The time has come to sign off. To look back on a blog experience that started at the beginning of this module. And it has been quite the ride. It was interesting keeping a blog again. Though it also showed me that keeping a blog is more work then i expected. It's fun to share your thoughts with the world, yet it's so easy to loose track. Becoming part of a community was fun though and to really delve into it instead of lurking and standing on the side lines so to speak.
The community i became part of during the past weeks was the community on fangoria.com. I have always been a fan of horror and i like to stay up to date on all things horror. Especially news about upcoming movies and reviews. This 'hobby' had lead me to the website of Fangoria before, but i never got as far as their main page. After i got this assignment i noticed they had a message board, so that made the choice to pick a community a little easier. This way i could emerse myself in the world of horror, a hobby of mine, and at the same time complete this assignment. A win-win situation.
The registration process wasn't difficult. It is quite easy to join this community and it only requires little personal information such as a name, username and password to join. I think they were wise doing this, because it might scare potential members away when they have to give out lots of information about themselves in order to join. Once you become a member you can update your profile with your own tagline and date of birth, hobbies etc. So Fangoria still gives members the oppertunity to create their own persona on the message board. Which i think is a wise choice because this can make it easier to connect to other members.
Which, by the way, was something they handled well too. On the message board they had thread where newcomers could introduce themselves to the community. By starting a topic about yourself you could show the other members who you are and why you joined the community. I think this a good way to introduce new members since it can be overwhelming having to participate in already ongoing converstations. Especially on a community that's filled with 'regular' users. Which fangoria has its fair share of. I could introduce myself and be welcomed into the community before starting to post in the other threads.
The first weeks on the message board were a little weird. This because it took some time getting used to the way of posting from other members. I had to go with the flow. I started posting my opinions on reviews, which lead to some discussions with other members. I liked the fact they were responding to my post, because that gives you the feeling you're part of the community.
That was also the reason why i kept going back. The more i posted and the more active i was, i could see and experience i was becoming a part of the community. To me, i think that's essential in creating a good community. Give users the feeling they're part of the community and they keep coming back for more.
Looking back on my involvement in the community i can say i was a regular participant. I tried to be active on a daily basis posting a comment or create my own topic from time to time. I found that creating own topics is the best way to get other users involved and get in touch with them. At this point i can't really say i got real friends out of it, but there's certain members i can relate to.
The only thing i missed was moderators that would react to certain profanities. I've been on other message boards before but those times i was mostly a lurker. Nevertheless, i could see how moderators would react in certain situations. Especially when newcomers would get involved in discussions and regular members would gang up on them. I think fangoria's moderators should invest more time in making sure this doesn't happen. This shows that even a topic to introduce yourself isn't enough to put yourself out there. That was one of the things i would change should i be running the community.
The organization of the community itself was working well. I mean, they have moderators and it is possible to reach a certain status inside the community. The community was divided in several categories and subcategories which made it easy to find threads and information to your liking. So for a newcomer it was pretty easy to find my way around the community and get familiar with the way they organised it.
In conclusion i can say that i enjoyed the time i spend on fangoria. It was a different experience from being mostly a lurker to being actively involved in a community. It can be a rewarding and fun experience, but you have to be willing to invest time in it. I liked the way the community was set up and how things were organized and can see me going back in the future.
All in all it has been an interesting time keeping a blog and getting to know the fangoria community.
I hope you enjoyed my posts because the time has come to... sign off.
zondag 22 november 2009
Twitter word of the year 2009.
Today I was listening to the radio when I heard this on the news.
Twitteren is the word of the year 2009 in the Netherlands.
This clearly shows twitter has become a 'thing' this year and that we can't ignore this media platform anymore. Twitter will become the new thing to do.
I like to twitter myself from time to time. Sometimes i completely forget to do it for a couple of days, but other days i can post several times a day.
I think we will see and hear a lot more about the twitter in the years to come. It's rising in popularity and more and more companies start using this service.
And now twitteren has become the word of the year 2009, it will only be a matter of time until we all add to our online profiles the hobby: twitteren.
Twitteren is the word of the year 2009 in the Netherlands.
This clearly shows twitter has become a 'thing' this year and that we can't ignore this media platform anymore. Twitter will become the new thing to do.
I like to twitter myself from time to time. Sometimes i completely forget to do it for a couple of days, but other days i can post several times a day.
I think we will see and hear a lot more about the twitter in the years to come. It's rising in popularity and more and more companies start using this service.
And now twitteren has become the word of the year 2009, it will only be a matter of time until we all add to our online profiles the hobby: twitteren.
zondag 8 november 2009
So you wanna be a moderator?
In class we discussed about moderators and also in our project assignment this is an aspect we have to think of. That's why i did some research and came across these sites that kinda lay some ground rules about moderating and checking if you have what it takes to be a moderator.
As for me, i think a moderator status would be too time consuming. I like it more to just do my thing instead of keeping track of everyones actions on the community. But hey, if you want to be one, check out these sites.
What is a community leader? Are you one?
Community builders
As for me, i think a moderator status would be too time consuming. I like it more to just do my thing instead of keeping track of everyones actions on the community. But hey, if you want to be one, check out these sites.
What is a community leader? Are you one?
Community builders
Delving into the gory fandom
I had some time now to become part of the community on fangoria.com and i must say it's been an interesting journey. As i said before, i've been on forums before but mostly just as a 'lurker'. That way i've already seen how communities react to newcomers and sometimes it ain't easy to get your 'spot' amongst the regular peers.
What i like about fangoria is that in their forums they have a section called 'welcome center'. This way you can introduce yourself to the community so that they have an idea of who the new guy is. I like the idea of this since you aren't thrown into the community without being able to tell them who you are and what you're like.
Fangoria has a good overview and cleary devided everything into caterogies such as off topic, entertainment, user creations. This way you can easily navigate the forums and go to the place you are most interested in.
It's been cool to read up on the latest reviews and upcoming movies and offer my thoughts on these which lead to conversations with other fans. It hasnt developed friendships yet, but i'm slowly starting to feel, at least for a little bit, part of the community over there.
What i have learned so far is that with little time you can already become part of a community. It doesn't recuire you to be online every single minute of your free time. And it is due to this fact im liking it more and more. So i guess that's a good thing right.
What i like about fangoria is that in their forums they have a section called 'welcome center'. This way you can introduce yourself to the community so that they have an idea of who the new guy is. I like the idea of this since you aren't thrown into the community without being able to tell them who you are and what you're like.
Fangoria has a good overview and cleary devided everything into caterogies such as off topic, entertainment, user creations. This way you can easily navigate the forums and go to the place you are most interested in.
It's been cool to read up on the latest reviews and upcoming movies and offer my thoughts on these which lead to conversations with other fans. It hasnt developed friendships yet, but i'm slowly starting to feel, at least for a little bit, part of the community over there.
What i have learned so far is that with little time you can already become part of a community. It doesn't recuire you to be online every single minute of your free time. And it is due to this fact im liking it more and more. So i guess that's a good thing right.
A blog life...
It's been a while since i started this blog and i have to say it's been an interesting time to realize things. First of all, i had no idea keeping a blog once a week would be this hard. Maybe that has something to do with the thing that i had never blogged, on a weekly base, before. It's so easy to get caught in your everyday things and at the end it's like... o yeah my blog. So with this post i'm trying to mark my return so to speak.
As i said i had been browsing the net and i came across some usefull sites about keeping blogs and things to keep in mind when writing a blog. Since for many of us this is the first time we're actively keeping a blog, this might come in handy.
(this link gives 20 tips for better blogging, though it is in Dutch)
20 tips for better blogging
(this page provides links to other sites with tips and tricks)
blogging for beginners
As i said i had been browsing the net and i came across some usefull sites about keeping blogs and things to keep in mind when writing a blog. Since for many of us this is the first time we're actively keeping a blog, this might come in handy.
(this link gives 20 tips for better blogging, though it is in Dutch)
20 tips for better blogging
(this page provides links to other sites with tips and tricks)
blogging for beginners
zondag 18 oktober 2009
Facebook it.
I think almost everyone has heard about Facebook by now or better yet, has their own Facebook page. Facebook is an example of today's social media and it's growing in popularity all over the world.
For all of the Facebook users out there, I found this video on Youtube which I found to point out some of the 'lesser' and even annoying parts of Facebook. You might or might not agree with them but check it out. This shows that eventhough your idea for a community might rise to great popularity, you still have to be on the lookout for improvements. And yes, I do agree with most of this guy's points.
For all of the Facebook users out there, I found this video on Youtube which I found to point out some of the 'lesser' and even annoying parts of Facebook. You might or might not agree with them but check it out. This shows that eventhough your idea for a community might rise to great popularity, you still have to be on the lookout for improvements. And yes, I do agree with most of this guy's points.
Part of a community...
Well, i've been trying to find my way on fangoria and seeing what it is all about. And so far it's been ok. It takes some effort to become engaged at a community. You have to be willing to put time in it and through that establish a persona inside the community. This way you start to connect with other members. I'm usually more the lurking type so sometimes I really have to push myself in order to comment or really contribute something legit to the topic. Though i have to admit it's been interesting to be more active on a forum. I still have a way to go and things to uncover but i'm enjoying 'the ride'. More on that 'ride' next time.
Taking the 'lead'.
Last time in class discussion we talked about how to be a 'leader' on your community or how to lead it. When setting up a community it is always important to understand and know how to maintain order and make sure your community will become a place where people enjoy coming to and engage with others.
Sometimes this is easier said then done and for newcomers it might come in handy to have some support. When browsing the net I came across this forum. It's a resource for owners and administrators of online communities. Since we're making an online community of our own in class and we also have to think about this stuff, this site might be useful and maybe provide you with the answer to a problem you've been looking for!
www.theadminzone.com
Sometimes this is easier said then done and for newcomers it might come in handy to have some support. When browsing the net I came across this forum. It's a resource for owners and administrators of online communities. Since we're making an online community of our own in class and we also have to think about this stuff, this site might be useful and maybe provide you with the answer to a problem you've been looking for!
www.theadminzone.com
zondag 4 oktober 2009
Entering the world of Horror.
Well it's time to continue my ramblings about my journey into the world of the Horror fandom. In my last blog I mentioned I was going to join the Fangoria community. And so I did.
I've been hearing all these fancy stories from classmates that joined different communities and got all these questions when creating a profile. Well, that wasn't the case at Fangoria. To register they only want your username, a valid e-mail and password. And then there's these two weird questions about what year it is? I mean, that was kinda weird to ask. But i guess it's all for a reason. To conclude the registration process I had to agree to their rules and confirm I was 13 years or older. And after all that the gates to the Fangoria community were opened.
Once you entered the community you can update your profile with a signature, gender, location and set how you want to receive e-mails and updates. It's kinda minimalistic, so your behaviour on the community itself will define your personality to others since you can't really get that information out of the profiles.
Well I'm a member of the community so now it's time to start digging and become an 'active'. I already saw they have a topic section to introduce yourself so I'm thinking that will be my next step! I'll let you all know what will follow so come back soon for more!
To be continued...
I've been hearing all these fancy stories from classmates that joined different communities and got all these questions when creating a profile. Well, that wasn't the case at Fangoria. To register they only want your username, a valid e-mail and password. And then there's these two weird questions about what year it is? I mean, that was kinda weird to ask. But i guess it's all for a reason. To conclude the registration process I had to agree to their rules and confirm I was 13 years or older. And after all that the gates to the Fangoria community were opened.
Once you entered the community you can update your profile with a signature, gender, location and set how you want to receive e-mails and updates. It's kinda minimalistic, so your behaviour on the community itself will define your personality to others since you can't really get that information out of the profiles.
Well I'm a member of the community so now it's time to start digging and become an 'active'. I already saw they have a topic section to introduce yourself so I'm thinking that will be my next step! I'll let you all know what will follow so come back soon for more!
To be continued...
It's you but also not.
After last weeks discussion in class about virtual personalities I came across a video on youtube about virtual personalities or avatars. It showed this created avatar saying a, what seemed, prerecorded message. It looked kinda interesting so I visited the website that was displayed in the movie.
It appeared to be a website about MiVatars, which according to this site are:
"MiVatars are animated lifelike, interactive Avatars designed to enhance the way you communicate with your friends across social networks and more. Forget about boring, lifeless emoticons and download a miVatar today and change the way you engage your social network on sites like Facebook, MySpace and more."
They have a bunch of these MiVatars on there, each with a few different lines to say. I figured that this might've been interesting to share. Maybe some of you out there like them, to spice up your Facebook page or whatever social network you're using.
The idea of it is interesting, at least I think so. We all crave to create characters online. For example the use of avatars (BuddyPoke!)on the Dutch social network site 'Hyves' has become quite the succes. They appear on a lot of profiles these days. So there's a certain need we have for these cartoony characters to reflect our persona.
It looks like the people behind the MiVatars haven't taken it to its full potential, but there's still some free ones to grab. So who knows? There might be a Mivatar to your liking. And we all like free stuff!
maandag 28 september 2009
Fans of gore...
Alright, finally it's time to reveal the community i deciced to join. I've been giving this a lot of thought since the community i wanted to join would have to be one that I would like to participate in and enjoy spending time on.
So after browsing the web I decided to become a member of the Fangoria community. For the ones out there that don't know what Fangoria is a quick explanation. Basically Fangoria is a website about all things Horror. From news about upcoming releases to reviews from DVD's and new movies.
I came across this website a couple months ago and i've been going back there to stay up to date on the latest news. But it wasn't until now I saw they also have a community going on. So that made my decision a lot easier. I mean, people that get to know me will quickly find out I'm a big fan of horror movies. It's often called like, my dark side. So I figured this would be a community that would be interesting to join to meet other fans of the genre and be able to ramble about movies, news and what not.
So yeah, i'm gonna dive into the world of horror and see what that's like. And ofcourse keep you all updated on how this community rolls and works!
Till the next!
So after browsing the web I decided to become a member of the Fangoria community. For the ones out there that don't know what Fangoria is a quick explanation. Basically Fangoria is a website about all things Horror. From news about upcoming releases to reviews from DVD's and new movies.
I came across this website a couple months ago and i've been going back there to stay up to date on the latest news. But it wasn't until now I saw they also have a community going on. So that made my decision a lot easier. I mean, people that get to know me will quickly find out I'm a big fan of horror movies. It's often called like, my dark side. So I figured this would be a community that would be interesting to join to meet other fans of the genre and be able to ramble about movies, news and what not.
So yeah, i'm gonna dive into the world of horror and see what that's like. And ofcourse keep you all updated on how this community rolls and works!
Till the next!
donderdag 24 september 2009
Rik blogs?!
I never thought i would be blogging again so soon. (Last year i kept a blog about my adventures in the United States as an exchange student.) But yes, here i am again.
The reason for starting this blog is due to an assignment for one of my classes at my university.
This class, called Community Building, presented me and my fellow students with the assignment of creating a blog revolving around our findings and thoughts about an online community of choice that we have to join. Still working on that so expect a post soon with my final choice.
For the people out there that stumble on this blog that don't know me yet, i shall give a short introduction as to who i am. Well, as the title of this blog states my name's Rik. I'm a 21 year old Dutch senior at Hogeschool Zuyd in Maastricht studying Communication and Multimedia Design. And that's exactly where i hope to end up later in life, the communication/design workfield. So yeah, that's me in a nutshell. Hope you will enjoy this blog and my thoughts!
Till next time.
The reason for starting this blog is due to an assignment for one of my classes at my university.
This class, called Community Building, presented me and my fellow students with the assignment of creating a blog revolving around our findings and thoughts about an online community of choice that we have to join. Still working on that so expect a post soon with my final choice.
For the people out there that stumble on this blog that don't know me yet, i shall give a short introduction as to who i am. Well, as the title of this blog states my name's Rik. I'm a 21 year old Dutch senior at Hogeschool Zuyd in Maastricht studying Communication and Multimedia Design. And that's exactly where i hope to end up later in life, the communication/design workfield. So yeah, that's me in a nutshell. Hope you will enjoy this blog and my thoughts!
Till next time.
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