Since late 2009, I have hosted the INDIE Business Social Community. As of the publication of this article, we have 7,141 registered community participants. We've have very little spam. This is due in large part, I think, to the fact that I am very present within the community. People see me delete spammers and other obnoxious people without warning.
On the other hand, we welcome people who come with good intentions, who are ready to learn and share, and help other people based on their personal experiences and professional expertise. We promote a continuous tone of cooperation, which makes our community a safe place for people to hang out. I recently added some new things to make INDIE Social an even more fun place to connect.
- We require facial avatars. The site was originally set up to include a default avatar so people could join right away, and add a photo of themselves later. But since many people don't get around to adding a photo, yet continue to interact with people using the default avatar (an ugly mashup of 50 faces), a puppy, a newborn, or a logo, I decided to require a photograph of each person who requests to join. If a request to join does not include a photograph of the requestor, the request will be denied.
- We require first and last names. Up until now, I've accepted requests from people who only use a first name. Effective immediately, a first and last name combination is required. The INDIE Community is about networking. You cannot network if you don't have a name.
You cannot add value if you don't want people to know who you are. If you'd prefer to be anonymous, INDIE Social is not the right place for you.
- We delete presumptuous or impertinent discussions. From time to time, people post discussions demanding that someone please hurry up and answer their question immediately. These questions are often in all caps (I guess, to attract attention or emphasize urgency), and are frequently filled with spelling and grammatical errors. This haphazard approach burdens the entire community with a level of unprofessionalism. Situations like these are exacerbated when the posting person is someone who never contributes to the community, but shows up only when they need something.
We used to edit these types of discussion to fix things like grammar or spelling, and to tone down the urgency enough to encourage people to offer tips and insights to help the requestor. No more. If a you cannot be professional and courteous in your interactions, we will delete it.
- We added FaceBook, Yahoo, Google, and Twitter integration. In addition to your community login combination, you can now log into the site using your Google Profile login, your Twitter login, your FaceBook login, or you Yahoo login. You can also Tweet and FaceBook site content, including blog posts, events, discussions, photographs, and videos. These new additions make interacting at the site a more seamless process. No matter what social location you enter the site from, you can come right in and join us using whatever login you want. integrations make it
I'd like as many people as possible to enjoy connecting with us at INDIE Social. I want people to learn, share, and express opinions in an atmosphere where they can easily figure out who they are talking to. I'd like to see the community continue to grow, but not at the cost of professionalism and integrity.
I am far more interested in high quality human beings who have as much to give as to gain by being a part of our community.
Question: What you think of these changes?
