Online Communities

An online community is a group of people with common interests who use the Internet (web
sites, email, instant messaging, etc) to communicate, work together and pursue their
interests over time.

Examples of online communities

1. Community of Sweden. One of the most beautifully designed websites with a very strong
community and a great use of game mechanics. Tommy Sollen is a community genius.
2. SK-Gaming. If you play games online, you’re probably a member of this near 1m strong
gaming community. It’s a hugely popular community with plenty of content about the
community. Possibly the best use of game mechanics out there.

3. Lego ideas is an online community for toy sets enthusiasts for them to participate and
vote in the competition.

4. Online gaming has boosted Play station community with games and discussions for
viewers to participate and win trophies online.

Benefits of Online Communities

Online Communities provide real-world communities a place to come together using the
Internet. By being a member of an online community, you benefit in many of the same ways
you would a real world community- it's just that you use the Internet.

 Instead of traveling to a coffee shop or hotel, you meet at a web site

 Instead of having face-to-face discussion, you post messages to one another
 Instead of picking a time and place to meet, the community is always-on.
 Instead of depending on a physical location or resource to keep track of community
events and activities, a web site can do it for you.

All-in-all, online communities are about people needing an easier and more accessible way
to get together. In business or socially, online communities have the power to create lasting
and productive relationships where none existed before. In the future, in many different
forms, I believe that online communities will become a greater part of our lives.

Types of online communities and the top benefits of each

1. Social communities include public social networks like Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. Brands use social communities mostly for marketing purposes,
broadcasting information, building brand awareness and reaching greater audiences for
campaigns and messaging. Social communities are useful for tracking what your
competitors are up to and identifying broad consumer trends. Ninety-three percent
of large companies use Facebook, according to a 2015 Social Media Examiner report.

2. Support communities enable members to offer product tips to other customers,

helping companies reduce customer support costs. Compared to social communities,
this category provides a more structured way of gathering innovative ideas because
support communities allow brands to track product- and service-related conversations.
According to a 2015 Forrester Research report, 81 percent of companies have a
support community of some kind.

3. Advocate communities allow brands to mobilize their most passionate, loyal

customers. Also known as advocate marketing software, this community type often
rewards members for writing a testimonial, posting about the company on social med ia
and doing other similar activities. According to Laura Ramos, principal analyst at
Forrester Research, branded customer communities of this type can help boost positive
word of mouth.

4. Insight communities are made up of carefully selected groups of customers who

maintain a long-term relationship with brands. These communities allow companies to
gather continuous, high-quality feedback from engaged stakeholders like customers,
partners or employees. Already a mainstream market research tool, this category is
quickly finding its way in marketing, customer experience and innovati on.

Loneliness and social problems

Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly being treated as public health priorities by
governments the world over – and described as both ‘an epidemic’ and ‘contagious’.
Loneliness has many different causes, which vary from person to person. We don’t always
understand what it is about an experience that makes us feel lonely.
For some people, certain life events may mean they feel lonely, such as:
 experiencing a bereavement (Bereavement is the experience of losing someone
important to us)
 retiring and losing the social contact you had at work
 changing jobs and feeling isolated from your co-workers
 starting at university
 moving to a new area or country without family, friends or community networks.

Other people find they feel lonely at certain times of the year, such as around Christmas.
Some research suggests that people who live in certain circumstances, or belong to
particular groups, are more vulnerable to loneliness. For example, if you:
 have no friends or family
 are estranged from your family
 are a single parent or care for someone else – you may find it hard to maintain a social
life
 belong to minority groups and live in an area without others from a similar background
 are excluded from social activities due to mobility problems or a shortage of money
 experience discrimination and stigma because of a disability or long-term health problem,
including mental health problems
 experience discrimination and stigma because of your gender, race or sexual orientation
 have experienced abuse – you may find it harder to form close relationships with other
people.