In this week’s summary my focus is on online community. One of the very interesting findings I have is about learning the piano online. I am very surprised to know that there are over 40,000 subscriptions for the YouTuber LessonsOnTheWeb! The Youtuber delivered the class in YouTube as well as LiveStream. It is somehow similar to MOOCs to offer free online piano learning to people in the world and it encourages learners to exchange ideas.
Online community can effectively share information and create value to the group. In the case “Online community to deter crime”, the shop owner created the community originally to share and update some digital knowledge, and ultimately intended to promote their shop. It then served the purpose to share crime information to their followers and successfully identified the thief with the help from other community members. This inspires me that communities of practice is supposed to focus on a defined subject to share and discuss. When common interest arises, this can be extended to other topics.
Another input this week is about generating revenue from online communities. In the video, Patrick O’Keefe suggested methods of monetization ranging from direct advertising and affiliate links to classifieds, product sales and premium memberships. In learning communities, this could also be promoting readings or conferences on certain topics for the target group. I believe there can be more monetization possibilities especially with popularity of digital education.
References:
There is a Place for Learning Piano Online: Community Discussion
Online community to deter crime
How to Monetize Your Online Community