An ebook by Angela Connor, Author of "18 Rules of Community Engagement (Happy About, 2009) Connect with Angela: @communitygirl, Angela@AngelaConnor.com

1. The Power of Online Communities
Five Stories of Friendship that Shaped a Community
By: Angela Connor AKA @communitygirl
#powerofcommunity
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ngela
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2. Table of Contents
 Introduction
 Story 1: Almost Evicted
 Story 2: A Fence of His Own
 Story 3: Yukon John
 Story 4: A Contest a Limo and a Night to Remember
 Story 5: When a Member Dies
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ngela
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3. Introduction
Online communities can be quite powerful. In many cases, people who would otherwise
never connect in person forge relationships and develop genuine interest and concern for
one another. I've learned first-hand that exposure to varying opinions within a community
can provide new insights and broaden horizons in ways we could not have imagined
fifteen years ago. I've seen participants in communities spend an amazing amount of time
contributing content and interacting with others and even expressing their gratitude for
having the opportunity and experience.
A community can serve as a second home. It can turn into a place where people find
acceptance, camaraderie and support that may not exist for them elsewhere. A
community can provide an outlet for those who are immobile, alone, shut-in or down on
their luck and simply need to be heard. This is a power that is often discounted,
overlooked and misunderstood.
I use the word "misunderstood" because organizations and their top brass want to put a
dollar sign on something that doesn't necessarily translate in those terms, at least not in
the conventional sense. Now before you get excited and push back, because you know
for certain that you cannot place a dollar value on interaction and engagement and have
written it off as immeasurable, please understand that I am not oblivious to the fact that
company initiatives must contribute to the bottom line. As a professional with many years
in corporate America, I get that.
But, if building community is important there is a need for a better understanding of the
intrinsic worth of online communities and more importantly a mindset that allows us to
place value on such worth.
I am going to share with you five stories that illustrate what can actually happen when
connections are made within an online community. When complete strangers move
beyond casual conversation and develop genuine concern for their fellow members. It can
change lives. I've witnessed it. If you don't believe there is value in connecting people I
encourage you to read these stories. They are all true, and unfolded before my very eyes
right in the online community I nurtured for three years. I grew that community from zero
to more than 13,000 members, and though it has since been discontinued by the
company I used to work for I still hear from some of the members today, and I know that it
affected lives, including mine.
Angela Connor
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ngela
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4. ALMOST EVICTED
One late evening, a single mother posted a blog about a very personal predicament. She
was soon to be evicted from her apartment and would likely end up moving back to
Syracuse to live with her mother. She was not asking for sympathy. This is someone who
was a heavy blogger and friend to many and most already knew quite a bit about her and
her young son. She was having problems with her child support checks because her ex-
husband's account was consistently overdrawn. She had blogged previously about her
son's father divorcing her years ago and how she had managed to bounce back from all
that to forge a decent relationship with him and his partner. On this particular night, she
wrote: "SO in any event, unless anyone knows where I can come up with $331.25 by
tomorrow it looks like I'm bound for Syracuse."
A well-known highly regarded influencer in the community posted a blog shortly after
encouraging members to come together and help her. His call for action resulted in a two-
hour virtual fundraiser that yielded more than $500, which he delivered to her door that
night. People contributed anywhere from $5 to $20 to support her. They wrote checks,
paid him via PayPal and dropped off cash at his house in an effort to keep a roof over a
fellow members head.
She posted a blog early the next morning titled, "Amazed." In it she wrote the following:
I'm overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of all out you out in GOLO land. I really do feel
like I have a family and people that love me out there. It’s beautiful! Thank you all so
much. You have NO idea how much this means to me. I only wrote a blog because I
needed to vent and really thought that I was going to have to move home... and now I'm
feeling like I AM HOME. That's the first time that I've felt like that since I've been in
Raleigh. I LOVE YOU GUYS! I MEAN IT!
After that, this particular member was very active in efforts to help others. She was
grateful for the help and made sure everyone knew it.
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ngela
#powerofcommunity

5. A FENCE OF HIS OWN
When a member of the community came across a news story about a local disabled
veteran who was going to lose his dogs because he didn't have the proper facilities to
keep them, she was deeply troubled. A dog lover in the community who was known for
posting dozens upon dozens of photos of her own beloved dogs and who had found a
community of fellow dog lovers as a result brought the story to the community in a blog
post. Through that post, she recruited and organized a group of ten people to travel to his
property and install enough fencing in to allow him to keep his pets and then some.
Not only did she get fellow members on board, but those members recruited their
spouses who weren't even members of the community. The proud veteran was so
touched by this gesture that he called me, the manager of the site and raved about the
wonderful group of people who had taken up his cause and treated him like they'd known
him all his life. I'll never forget what he said to me in that shaky voice demonstrating his
emotion: "I didn't even know these people, but not a single one of them ignited my spider
senses!"
I’d never heard the phrase “spider senses” but quickly realized that was his way of telling
me that he felt safe welcoming them into his home and appreciated their kindness. He
called me several times after that, just to say hello and give me an update on his pets.
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ngela
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6. YUKON JOHN
One thing the greater percentage of members in my community had in common was
geography. The tagline was "Go Local. Talk Local. Share Local." It was associated with a
news organization based in Raleigh, NC and the membership was largely local. That said,
not everyone lived in the immediate area. Several highly active members were residents
of South Carolina, and others lived much further away but once called the area home.
North Carolina was the common thread. They all cared deeply about the area and those
who lived elsewhere still had strong ties to what’s known as “the Triangle.”
One of the most famous locals lived in Alaska. He went by the name Yukon John and was
a breath of fresh air. Yukon offered different perspectives on many subjects and was
known for posting links to Alaska's Arctic Cam, informing us of the upcoming heat wave of
two degrees, (after several grueling weeks of 30 below) and reminding the community
how things were when he was a resident. It was Yukon John who introduced Alaska
governor Sarah Palin to the community in a blog many months before she was chosen as
the Vice-Presidential candidate. He thought she was interesting and smart and said in the
blog that she should "be on our radar."
When Yukon John indicated that he was coming home to spend some time with his
family, one member was moved to action and planned a get together. People wanted to
meet Yukon John and he wanted to meet some of the people he'd been communicating
with for more than a year.
The event was arranged and the community had a get together at a local pub, welcoming
Yukon home. They took lots of pictures and posted them in the community. Yukon called
me before and after the event. He was sorry I couldn't make it and vowed to meet me the
next time he came back to town. He chronicled the night a few weeks later and posted
many comments on the profile pages of those who attended, thanking them for such a
great time. They even put him up in a hotel nearby. The man traveled from Alaska to see
his family and ended up finding a new one.
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ngela
#powerofcommunity

7. A CONTEST, A LIMO AND A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
One afternoon I was given a set of concert tickets that could be given away in the
community. It was pretty late so I thought about holding on to them another day. Then I
thought about the fact that most people would need time to adjust their plans to
accommodate an unexpected concert so I decided to move quickly. I launched a contest,
as I often did when tickets to concerts and other local events fell into my lap, stating that
I’d be awarding one lucky member four tickets to see the bands Bad Company and The
Doobie Brothers. The tickets would go to the 20th person to post a comment expressing
their interest in attending. After a lot of virtual begging a winner was declared.
I noticed in the comment thread that there were three people who desperately wanted to
see the bands engaging in some serious conversations about why.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
When the winner contacted me to accept the tickets, she told me that she would be taking
those three members along with her since they all wanted to go so badly.
This was a group of people who'd only known one another from the community, making
arrangements to go to a concert together. It was a very nice gesture, but I have to admit I
was quite surprised. And it turned out that they did more than meet at a concert.
The next day, the winner of the tickets posted a photo gallery chronicling their evening
together. It included a limo ride, awesome dinner and ticket upgrades that resulted in a
night to remember and forged great new friendships.
One of the three members the winner invited to come along showed up at the meeting
location with a limo. Another purchased dinner and the other upgraded their tickets from
lawn seats to chairs with what they called "an amazing view." And to think, it all started
with a simple ticket giveaway.
This ebook is brought to you by:
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ngela
#powerofcommunity

8. WHEN A MEMBER DIES
When a long-time, faithful, beloved member of my online community died, it was painful
for many. It was unexpected and no one knew how to react. They started emailing and
calling one another, posting blogs and tributes and a few even called me directly.
Some had met him. Others had not. The majority of those who had not were still affected
by his death. He was a major presence in the community. His name was Studweiser. He
blogged regularly and posted thoughtful comments on the blogs of others.
He stood up for the underdog in debates and had developed close knit relationships with
many. I met him three times. Once at our one-year anniversary get together at Starbucks,
a second time when he and another member came over to the office for a quick cup of
coffee and a third time at a local festival when I was working the company booth. He and
his partner stopped by to say hello, and I introduced him to my daughters.
Studweiser was only 30. He died silently in his sleep. This news shook the community to
its core. He'd recently celebrated his 30th birthday and had invited some members of the
community to the party. Many had posted pictures illustrating the grand time.
He even invited me, but I had to decline.
His partner told me that when he started going through Studweiser’s cell phone to notify
his friends, many of the numbers listed belonged to members of the community.
These were not his life-long friends or college roommates but people who knew him from
an online community. The outpouring of emotion shown by community members the days
after his death was a true testament to the power of online communities. One member
posted an audio file of him singing, 'Redemption Song' and his funeral was attended by a
great number of members. His memory is still with me today.
This ebook is brought to you by:
Aonnor.com
ngela
#powerofcommunity

9. The screenshot above shows the tribute to community member Studweiser, the day we learned of
his death.
This ebook is brought to you by:
Aonnor.com
ngela
#powerofcommunity

10. In Conclusion
The stories you've just read are not necessarily quantifiable in dollars and cents, but they
are important. Communities bring people together. Communities breed loyalty.
Communities can also affect the bottom line if you invest and allow time to make it
happen.
If you have a community that reaches people and touches them, it is of tremendous
value. It's how you translate that value and align it with your goals and objectives that will
determine it's true worth.
About Angela Connor
Angela Connor is the author of "18 Rules of Community Engagement: A Guide for
Building Relationships and Connecting with Customers Online." (Happy About, 2009) She
is Senior Vice President, Group Director at Capstrat, a communications agency in
Raleigh, NC, where she heads the social media and media planning and buying teams.
Angela is devoted to helping brands successfully engage, and grow communities across
the social web. She speaks at conferences across the U.S. on social media and
community engagement.
You can contact Angela via Google voice at 919-374-0627, via twitter (@communitygirl)
or via email: angela@angelaconnor.com.
For more on Angela, see her LinkedIn profile.
This ebook is brought to you by:
Aonnor.com
ngela
#powerofcommunity