Now that Ning has announced that it is phasing out free services, it’s time to take another look at our Ning communities and to establish what might be a reasonable alternative to Ning. For my longest-running Ning network, ELESIG, we are prepared: a hard-working group from this community of practice
Sometimes I am accused of being a pessimist: I always treat technology, especially wonderful new inventions, services and applications, with a healthy pinch of salt. So I laughed a bit hollowly to read that Ning are phasing out their free social networks (as well as reducing the number of their
The second Media Camp Nottingham on 27th March was at the excellent venue Lace Market House on High Pavement. One might think from the lack of funding and traditional media and other interest in digital and creative industries that there wasn’t much going on in Nottingham. This second event organised
Is it social media blasphemy to suggest that Facebook may not be an appropriate way to invest your company’s time in establishing a fan community? It seems to be perceived wisdom in many social media circles that getting a brand into social media means opening a Facebook fan page or
Steve Wheeler prompted quite a lot of comment recently when he posted a “rant” about whether or not Facebook is worthwhile. “It’s just possible that the guy who cut you up on the way home yesterday (you know, the one you exchanged angry words with from the safety of your
Whether or not you like either of the two songs that have been battling out for the Christmas number 1 spot this week – and whether or not you watch the programme X-Factor, you probably haven’t been able to miss the media coverage of the story. It seems to have
I’m delighted to be involved in this year’s JISC Innovating Elearning 2009 Online conference which is entitled Thriving, not just surviving. This year’s conference theme reflects the challenges facing further and higher education in the 21st century and it will features keynotes by Charles Leadbeater, Nigel Paine, and ELESIG members Helen Beetham
In my previous posts about the roles and tasks within an online community or community-based social network, I discussed the roles of the Community Editor and Community Facilitator. Both these roles, but particularly that of the Community Facilitator, are really a combination of roles, but it helps to categorise the
The core principle of The Cohesion Model for Sustainable Online Communities and Social Networks (as described in my previous post on 13th November) is that there are effectively three levels within a community – the Public, the Community or Collaborative, and the Private or Individual level. There is a role associated
The Cohesion Model for Sustainable Online Communities and Social Networks was developed by myself, Helen Whitehead, and Liz Cable over three years, and based on rather more than 15 years of experience in online communities and social networks before that. It’s also informed by the literature on learning communities, communities