Rating: 
Summary: A Must Have Reference For All Web Community Builders
Review: PRACTICAL! USEFUL! READABLE! SUPERB! Amy Jo Kim has provided the defintive work on building web communities. Written in an honest, straight-forward, free of academic pretensions and hoity-toity language, this is a book that you will be able to read in one or two nights. For those of you who are contemplating building web communities, Amy Jo Kim provides an overall structure with many suggestions and best practices for you to consider. You'll be aware of pitfalls to avoid, challenges that you'll face, and actions you'd better take. You'll definitely be able to use the information organized under the nine design stratgies: Purpose, Places, Profiles, Roles, Leadership, Etiquette, Events, Rituals, and Subgroups. This book is valuable to both the novice and the master practioner alike. I (a novice) was able to apply the principles and practices in this book to the design of a Virtual Community of Practice web template that can be used by many groups within my company. From the book, I had a clear sense of the technological architecture (features & functions) and the social infrastructure (summed up in two words: community leadership!) that needs to be in place to build a successful community. I have already distributed over 60 copies of this book. I have one recommendation for you: Read this book!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have Reference For All Web Community Builders
Review: PRACTICAL! USEFUL! READABLE! SUPERB! Amy Jo Kim has provided the defintive work on building web communities. Written in an honest, straight-forward, free of academic pretensions and hoity-toity language, this is a book that you will be able to read in one or two nights. For those of you who are contemplating building web communities, Amy Jo Kim provides an overall structure with many suggestions and best practices for you to consider. You'll be aware of pitfalls to avoid, challenges that you'll face, and actions you'd better take. You'll definitely be able to use the information organized under the nine design stratgies: Purpose, Places, Profiles, Roles, Leadership, Etiquette, Events, Rituals, and Subgroups. This book is valuable to both the novice and the master practioner alike. I (a novice) was able to apply the principles and practices in this book to the design of a Virtual Community of Practice web template that can be used by many groups within my company. From the book, I had a clear sense of the technological architecture (features & functions) and the social infrastructure (summed up in two words: community leadership!) that needs to be in place to build a successful community. I have already distributed over 60 copies of this book. I have one recommendation for you: Read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: What a bunch of fluff!
Review: Read this book only if you want to build a kindler, gentler Web community. The style of the writing of this book was so chummy and "we are just women who want to share nice things and we don't know much about that technical man-stuff." Yuk! If there was any real content to this book, I couldn't find it. I am building a business community on my Web-site but this book focues on social communities. Social communities certainly are valid, but I need something professional, not fluffy. Also, it totally ignored the technical tools I need to build the discussion boards and chat rooms.
Rating:
Summary: What a bunch of fluff!
Review: Read this book only if you want to build a kindler, gentler Web community. The style of the writing of this book was so chummy and "we are just women who want to share nice things and we don't know much about that technical man-stuff." Yuk! If there was any real content to this book, I couldn't find it. I am building a business community on my Web-site but this book focues on social communities. Social communities certainly are valid, but I need something professional, not fluffy. Also, it totally ignored the technical tools I need to build the discussion boards and chat rooms.
Rating:
Summary: The Key to a Successful Gaming Community
Review: The computer gaming industry is seeing a revolution. Just 5 years ago games focused almost exclusively (except for a few MUDs) on the individual's play style. But with more and more games coming onto the Multi-Player market (games like Ultima Online, Everquest, and UWO:Origin), the focus is no longer on the single-player experience, but instead deals with the new phenomenon of players interacting with each other and developing a sense of community. Amy Jo Kim drives home the importance of this concept better than anyone else I know. The best part of her book is that it doesn't just stop with community development on the web. It also helps immensely within the games themselves. Forming guilds, designing in-game events, and emphasizing rituals to gain loyalty among players are just a few things that Amy's book can teach you how to perfect. Further, I really enjoyed the fact that she spent so much time on a unique community style that I'm involved quite a bit in - Email Groups. These Email Groups can be very difficult to moderate, especially when membership begins reaching into the hundreds, but I can say with confidence that Amy will show you how to take the reigns with confidence. On a personal level, Amy's book has helped me immensely. I am in the very beginning stages of a fan-site dedicated to one of the newer Massively Multi-Player games called "Ultima Worlds Online: Origin", by OSI. I am constantly referring back to her book to focus my strategies for continued growth of my site as well as an accompanying e-mail group I run. I've learned how to cater to my members' needs, how to give them a sense of involvement using various techniques Amy has designed, and most importantly how to manage and enforce the rules that make my site enjoyable for everyone involved. The Bottom Line - If you are trying to develop a solid virtual community on the web, in a game, or on an e-mail list, this is the ultimate resource tool for you.
Rating:
Summary: A great working tool
Review: This book is a great kickstarter for anyone entering the fieldof community building, which can be deceptively simple at firstglance. It's only after you see what the human factor brings to themix that you realize the complexity of what you are faced with. Thisbook helps you sort things out. Used correctly this is a recepe forsuccess in a (relatively) new and growing field. Hats off to Amy JoKim ;o) Morten Evensen...
Rating:
Summary: The best there is: practical and on-target
Review: This book should be required reading for anyone considering implementing any degree of community on or around their website. Amy Jo has successfully concentrated years of experience in online communities into a highly readable book that provides many examples and case studies, and brings them all together with principles that make sense. Even better, these principles are explained in practical terms that can improve any online community immediately. If you're looking for focused, practical, relevant material about building communities online, this is the first book to get. Michael Sellers, Senior Game Designer, Maxis/Electronic Arts
Rating:
Summary: The best there is: practical and on-target
Review: This book should be required reading for anyone considering implementing any degree of community on or around their website. Amy Jo has successfully concentrated years of experience in online communities into a highly readable book that provides many examples and case studies, and brings them all together with principles that make sense. Even better, these principles are explained in practical terms that can improve any online community immediately. If you're looking for focused, practical, relevant material about building communities online, this is the first book to get. Michael Sellers, Senior Game Designer, Maxis/Electronic Arts
Rating:
Summary: It really is a must-read
Review: When I read the glowing reviews of this book on Amazon I was dubious; thought perhaps they were posted by the authors' friends. But this book is very, very good. It's caused me to change the way I think about my website and redefine my goals. I was only thinking in terms of chat and message boards, but this book made me realize there's a lot more to a good online community than that. The author clearly knows what she's talking about; the book is well written, informative, and fun to read. Worth every penny.
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