Follow me: Seven online communities I’m on right now
If you’re going to have any success building healthy, active and engaging social communities online, you’ve got to be endlessly curious about how they work. Why is it that some communities gain new users every day while some dry up like a Texan graveyard? Why do you suddenly feel like making movies when you’re on Vimeo, while you just feel daunted at the task when you’re over at YouTube? Why do I feel so alone on a travel site like Dopplr, while I’m constantly meeting people all over the world at a photo site like Flickr?
It’s not enough to read case studies or understand the technology behind the multitude of online communities out there to find the answer to those questions – the social interactions, exchanges and content creation will always form the core experience of any community. So the only way to really understand what makes people tick when they join a community is to hit the sign up button and get involved…
Here’s a mix of some of my older and recent discoveries that you might want to explore, too…
7: Second Brain
Hands up if you already broke that new years resolution on getting your online presence organized… (I did). Second Brain promises to get you sorted by managing your files, bookmarks and feeds from the content you produce on other sites. It’s also great for discovering stuff other people collect. Feels a bit like a combo of Twine, Del.icio.us and Stumble Upon all at once…
6: Shopstyle
Ever had an amazing idea – only to discover that someone else beat you to it…? When it comes to fashion, Shopstyle got there before I could. I’m not very sad about it though – I could spend hours here!
ShopStyle lets you put together entire outfits with just a few clicks – mix and match between your favourite brands. You also learn a lot from looking at how other women combine their looks. I’ve only got two faves on my outfit, though (hint, hint!).
5: JustMeans
This is a site I joined before I found my dream job here at MadebyMany. JustMean’s mission is to “provide best in class services that help companies communicate and implement their socially responsible efforts on-line.” They’ve got plenty of interesting job listings if you’re looking for work and you can network directly with companies and other job applicants who all publish streams of great editorials, news and videos.
4: Brightkite
Brightkite lets you share your whereabouts with friends. If you’re looking to meet new people at your current location, Brightkite will let you do that too… Feels a bit like Twitter with a post code locator.. Needs new users to become truly useful. Whenever I try to spot new people near my location, no matter where I am, I end up with Stuart, Tim, Matt or Oli on my radar…. (always glad to see them though!)
3: Trendhunter
Trendhunter is a bit of a mess for my taste. But there are so many interesting things to discover there. For the record, I don’t consider myself a trendhunter – I’m just lurking around, waiting for other people’s finds… such as this fairytale bedcover...
2: Imagekind
Imagekind is an online community for selling and buying art. I’ve stuck some of my photography from Flickr on there. Haven’t sold a single print yet but already gotten 41 fans… hum!
1: Vimeo
If you’re into making videos, this is the community for you! What makes this community so great is the groups you can join – people create groups based on their interests – such as animation, conferences, random projects .
I’m writing a separate blogpost on Vimeo in the near future – so check back for that if you’re interested – in the meantime, enjoy this poetic piece…
Gorge Fog from Andrew Curtis on Vimeo.
As always – please leave a comment if you’ve got any communities or anything else to share…
See also:
About the author
Honed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Elin's skills encompass interaction design, information architecture and content. She is from somewhere very cold.
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Comments (11)
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Responses (0)
What about asmallworld.net ;)
alex
February 4, 2009
at 3:41 pm
I didn’t want to make you jealous:)
Elin
February 4, 2009
at 3:43 pm
I really love vimeo and it’s nice to read someone else recognising it’s merits. Vimeo feels soft, safe and experimental and inspired me to get a new video camera 10 years or so after since I last pick one up so that I could start uploading whatever I manage to get down. In contrast as a comparative site YouTube feels cold, corporate, lifeless and hopelessly hooked on popularity and instant gratification (and semi naked ladies).
My main concerns about vimeo.. the premium account fee, over twice that of flickr… the upload limits, if you shoot in HD the limits are strict even on a premium account… and whether it will survive, I’d be loathed to loose all of the time I intend to invest in contributing to a wonderful site only for it to dissapear anytime soon.
Haven’t tried the rest so thanks, will give them a go.
gavriel
February 5, 2009
at 1:09 pm
Absolutely agree with you, Gavriel!
But I’m not so sure I’d worry about Vimeo disappearing anytime soon. Sites like this tends to get looked after if something happened – just like http://www.jpgmag.com – they’re in the process of being acquired after announcing they were to shut down early in January.
Elin
February 5, 2009
at 4:58 pm
I am simply addicted to ShopStyle now, Elin! Now that I can mix and match and make styles, I sort of get the same feeling as when I am shopping. Only so much cheaper… Brilliant!
Kristin
February 5, 2009
at 11:15 pm
So glad you like it!! Will jet over and make you a contact right now:)
Elin
February 5, 2009
at 11:25 pm
You mentioned the resolution to get online presence sorted.. how about a community for making resolutions, with a charitable touch. Check out http://www.pledgehammer.com – it’s been live for a month now and it’s great to see the number of pledges growing.
Andrus
February 6, 2009
at 5:32 pm
Andrus -
That looks like a great idea – are you behind it?
Elin
February 6, 2009
at 5:40 pm
Yup, I am one of the co-founders. Glad you like it! Why don’t I see your pledge there :) ?
Andrus
February 6, 2009
at 9:20 pm
Love the list!
Secondbrain seems very interesting, but is not working. Am I mistaken??
Thanks.
Joep
Joep
March 6, 2009
at 10:19 am
Hmm. Just logged in – working fine for me?
You can always try to send an email to Lars Teigen (lgt@secondbrain.com) if it still doesn’t work… he’s very helpful!
Elin
March 6, 2009
at 10:26 am