Redefining online community Part 6: Online groups and event management sites

Finding your people through online groups
I ended part 5 of this series by proposing this definition of community: a group of people sharing physical or virtual space that a.) have a particular characteristic or interest in common, b.) create a fellowship with others by investing time and energy into the group, and c.) have a genuine interest in the well-being of the other members. In a time when a lot of people I know - including myself - are feeling  isolated, stir-crazy, and sometimes even downright lonely, it helps a ton to have websites and apps that make it easy to find different communities to explore!

Facebook Groups makes it easy to connect with specific sets of people - like teammates or coworkers - offering dedicated spaces where you can share updates, photos, or documents and message other group members. If you have a Facebook account you can easily create groups of your own: just choose its name, decide if it’s public or private, visible or hidden, and then invite other members to join. I have to admit, they make it really easy to start and manage groups of your own, and if you’re looking for groups to join I find that Facebook is eerily good at recommending groups for you - offering at a glance groups that are Suggested for You, Friends’ groups, and groups that are Popular near you. Honestly, it’s a little scary at times to realize how much Facebook knows about you, even if they do use the info to connect you to things you’re interested in. Conveniently, Facebook Events is also a good companion to Groups, making it easier to get other members’ attention and keep it. With Facebook’s calendar connection, most people have their Facebook events connected to their smartphones. 

Another good example is Meetup.com, “… a platform for finding and building local communities.” People use Meetup to meet new people, learn new things, find support, get out of their comfort zones, and pursue their passions. Among a collection of almost 80,000 personal and professional groups from 45,000 different cities, virtually every interest and hobby is covered, ranging from food-related brunch and dinner groups, movie and book clubs, gardening groups, stitching groups, business networking groups, outdoor activities groups, and more. As a self-described community builder, their “Find your people!” tagline resonates with me for sure, and Meetup makes it easy to find events hosted by local groups where you can meet new people, try something new, or just do more of what you love. Once you create your account, just type in a keyword and a location and a list of related groups and events in your area pops up. It’s that easy. Like most of you, I’m ready to get back to doing things with real people in a way that doesn’t include a screen, and as the Michigan winter gives way to spring I’m really, really, REALLY ready to get outside and do something active! Turns out there’s a local group called the Ann Arbor Adventure Club that’s pretty active and it has 6,002 members - and I’m sure some of them are as ready as I am to get out safely and do something fun.

Finding and hosting fun and interesting events
When it comes to setting up and managing events or finding events that look interesting, Eventbrite has been a go-to for me both personally and professionally. Eventbrite “enables anyone to create, promote, and sell tickets to any event imaginable, while also helping people discover and share events that match their passions.” I’ve used Eventbrite for years to manage the annual Rising Phoenix Awards event when tickets are being sold, and I really like how easy it is to create events, invite people to them, promote them beyond my immediate circle, accept registrations and payments, and communicate with people that register before, during, and after the event. It’s also super easy to find interesting events to attend personally - in fact, as I was doing my research for this article, I did a quick search on fly fishing events in my area, and immediately found a weekend retreat that I want to go to this fall. And there ya go!

You should also check out Mighty Networks, who says “It’s time to give your community the platform it deserves. Mighty Networks unlocks a new era of independent communities creating and mastering something interesting or important together.”  I have an account and am currently a member of one private group, and I do like how easy it is to communicate with the host and other members about what’s going on in our little community. That same host also offers a “premium” group in which they offer a paid event series, providing a simple and powerful way to offer and manage community offerings. With more of a business approach to communities, Mighty Community “is where creators and brands can build businesses they are proud of.”  They offer a Community Design Accelerator Course for $349 that shows how to take your brand, course, ideas, or goals and translate them into a thriving community.

​Downsides aside, these are really useful sites and apps.
It’s not all great – there are downsides to these tools for managing groups and events.  First, in online community groups, it can be challenging to keep member information current. In a quick scroll through a list of other members in the Ann Arbor Adventure Club Meetups group, I found several people I already know - which is great - but I saw that the list included one that I know moved away from the area nearly a decade ago and one that passed away about five years ago. While there are certainly a good number of members that are still active, I can’t know for sure how many of the 6,002 people are really still there and engaged.  

Second, there is the issue of codes of conduct for these groups and their events. It’s appropriately up to the group and event managers to establish and clearly communicate their expectations about member and/or participant behavior, but I find that often there isn’t anything to be found. As a community builder myself, I worry that this leaves the door open for inappropriate behavior that feels emotionally or physically unsafe for some participants. Check out this Sept. 2017 Medium.com article by Mike Roberts for some good thoughts and suggestions about establishing a code of conduct for groups and events that you’re part of. What does a solid code of conduct look like? Here’s a good example of Sketch.com’s code of conduct for meetups:

Of all the online community websites and apps I’ve explored in this series so far, these tools for managing groups and events are the ones that I may continue to use even after we launch the Eos Community Connections Portal. While we do plan to offer integrated tools for creating and managing both groups and events, these existing apps offer ease of use and advanced features that are compelling enough that we’ll connect to them and complement them rather than try to supplant them for our users. What we’ll do differently is offer these tools, along with all the other great features in Eos, with consistent use of our Good Human Code of Conduct - which guides members’ behavior across all elements of the platform.
 
Coming up next: What’s the real cost of “Free” apps?