Wanted to share a nice slideshow about the phases of online community building by Rachel Happe that you may find interesting. Her blog is where I first came across one of my favorite metaphors about community management – the Iceberg Effect. (You may have also heard the one about the duck – similar in concept, that’s about how community management is like a duck gliding along barely making any ripples on the water, yet underneath it’s little ducky feet are paddling away energetically…) Like an iceberg, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than may be apparent. Anyway. Check this out, see what you think. (Hit the little “full screen” button on the 8th slide with the good chart to see it properly).

“Online communities are being used by many types or organizations to support a variety of business processes. There is a lot of power in communities if done right – but it is not without peril. This presentation goes through the different phases of community maturity and identifies the power and peril of each phase.”

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