Online Communities: Indicators of Success

In my role as community steward and moderator for SCoPE I'm always looking for indicators of success. I do the usual routine checks, like how many people are creating accounts, logging in, contributing to discussions, accessing resources, and so on. (I say "and so on" realizing that I don't do enough in this area, and I have a lot to learn about what that "and so on" should include.)

I also keep an eye out for blog posts that mention SCoPE. Some bloggers help to spread the word about SCoPE events, and others link back to SCoPE discussions, such as this recent post by Clint Lalonde on his reflections during the Tools for Collaborating Online seminar.

But sometimes these indicators jump out at me in twitter, like Nancy White letting me know she mentioned SCoPE during her keynote presentation at the eLearning 2010 in Forth Worth, Texas (slides are here, and it's also available to watch online).

Nancy also added a couple links to contributions by SCoPE members on her History and Future of Online Facilitation wiki page.

Other times positive feedback from SCoPE members will land right in my inbox.  This is a recent post by Colby Stuart, a member since 2007.

Through my decades of collaboration in everything from the creative industry through to academic scientific communities and into the WWW or social networking, I have found SCoPE to be a place where the sheer joy of sharing, participation and playful encounter comes alive. In this space we share ideas, demonstrate tools, take each other into experiences with tools, platforms and spaces.

SCoPE has captured the essence of what creates a safe collaboration space. No one is left behind. There is room for each person to contribute and ask questions and never feel like they fall short in doing so. Even if we have no time, we still can follow and join in when time permits. It's our choice.

The platform and tools in SCoPE have grown as the people and group have communicated what they needs to grow. In other words, SCoPE services the continual growth of communication and collaboration by listening with resonance. Through that, SCoPE has serviced us all - so that we can focus and continue to share and learn from one another - on all levels.

SCoPE "is" a fine example of collaboration and the value that comes from that.

Thank you, Sylvia and everyone for that. We appreciate how much we enjoy this space to share, learn, contribute.

 And a few others in the last month or so:

Theresa Weel, in a forum post:

Scope is a great source for learning about collaborative tools, particularly because we roll up our collective sleeves and use them.

And in the same forum, a post by Deirdre Bonnycastle:

I agree even though my time is really minimal, I try to read something from SCoPE once a day.

So THANK YOU SCoPE members. These are all great examples of indicators of success in an online community! This type of feedback sure perks me up.