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.

Member directory – Typically, Slack or Discord communities have an #Intros channel for members to introduce themselves. But these posts are ordered chronologically, and the volume of posts rapidly becomes overwhelming as communities grow. A turnkey directory product that aggregates and showcases member information and interests in a centralized... 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... See more

Attendance/participation at events

Engagement over time

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... See more

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.

Knowledge hub – Community knowledge hubs can house any type of content that’s value-additive to members, including relevant resources, FAQ, top posts, PDFs and links. Given the chat-based nature of many community platforms, the “best-of” content is often drowned out by more recent posts. We believe such a knowledge hub should be baked into the... See more