Last night, a group of us from Mzinga did a presentation on community and business social networking for a company. I was very lucky to be speaking with two of our leading thought leaders. So, I let them answer the question first.
The question was based on the age old question of which came first the chicken or the egg. His query was "WHICH COMES FIRST, Technology or Content". All three of us immediately, said - "CONTENT" However, as I sat back and realized this company has a ton of content. They were leaking content from every source. They had made attempts at web 2.0 technology and had limited success. My response was the following:
Content is very important as is technology to communicate the content but you are missing an element that enables a community's growth and success.
To drill a bit deeper, please take the question back to the orign of the concept. Which came first the chicken or the egg? In this age old question, has anyone ever considered the need for a rooster to have an egg become a chicken?
In order to have a success vibrant community, nature needs to be observed. A company can have wonderful content and the best technology but with out a strategy and understanding of how to deploy and engage their audience for the content and to encourage the use of technology their community will not grow. The rooster equates the strategy and understanding of technology. It is a three legged stool.
Communities need to be regularly fertilized and nurtured to grow and multiple. What would you have said?
