HowTo: Create an Online Community
Step 1… I wish it were so simple I could give a step-by-step process!
My take is that creating vibrant community is tough and there is obviously no simply step-by-step method that would work. However, my experience is that I get the most out of RCG when I focus on making sure that our users (both readers and fellow contributors) have the right incentive to participate. For readers, that means giving well thought-out opinions on the local real estate market. And for contributors, that means ensuring that they have a place where their blogging efforts will be appreciated.
The irony of RCG is that if I had known a bit more about real estate when I started, I might have tried to play the role of “expert” instead of curious observer… and it would have been much harder, if not impossible to recruit the other bloggers who have been critical to the site’s growth and influence.
[photopress:IMG_3275.JPG,thumb,alignright]I think there is a misconception that creating a vibrant community requires some form of pixie dust, but in retrospect, it is the process of building a vibrant online community simply requires a bit of good timing, an appropriate product, and an unwavering focus on your users. Of course, I could go into more detail, but I think I’ll wait two weeks when I’ll be in SF with a group of community-building experts before I finish that thought! 
What’s going on in San Francisco?
On August 1 at 11:30am, I’m on a panel at SF Connect with three (somewhat intimidating) bloggers.
First, there is Pat Kitano who is always willing to share expertise in all areas of online real estate and have a good time dong it!.
Anil Dash is a long-time blogger, the first employee at Six Apart (the people behind Vox, LiveJournal, TypePad and MovableType), and appears to be an engaging speaker. Can we not let Anil know that I consistently recommend (preach?) wordpress over all other blogging platform?
Robyn Tippins is the community manager at MyBlogLog, a top-notch blogger, and is an avid gamer. And if that is not enough, I simply love her southern accent!). While we’re keeping things from these fellow panelists, can we not let Robyn know that my mention and use of MyBlogLog was to equate it to porn and then take it off of my sidepanel because I hate being tracked and get no enjoyment out of tracking others? 
[photopress:IMG_3372.JPG,thumb,alignleft]Last year at Inman, I took a group of people to one of my favorite dinner spots in the city and followed it up with a classic San Francisco drinking establishment where lots of good stories were shared. I’d be happy to organize something similar this year, so let me know if you’d be interested!
About the Author: Dustin Luther
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Hi Dustin,
As always, another great post about blogging!
I’ve been so impressed with what you’ve done with RCG. I’m trying to get a group of fellow illustrators/artists/authors I know into blogging to better promote ourselves; and your various posts about blogging have been very helpful in that regard. I’m making slow but steady progress on that front (I think
)….jeesh, trying to get people out of their old comfort zone can be very difficult.
Great point Joe… It’s definitely been interesting to watch many people with the real estate professions succeed when they do get out of their comfort zone!
Hey, Dustin–I will be at Bloggers Connect and I look forward to meeting you in person!
“I think there is a misconception that creating a vibrant community requires some form of pixie dust…”
We don’t have pixie dust? I thought we had pixie dust
I only wish I had access to some pixie dust… My daughter outmaneuvers me on a regular basis, and I always blame it on her amazing stash of the stuff!
Hi Dustin, thanks for the shout-out. I’ll be happy to fill you in on what you might be missing about the benefits of our platforms, if you want. The important thing is that you’re excited about getting new people blogging — the rest is just details.
Our mission’s about helping people discover blogs, not about which software they use, though of course I think our platforms are the best.
Looking forward to meeting!
Anil,
So glad you stopped by… I definitely look forward to meeting you as well!
And I know at least one of the contributors users TypePad for her blogs, so I imagine you’ll definitely see some support around here for the great job you’ve done building up that platform!
This should be fun. Looking forward to meeting some of you bloggy blog types in SF at Inman.
Dustin. I don’t know that I’d have time for dinner, but I do look forward to finally meeting you in person. I’ll be there Tuesday afternoon and then fly out Wednesday.