Community, comments, the open web & Facebook (Top3ics, 24 Sept)

So sue me - last week’s newsletter didn’t appear. I am hustling for work, you know.

In compensation, 3.5 topics today. As always, feedback welcome below, browse all issues, & subscribe.   

Get with the community

I’ve Hub’d a few more resources on community -  inevitable, given that:

• I’m holding a Hangout Live on Air on the topic in a few hours (16h30 CET, to be exact) with Steve Clift (a White House Champion for Open Government) and two other experts in online community management. You can watch live and tweet your questions to #europcommunity.
  
• I’m experimenting with Knowledge Hub, a community platform aimed specifically at the public sector, and recently opened an Online Group connected to the EuroPCom conference. As this post makes clear, K-Hub have engaged me for a few days, but my views remain my own

So, apart from watching us foul up live on YouTube, I’d recommend you read:

• Designing for Communities of Interest, a “basic framework to make sense of the amoebic chaos of communities”
  
• The Daily Hate: Corbyn, Trump and the New Politics of Spite, which explains how online media has transformed identity politics: “What would previously have been isolated cases of parochial bigotry with no outlet to vent are now thriving global sub-communities… ”
  
• How audience engagement editors are guiding online discussions - because where news organisations go, you should probably think about following …

More:  71 posts tagged community

The death and rebirth of comments

Or maybe you don’t need engagement editors because your site won’t feature comments? After all, What happened after 7 news sites got rid of reader comments makes it clear that all of them excepting the Verge won’t be going back, and see social media as “the new arena for commenting”.

On the other hand, do you really want to follow legacy publishers like Reuters and USA Today, or seek inspiration from ‘digital native’ publishers? After all:

• Digg is building a new commenting platform “that encourages conversation around stories and can help create community on Digg, instead of farming out that chatter to Twitter or Facebook”
  
• If your website’s full of assholes, it’s your fault (quite frankly, a must-read)
• Bad comments are a system failure (more polite, same message)
  

More: 50 resources tagged comments

The death of the open web?

If you’re wondering where the Web is headed, you need to read:

• Analysis: Welcome to hell: Apple vs. Google vs. Facebook and the slow death of the web 
  
• Platforms, distribution and audience - a more nuanced look
  
• Still confused? The ad blocking controversy, explained

More: 7 posts tagged open web.

Good news from Facebook?

While Facebook’s Instant Articles are part of the 3-way carve that will leave nothing behind:

• they’re using RSS for it, which just might allow independent publishers to live
  
• they might change the world with a ‘dislike’ button, according to Why a Facebook “Dislike” Button Could Transform Online Media

More: 97 posts tagged Facebook