As we extend our community connection into new media models and regions, it becomes increasingly important to leverage existing influencers — give them their own channel in our space, let them drive, and then let them share in the success. It’s about engagement and reward. The concept is community as partner, not merely audience:
Rather than trying haphazardly to build relationships with everyone online, marketers need only figure out who among the 10 percent is influencing their consumers and help those specific individuals use your product/content to create, promote and leverage their content.Shannon Paul’s Very Official Blog, Dec 2008
I agree: it’s about time we let the community drive. For years we’ve dictated what is “news” and tossed out contributions that didn’t fit our criteria. We’ll need to re-educate the public. Encourage the contribution of any and all information and find a place for it.
And yes, we also need to engage the influencers. Savvy contributors are already out there with their message. We just need to tap into the channels they’ve chosen and use our megaphone to help them reach others. Other influencers, however, are not so “plugged in”. We’ll need to help them see the rewards of contributing, present them with easy-to-understand tools and processes, educate them and facilitate thier efforts. This will most likely take face-to-face contact, encouragement, small-group meetings & workshops, help with tech issues, emails of support and a process to evaluate the outreach program. A lot of work, but the rewards for all can be tremendous.