Interview with Barry Libert: "Online" is just a Channel for Communities

Online Community Report: Interview with Barry Libert, Rapid Insights

I wasn't sure if this was an interview or an advertisement, but it hit home once I got over the promotional tone of it.

This guy is the CEO of a firm that works with large companies to create online communities.

He makes a point that I think is true:

Online communities do not exist in a void. In fact, executives need to think of 'online' as simply a channel that is required by all communities to be successful. Consequently, it is only one channel - other channels are telephony (wire line and wireless) and brick and mortar. All three channels are essential to the success of building any community.

This point reminds me of the whole .com thing...

This point reminds me of the whole .com thing. When the .coms bombed, it was partially because a web site is not a business in itself. The bubble was built on the assumption that there was a new kind of business, the dot com.

At the end of the day though, the Internet and web sites are just a tool for a business. A web site is a means, not an end.

I think this is true for customer online communities too. The "online" in online community is just an adjective. It is just a means to the end of creating a community around a subject or business.

As the interview alludes to, I think that companies in the future will learn that they need to create a community of customers and they will have a number of choices in how to build communities. Doing it online will just be one choice of many. Of course, I also believe it may the most effective choice.

His conclusion was inspiring:

I am very excited about the future of communities, collaboration and its importance to business, commerce and our geopolitical world. In fact, as the world becomes increasingly connected, communities will play a more important role in business economics. However, communities as we know them will change. They will not only be online or off. And they will not just exist at home and among our friends and family. They will increasingly take on more political and economic significance. Consequently, vendors - be they software or services firms - will have to redefine themselves.