While others are still making their new year resolutions, my advice to you is simple. Get a head start to the new year by building an online community for your web site.

A good example of an online community is the one run by Green Community at www.greencommunity.ae.

An online community is a forum for like minded individuals and corporates with common interests to share information in a meaningful way, online. The power that drives the community site is YOU, as in Time magazine's Personality of the year, YOU.

You may think that building an online community is just a matter of setting up a Bulletin Board or a Chat Room and then sitting back and waiting for the people to come in, but there is a lot more to it than that.

Here are some pointers.

1. Start by hiring a professional to build it for you.
2. Add interactivity to your web site.
3. Build 'stickyness' (In the internet domain they don't say, How are you doing?, instead, How sticky are you?)
4. Add bonding functionality.
5. Discussions must be open to registered members.
6. Forums topics should be threaded, not flat.
7. Let your readers judge each other so you don't have to judge them yourself.
8. Graphics and video (Hello YouTube!) are a must.
9. Add utility and relationship builder tools - Calendars, email/SMS alerts.
10. Build a feedback mechanism so your community grows organically.

Once you have built your online community, send me an e-invite (sharad@cyber-gear.com) to join.

Cheers and have a great 2007!

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