The Virtual Communities 2.0 "Cheers" Effect

Can I Come Out to Play?
Originally uploaded by (angela).

I worked at a large Australian start-up in the 90's crudely named 'Virtual Communities' whose economics was built around bridging the digital divide. It still does and I just bought my 14.1 Ibook from them. It's nice to have mainly worked (full-time that is) on businesses whose livelihood continue on past the capital raising, newspaper articles, page impressions and Aeron Chairs.

What Robert Young's post on Om's blog gets right is that in a world where setting up a website costs the same as the film graduate making his first 'feature' on digital film, "community" is the glue that keeps online customers loyal. Paranoid Left-ists might see it as a 'passifier'. (how many of us leave a bank when dissatisfied) Why switch from flickr, when "people know my (user) name (and rss feed)". Interesting to note that google's community is very weak; Blogger has a community but not integrated, nor have they moved the G-Titanic, in the same way Yahoo's "The Network is 'I'" new products (myweb, 360, planned feed syndication) is focused around building a community layer, and keeping the Y-Brand.

"It won’t be the corporation that locks its customers into a walled garden any more; instead, it will be the people themselves who create their own high switching costs. For instance, if you are an eBay seller, your switching cost is not so much the relationship you’ve created with eBay itself and the store you set up, it’s the reputation and trust you spent years building with fellow members of the community. Similarly, if you are a member of MySpace, it’s not the web-page and blog you spent time constructing, it’s your social network of cyber-friends you’ve cultivated and accumulated over time."

Ironically the 'online' plan I presented to Virtual Communities, many eon's ago was based on the merging of The 3 C's : Content, Community + Commerce. Not much has changed Mr Danzer, or was that Becker.

"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo - Cheers Lyrics

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.
Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you've got;
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
All those night when you've got no lights,
The check is in the mail;
And your little angel
Hung the cat up by it's tail;
And your third fiance didn't show;
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.
Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee's dead;
The morning's looking bright;
And your shrink ran off to Europe,
And didn't even write;
And your husband wants to be a girl;
Be glad there's one place in the world
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to go where people know,
People are all the same;
You want to go where everybody knows your name.
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came..."

Full Lyrics never actually aired