Principles

Eight ideas. One network.

Six come from Net Gain.
One comes from Net Worth.
One we added ourselves.

Net Gain

A community is people, not pages. Gather the people first. The content follows.

On the network todayMember listings, Messenger and live chat all start with a person.

Net Gain

Start the community. Feed the talk. Prune what does not work, and adjust as you learn.

On the network todayEvery listing is checked. Dead links drop out.

Net Gain

Set simple rules and say what follows when they break. Let members find their own beliefs.

On the network todayLive chat has hosts, mutes and reports.

Net Gain

Early members become role models. Give them real standing, and they keep the room healthy.

On the network todaySponsors and contributors, never investors, are the founding voices.

Net Gain

Communities are clusters of niches. A few lead. Many watch. Some join in.

On the network todayNodes. Each owner runs a community of their own.

Net Gain

Trust needs a name that stays the same. Standing is earned over time, and it can be lost.

On the network todayOne account across the grid. Your message link never changes.

Earthgrid

Every member is distinct. Copies and clones break the community and drown it in noise.

On the network todayEach member can have a public page of their own. Saving it is your consent.

Net Worth

Members should control their own information. Trusted agents work for the member, not the market.

On the network todayPortable, private, and open to inspect. Members pay for it, not advertisers.

Virtual communities are about aggregating people.
From Net Gain, the line this whole network starts with

Where they come from

Two books, read closely.

Net Gain, by John Hagel III and Arthur G. Armstrong, appeared in 1997.

Net Worth, by John Hagel III and Marc Singer, appeared in 1999.

The first is about communities. The second is about who owns the data.

We paraphrase. Read the books for the full argument.

Join free. Then find your people.