Common Craft Blog
Search for Online Community Management Service Vendors
By leelefever on October 31, 2004 - 11:19am
I’ve been looking for organizations that offer online community management services. This means an organization that can provide online community managers and/or moderators for another organization.
Specifically, I’m looking for services related to supporting consumer product communities. So far, I’ve found a few I’m hoping to find more with this post.
Sift
eTribes
Participate Systems
BBI Systems
Themis Group (Mostly focused on online gaming)
Are there others out there? Please leave a comment…
Thanks to Joe and Scott for helping me get started.
Search for Online Community Management Service Vendors
Hi Lee,
You can add Impact Interactions to the list as well. We are providing community management services for several companies and have experience with multiple consumer products companies including Wrigley, Cabelas, and others.
Feel free to contact me if you'd like more information.
Search for Online Community Management Service Vendors
Rheingold Associates and Socialchemy both used to do this. Not sure of right now.
http://rheingold.com
http://www.socialchemy.com/
Good folks in both places!
Search for Online Community Management Service Vendors
Lee, could you clarify "supporting consumer product communities"? Specifically, are these communities value-add for the people using a product as in a Pespi-fan community, or a Dell support community? Do you also want focus-group or market research communities (Communispace.com comes to mind)?
One thing I found while looking are a distinction between services that only support communities based on technology they sell or host and services that will support communities regarldess of what technology is being used.
I'm envisioning a matrix of providers and services...so when's that wiki going public? ;)
Search for Online Community Management Service Vendors
As you might guess, I'm putting this out there based on a request from a company who contacted me for help.
They have described it to me as consumers communities who provide insights into the consumers of the brands.
I think your distinction is a good one and may make the search a little harder. It sounds like the technology is in place, but they need manpower.
A wiki would be fun- just need more time... :)
Search for Online Community Management Service Vendors
You can take Participate Systems off the list. They have been purchased for their software and will be shutting down their community management operations.
Alan Warms is already gone.
Search for Online Community Management Service Vendors
Lee,
I have been doing a little checking in this area myself. You might look at what is going on in the Trusted Network section of Ecademy. These are sub-communities within the umbrella of a larger B2B network that provide support and discussion for industry and regional issues.