Community leaders deserve better: An open letter about community software

I've always thought it would be interesting for someone to build blockchain and ownership tokens into the very structure of a community platform. It wouldn't be too complex - simply replacing the gamification engine (used to give people ranks and points based on quality and quantity of participation) with a tokenization engine. Everything else - fo... See more

Here are the leaders by market share, with a few example brands for each:

Probably the most popular by number of installations is the VBB open source software (Virtual Bulletin Board)

We’d also like to see more innovation and support for various monetization mechanisms for communities; that could include charging to unlock premium channels, tipping creators of posts (similar to Reddit), the ability to donate or leave a contribution for live events, etc.

While many communities have built atop various communication platforms and social networks, those platforms aren’t primarily focused on serving the needs of communities. For instance, while both Li and David use Slack for their communities, the platform is clearly designed for enterprises, which is apparent from its pricing model (starting at $7/me... See more

Ability to engage across different channels –While new platforms often try to change user behavior and redirect their attention to a new destination, we’re interested in meeting members where they are. That could mean the ability for users to engage with the discussions via email or text message (if that's their preferred medium). Flexibility shoul... See more

Engagement over time

Analytics & automated actions in response to member activity – We dream of a dashboard for better understanding member behaviors, with metrics such as:

Yet while the appetite for online communities grows, the accompanying management toolkit still largely misses the mark.