A blog community is like a social network device. They enhance communication and connections between people from different groups that have an identical mentality (Kinkeldei 2007). It allows people to share thoughts, review news and stay connected with their fellow enthusiasts.
Types of blogging community
According to (White 2006) there are 3 different types of blogging communities.
Source: (White, 2006)
1. One blog centric community : A community that is dependent one main blogger (person/organization)
2. Topic centric community : A community that is dependent on common topics of interest
3. Boundaried community: A community that is represented by a collection of blogs and its readers on a specific platform
How to create a blog community?
There are five different ways to create your own blogging community. Echoed in blog post (Holman 2011)
1. Reach out to professional bloggers
- Connecting with bloggers who are more established and experienced to gain know knowledge
2. Respond to commenters
- Responding to people who leave comments on your blog in the comment section
3. Write posts in reaction to others
- Writing about what others wrote to engage in conversation and build connections
4. Create a local blogger meet-up
- An actual meeting in real life can help expand the existing community that you have
Keywords mania 2011) offers information about Xanga.com which is an example of a blogging community. You can upload photos and videos online hence increasing networking. Some group examples include: arts and humanities, entertainment, business and finance, etc.
Xanga has incorporated one of White's models, mainly topic centric community which binds bloggers by a particular interest be it food or politics. Thus Xanga has created a platform for them to "meet" new people and share their common interests with one another by "journalling" or uploading photos. This community will then grow as each member of the community finds a common fan and they find another common fan. It acts like a chain reaction of similar interest people.
So how do people even begin if they want to be a part of a particular community? According to Osberg (2009) some of the ways include leaving comments on other blogs. This will help them (other bloggers) know more about you and you, more about them (through their feedback).
Another would be to join conversations on Twitter. Over 70% of Twitter users have blogs, it would be a good place to start. You could reply the tweets or others or post tweets of your own and gain feedback but do not feel shy or uncomfortable to reply the tweets or people you don't know, it's on Twitter for the purpose of gaining feedback anyway.
Xanga has incorporated one of White's models, mainly topic centric community which binds bloggers by a particular interest be it food or politics. Thus Xanga has created a platform for them to "meet" new people and share their common interests with one another by "journalling" or uploading photos. This community will then grow as each member of the community finds a common fan and they find another common fan. It acts like a chain reaction of similar interest people.
So how do people even begin if they want to be a part of a particular community? According to Osberg (2009) some of the ways include leaving comments on other blogs. This will help them (other bloggers) know more about you and you, more about them (through their feedback).
Another would be to join conversations on Twitter. Over 70% of Twitter users have blogs, it would be a good place to start. You could reply the tweets or others or post tweets of your own and gain feedback but do not feel shy or uncomfortable to reply the tweets or people you don't know, it's on Twitter for the purpose of gaining feedback anyway.
In my opinion, I think Xanga's efforts are great. We are now more exposed to like-minded people like ourselves and it has given groups like housewives or stay at home dads an avenue to channel their creative thoughts as well. Blogging communities help us find our "kind" of people. It is important to express in accordance to one's passions and interests.
References
1. Kinkeldei, B 2007, Blog Communities: Forging Connections and Promoting Growth Through Blog Communities, Whitepaper, 21publish, viewed 23 August 2011,
2. White, N 2006, Blogs and Community - launching a new paradigm for online community?, The Knowledge Tree, viewed 23 August 2011,
3. Holman, K 2011, How To Create A Blogging Community', spice up your blog, blog posting, March 26, viewed 23 August 2011,
4. Keywords Mania 2011, Xanga.com - The Blogging Community, viewed 23 August 2011,
<http://keywordsmania.com/www.xanga.com.html>.
5. Osberg, R 2009, 5 ways to Join the Blogging Community, viewed 26 October 2011,
<http://weblogbetter.com/2010/11/09/5-ways-to-join-the-blogging-community/>
5. Osberg, R 2009, 5 ways to Join the Blogging Community, viewed 26 October 2011,
<http://weblogbetter.com/2010/11/09/5-ways-to-join-the-blogging-community/>
Apply one of White's models on Xanga.com & comment on the tools people use to join the community.
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