Hosting Web Communities: Building Relationships, Increasing Customer Loyalty, and Maintaining A Competitive Edge

Former director of the Well, recent consultant to America Online, and current director of community development for Salon Magazine, Figallo knows what it takes to create a true community in cyberspace and what kinds of mistakes will torpedo the effort. Figallo believes that community comes from people, and so he begins by focusing on the human element. He writes about the groups that form online communities and how a community builder can foster the process. Figallo includes a great section on building a quality online staff. While he keeps technical aspects in perspective, Figallo doesn't shortchange them--he fully discusses types of interfaces and technical tools.

Figallo's discussion of the business side of a community is refreshingly hype-free. He provides excellent information on revenue models and support strategies. He further shows the advantages businesses can gain from creating or supporting online communities, plus what types of expectations are unrealistic. He believes, for example, that creating online communities is not a reasonable way to directly boost sales or provide a highly profitable income stream. He does show, however, that it can offer major corporate advantages in the same way that good public relations or other indirect marketing activities do. And while Figallo never claims that there's an easy formula for building the type of online feeling that brings people back again and again, he demonstrates with both theory and real-world examples how dedicated community builders can pull it off. --Elizabeth Lewis