采访-在线社区报告的Jim Cashel

Communities have been around since the beginning of the Web. Many have come and gone, and some have survived several economic downturns and varying levels of interest and disinterest.

自从网络开始以来，社区就已经出现了。 许多来来去去，有些还幸免于数次经济衰退以及不同程度的兴趣和不兴趣。

Because communities are about people we can be sure that many sites will decide to integrate communities into their overall offering, and that many Webmasters will seek the ways and wisdom of those with experience as they craft their fledgling communities.

因为社区是关于人的，所以我们可以确保许多站点将决定将社区整合到他们的整体产品中，并且许多网站管理员将在创建新兴社区时寻求有经验的人的方式和智慧。

Jim Cashel is the Chairman of OnlineCommunityReport and Forum One. Having been involved in online community and communication since the foundations of the Web, Jim offers extremely interesting insights into the Web community at large…

Jim Cashel是OnlineCommunityReport和Forum One的主席。 自从Web创立以来，Jim就一直从事在线社区和通信的工作，他为整个Web社区提供了非常有趣的见解...

SitePoint: You’re Chairman of your own Web strategy and development firm, and before that you helped found a grant-making organization. What inspired you to start a newsletter about communities in the first place?

SitePoint：您是您自己的Web战略和开发公司的董事长，在此之前，您曾帮助建立了一个捐款组织。 是什么促使您首先开始撰写有关社区的新闻通讯？

It was clear to us that through history there has been great progress in point to point communications (telegraph, telephone, fax…) and in broadcast communications (books, radio, television). But corresponding progress hadn’t evolved in the realm of group communications.

我们很清楚，在历史上，点对点通信(电报，电话，传真…)和广播通信(书，广播，电视)都取得了长足的进步。 但是在群体交流领域并没有相应的进步。

The dominant form of group communications today is still the face-to-face business meeting — not so different than 2000 years ago. Online communities, however, can change all this. We see this as a potent trend, and one we want to track.

如今，团体通讯的主要形式仍然是面对面的商务会议，与2000年前相差无几。 但是，在线社区可以改变所有这一切。 我们认为这是一种强大的趋势，也是我们想要跟踪的趋势。

SP: What’s the history of OnlineCommunityReport? Where did it all begin? And how long did it take you to get the Report to the point it’s at today?

SP：OnlineCommunityReport的历史是什么？ 这一切从哪里开始？ 您花了多长时间将报告更新到今天？

We launched the newsletter in 1997 at that time when communities were beginning to flourish on the Web: portals were adding message boards, chat had boomed, and group communications technologies were appearing in many new formats.

我们在1997年发布通讯，当时社区开始在Web上蓬勃发展：门户网站增加了留言板，聊天功能兴旺，而群组通讯技术也以许多新形式出现。

We wanted to track the news and trends in online group collaboration — and perhaps help define the identity of the sector to some extent. At this stage we publish twice monthly for an "opt in" subscriber base of about 15,000.

我们想跟踪在线团队合作的新闻和趋势-也许可以在某种程度上帮助定义该行业的身份。 在此阶段，我们每月发布两次，以供大约15,000个“选择加入”的订阅者使用。

SP: Do you see any particular technologies or initiatives which will truly advance "in group" communications to the point where we’ll be able to revolutionize our habitual communication patterns of the last 2000 years?

SP：您是否看到任何特定技术或计划能够真正推动“群体”交流，从而使我们能够彻底改变过去2000年的习惯性交流方式？

I don’t think there’s any one technology that will revolutionize communications, but I do think that perhaps 50 relevant technologies will improve to the point where new models are possible.

我认为没有任何一种技术可以使通信发生革命性的变化，但是我确实认为，也许有50种相关技术将得到改进，以至于有可能建立新模型。

If you start with a capable platform such as Yahoo Groups, which provides a suite of useful services, and imagine that these will be enhanced in coming years through better bandwidth, video, voice recognition, always-on access, and smarter profiling, you can start to imagine very powerful possibilities.

如果您从诸如Yahoo Groups之类的功能强大的平台入手，该平台提供了一系列有用的服务，并设想在未来几年中将通过更好的带宽，视频，语音识别，始终在线访问和更智能的配置来增强这些功能，那么您可以开始想象非常强大的可能性。

SP: Why do you think community has become such an integral part of the online experience?

SP：您为什么认为社区已成为在线体验中不可或缺的一部分？

The Web helps solve a number of problems that real world communities face: geography, convenience, social issues, etc. For this reason communities are embedding themselves into every corner of the Web.

Web帮助解决了现实世界社区所面临的许多问题：地理，便利性，社会问题等。因此，社区将自己嵌入到Web的每个角落。

SP: So how would you define a "healthy community"? Have you seen any truly healthy communities on the Web?

SP：那么您将如何定义“健康社区”？ 您是否在网络上看到过任何真正健康的社区？

I’d say a healthy community is simply one in which its members benefit from participation in the community (and "benefit" can refer to lots of things — information, social connection, entertainment…). Using this definition I’d say there are hundreds of thousands of healthy communities across the Web.

我想说，一个健康的社区只是其成员从参与社区中受益的一个社区(“好处”可以指很多东西-信息，社交联系，娱乐……)。 使用这个定义，我想说网络上有成千上万的健康社区。

SP: Are you satisfied with the growth and quality of existing online communities? Or do you think that the Internet as a whole has more work to do with regards to online communities?

SP：您对现有在线社区的增长和质量感到满意吗？ 还是您认为整个互联网在处理在线社区方面还有更多工作要做？

I’m certain that there will be major evolution in the sector throughout the decade. The most significant trend is that the high profile "everybody welcome" communities will shrink (mostly for economic reasons), but those that cater to clearly defined audiences and needs will proliferate.

我敢肯定，整个十年该行业将有重大发展。 最显着的趋势是，知名度很高的“所有人都欢迎”的社区将减少(主要是出于经济原因)，但是迎合明确定义的受众和需求的社区将会激增。

SP: To build and maintain a community can certainly be costly. How can individuals and companies justify the expense associated with running an active community? Are there any numbers on how online communities benefit companies’ bottom-lines?

SP：建立和维护社区肯定是昂贵的。 个人和公司如何证明与运营活跃社区相关的费用？ 在线社区如何使公司的底线受益？

This is an important question, in part because running communities really can be expensive. I know that Participate.com and PeopleLink each have studies that detail the ROI of communities. I’ll be the first to admit, though, that it’s hard to produce precise numbers, because some of the benefits of community (loyalty, branding, etc.), are hard to quantify.

这是一个重要的问题，部分原因是因为运营社区确实很昂贵。 我知道Participate.com和PeopleLink都进行了详细研究社区投资回报率的研究。 但是，我将第一个承认，很难得出准确的数字，因为很难量化社区的某些收益(忠诚度，品牌效应等)。

SP: What do you suggest is the best way for the average Webmaster to attract new members to their community? If they install a bulletin board on their site, does that mean they have a "community" or is there more too it than that? What are the other major factors to building a "community"?

SP：您认为普通网站管理员吸引新成员加入其社区的最佳方法是什么？ 如果他们在自己的站点上安装公告板，是否意味着他们拥有“社区”，或者是否还有比这个更多的社区？ 建立“社区”的其他主要因素是什么？

As many groups have learned from hard experience, a simple bulletin board does not a community make! I’d say the most important strategy towards building a community is to understand that the bulletin board typically comes last, after the provision of quality information, increasing traffic, targeted email strategies, simple engagement technologies (polls, guest books etc.), and short online events.

正如许多团体从辛苦的经验中学到的那样，一个简单的公告板并非社区所能造！ 我想说，建立社区的最重要策略是了解公告板通常排在最后，这是在提供质量信息，增加流量，针对性的电子邮件策略，简单的参与技术(民意调查，来宾簿等)之后以及简短的在线活动。

SP: Which online forums do you participate in (if any)? Which are your favorites – and what makes them so good?

SP：您参加哪些在线论坛(如果有)？ 您最喜欢的是哪几项？什么使它们如此出色？

I track a lot of forums. I’m a big fan of slashdot because of the engagement of the community and the excellent use of technology. I think Salon does a nice job. The most interesting communities for me, however, are the small and obscure ones that happen to correspond closely with my interests, be they professional or personal.

我追踪了很多论坛。 我是slashdot的忠实拥护者，因为社区的参与和技术的出色运用。 我认为沙龙做得很好。 但是，对我而言，最有趣的社区是规模较小且晦涩难懂的社区，它们恰好与我的兴趣紧密相关，无论是专业人士还是个人。

SP: And do you have any preference for community/bulletin board software packages?

SP：您对社区/公告板软件包有什么偏爱？

I’m a fan of ezboard. They have about a half billion monthly page views, so they must be doing something right. The Open Topic folks have done a lot of impressive work. And I respect much of the work of Web Crossing. There are other noteworthy initiatives as well.

我是ezboard的粉丝。 他们每月有大约五亿的页面浏览量，所以他们必须做正确的事。 开放主题的人们做了很多令人印象深刻的工作。 而且我尊重Web Crossing的许多工作。 还有其他值得注意的举措。

SP: How can a site owner or company make existing members return to, and be active in their community? What should be the balance between acquisition and retention — which is more important to the health and sustenance of an online community?

SP：网站所有者或公司如何使现有成员返回并在其社区中活跃？ 获取和保留之间的平衡应该是什么？这对于在线社区的健康和维持更为重要？

There are many different steps that would be listed in a comprehensive answer, but I’d say a key issue is to understand that your community really revolves around a fairly small number of key contributors. You need to coddle and reward those key contributors. I also think the integration of email with the community is critical.

一个全面的答案中将列出许多不同的步骤，但是我要说的一个关键问题是要了解您的社区确实围绕着相当少的关键贡献者。 您需要抚养和奖励那些关键贡献者。 我也认为电子邮件与社区的集成至关重要。

SP: What do you see as the future for online communities? What will stay the same? And what aspects will evolve?

SP：您如何看待在线社区的未来？ 什么会保持不变？ 哪些方面会发展？

I mentioned previously the important trend towards community specificity. Other trends that are important include an increased reliance on email and "always-on" access to communities through various communications technologies. I think in the future, we’ll all communicate in some way with groups through these new technologies without thinking much about it.

我之前提到了社区特异性的重要趋势。 其他重要的趋势包括对电子邮件的依赖增加以及通过各种通信技术对社区的“始终在线”访问。 我认为，将来，我们所有人都会通过这些新技术以某种方式与小组进行沟通，而无需考虑太多。

SP: You’ve had a lot of entrepreneurial experience, both offline and on. What advice would you give to aspiring Web entrepreneurs?

SP：您在离线和在线上都有很多创业经验。 您将向有抱负的Web企业家提供什么建议？

It’s a bit paradoxical, but my main advice would be "be wary of advice". A lot of entrepreneurship relies on using your own judgment. Sure, lots of people have experience in starting companies, but their experience may or may not be relevant to you. Do what you think makes sense — don’t simply accept prevailing wisdom.

这有点自相矛盾，但是我的主要建议是“警惕建议”。 许多企业家精神取决于您自己的判断。 当然，很多人都有创办公司的经验，但是他们的经验可能与您无关。 做您认为有意义的事-不要简单地接受普遍的智慧。

SP: So what are your plans for the future? Do you have any new projects in the works?

SP：那么您对未来有什么计划？ 您是否有任何新项目在进行中？

I spend most of my time working with my colleagues to build a smart Web strategy and development firm, Forum One. We have 25 folks now, have always enjoyed profitability, and hope to keep a good thing going. On the community front the most interesting work involves hard thinking with some large companies about the proper role of community in both their internal and external programs. We’re also building some innovative community sites which will be launched later this year.

我将大部分时间都花在与同事一起上，以建立一个明智的Web战略和开发公司Forum One。 现在，我们有25个人，一直享受着盈利，并希望继续保持良好发展。 在社区方面，最有趣的工作涉及与一些大公司一起认真思考社区在内部和外部计划中的适当角色。 我们还正在建设一些创新的社区站点，这些站点将在今年晚些时候启动。

翻译自: https://www.sitepoint.com/online-community-report/