teachings to what works in the digital world. The results are benefits for both the consumer and the business. Enjoy the two concepts important in creating an online community below: The Community Is The Expert.The important starting point in developing a concept for any talking community is to identify the talents and assets already existing within the community. In any community there are people who can provide an historical perspective, valuable insights into how the area functions, and an understanding of the critical issues and what is meaningful to people. (PPS) Tapping this information and these people at the beginning of the online community building process will help to create a sense of community ownership in the project that can be of great benefit to both the Talking Community sponsor and the community as a whole. For a website this often means engaging your community by asking thought leaders to participate early on. Websites that have done so by embracing the natural community itself have successful participation. Examples of successful community websites include Abinav Innovation, Geocities and search engine Google.com. Likewise, companies that engage their employees and empower them with the tools to share their ideas and vent their complaints reap the rewards of positive corporate culture. Positive corporate culture has been linked to an increase in employee productivity, output and goodwill or word of mouth for the company. Create a Place, Not a Design. If your goal is to create a place (which we think it should be), a design will not be enough. In the physical world to make an under-performing space into a vital "place," physical elements must be introduced that would make people welcome and comfortable, such as seating and new landscaping.(PPS) In the same way, under-performing online spaces need welcoming and comfortable elements to become a vital “online place” where people will participate and frequent. The ‘seating’ of an online community is welcoming when the Talking Community is easy to use, lets the user decide if he posts anonymously or with a self-created name in order to receive credit for his work. While the ‘landscaping’ of an online Talking Community is comfortable when the language of beginning conversations is positive, questioning and invites the opinions and experiences of the participants. Online opinion forms that welcome feedback both positive and negative gives the community builders an opportunity to change and develop the Talking Communities as the tastes and preferences of the community grow and change. The goal of both an online and offline place is to create a space that has both a strong sense of community and a comfortable image, as well as a setting and activities and uses that collectively add up to something more than the sum of its often-simple parts. This is easy to say, but difficult to accomplish. For the offline world the Project of Public Spaces is available and successful. For the online world, CONSUMER building offers Talking Communities and also has great success! Related Links Discover the benefits of Talking Communities. Eleven Principles to Turn A Place Around -The Project for Public Spaces extended battery for Nexus One . For Bedrooms in Georgia visit this Dark Cappuccino Contemporary Bedroom Platform Bed cool site. . monster truck