FreshNetworks Blog

Photo-sharing site Flickr has a large and successful online community. People upload content, share and exchange stories and ideas and interact through their site. But building this large community has meant a dedicated and long-term strategy. George Oates from Flickr explains how the community was grown in a new post here.

The key, as George describes, is to accept that “People don’t like being told what to do. We like to explore, change things around, and make a place our own.”

You should read the post for more details, but Flickr’s community growth strategy can be summarised in eight points:

1. Create a space where people want to play
2. A community needs to be nurtured. Prepare for slow and steady growth if it is to succeed, don’t expect it to happen all at once
3. Let the personal voice shine through. The design of the community should be simple; it’s all about the interaction and honesty
4. Help people to explore the community. Make it simple for them to find their way around and point them in the right direction
5. Identity is crucial. A community will grow more successfully if members aren’t anonymous
6. You need guidelines (not necessarily rules) - people need to know what they should and shouldn’t do. What’s expected of them and others in the community
7. Create a rich environment. Breadth of experience is important and will help attract people to and then keep them at the community
8. Be open. Participate yourself and be truthful and honest about who you are. If people trust you they’ll take part.