Community Voice

IN AN IDEAL (ONLINE) WORLD: (or a tongue-in-cheek Top 5 of what community managers might dream of for their community participants).

1. LOYAL - think of the surfer who does indeed wait more than 5 seconds for a page to load, isn't put off by the odd "404 - Page Not Found" error they might get and only has one favourite in their bookmarks - your site. This person is not interested in posting competitive URLs on your site, in fact they aren't interested in any other sites. An endangered species. Soon, reserves of such specimens will be set up to preserve their existence.

2. FUN AND ENTHUSIASTIC - think of a Britney Spears fan, combined with a cocker spaniel, combined with Bob Geldof. Your community members' zeal for your site is matched only by their tireless energies and efforts to make a difference. They want to have fun and aren't afraid to show it in the most positive of ways. They have a profound sense of right and wrong, but aren't judgemental. Sadly their music taste leaves a lot to be desired, but you forgive them for that. Well, just about.

3. RELAXED - think of the most relaxed and easy-going person you know and multiply by 100. You get the idea. Your community is never fazed, never breaks out into a sweat and is most likely to respond to you having to re-shuffle their beloved forums by saying: "Yeah, man...sounds greeaaat!". About as likely to cause friction with fellow community participants as they are likely to trade-in their VW Camper Van for a "proper" car.

4. POLITE- your community knows more internet etiquette than you do and catch you out at times because you over-capitalised several words. You almost imagine them saying "No, I insist, after you, old chum" when their virtual paths cross in your community. Never leaves litter, always says "Please" and "Thank you", and is gracious even when pushed or shoved. Vociferous and argumentative? Not in their sweet-smelling vocabulary. Cucumber sandwich, anyone?

5. COMMUNICATIVE - such people for whom A/S/L is meaningless and you can bet they've never typed it. If asked, it's most likely they would think this is a high speed internet connection. The syllable count is always high for this communitarian, and it's a case of "Let's Talk Goethe" rather than "I'm gonna getcha". Intellectually stimulating without being overbearing, socially-aware without being politically-correct, and ready to share, these individuals are the grease in your community machine. Although they would say lubricant of course.

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