phenomenon happening in all markets regardless of wider economic, social and cultural

"'Build a great environment, and they will come' has been the attitude of technologists, who think everything runs on physics. Instead brands and developers should think, 'Build a great community and they will come.'"

Online communities are a part of social media - user- focused communication, using their preferred communication channels. While building online communities is not a universal solution for all companies and brands, they can be a powerful business tool. They can help transform all parts of your business by engaging customers during product development, spreading word of your services and products to target users and fostering sales, enabling users a degree of self-support to streamline your customer service department or assist with the enterprise collaboration and coordination.

communities in business and includes:
• The basics of online communities
• Community types and platforms
• Online communities in business
• Quick-start guide to building your online community
• Examples of business online communities

In the age of information overload, communities are a
great way for users to filter information about services
and products and for companies to stay in touch with

Online communities are a natural way of people connecting to each other, communicating and sharing information. The users have long ago embraced the potential of internet to join niche groups from all over the world; and in recent years, many companies have discovered the business potential of fostering an online community or connecting to an existing one. There are several community types and platforms, which we will discuss in the following chapters.

The original community platform was the forum. Since then, new social networking and community technologies have allowed users many ways of connecting - from software platforms for real friends or business partners, likeFacebook orLinkedIn, to bite-sized communications with friends and strangers via micro-blogs and tools like

establish a presence in Second Life and have been followed by many companies with varied success. (More information is in our Virtual worlds whitepaper).

The veritable jungle of community and social networking tools presents a challenge for companies trying to get in touch with their online communities. Choosing the right tools for the job is crucial - and so is preparing the right community strategy.