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Building A Virtual Community The Experience . Leif Isaksen, Antiquist. A Community For I.T. Practitioners In Cultural Heritage. “ Antiquist is primarily a communication network - a way for us to talk, argue, experiment, share ideas, and solve common problems.”
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Building A Virtual CommunityThe Experience Leif Isaksen, Antiquist
A Community For I.T. Practitioners In Cultural Heritage “Antiquist is primarily a communication network - a way for us to talk, argue, experiment, share ideas, and solve common problems.” • Relaunched in September 2006 • 180+ ‘antiquistas’ (9 mods) • Academic, commercial and governmental spheres.
Communities Of Practice & Communities Of Correspondence • Social networks vs ‘vocational spaces’ • Antiquist: • targeted different communities • Proactive invitation • Rapid, then steady growth
Encouraging Participation • Antiquist • mixed moderatorship • ‘relaxed’ style • annual workshop • placements • Result - hard to tell but contributions from all groups.
Openness • Encouraging candour was key principle • Antiquist • people subscribe personally (not in public role) • closed list until recently • Seems to have made no difference. • Members definitely prefer openness
(In)formal Membership • Sign-up doesn’t imply representation • Antiquist • ‘Requests for information’ • Fora for discussion • Frustrating but necessary.
Keeping Contact • Integration vs fragmentation • Antiquist • List most successful • Wiki useful for events/projects • Blog dead • Spam an issue • Regular ArchCamps
Inter-community Cooperation • Antiquist • Quite a lot of cross-posting between DC, DA+H, FISH. • Other connections mainly at moderator level (idea sharing etc.) • Would like more, but difficult in practice.
Final Thoughts • Innovation tends to be Moderator driven • Be clear about purpose and demographic • Provides real service • Builds social as well as work networks