Founder Motivations, Goals, and Actions Influence Early Trajectories of Online Communities

Core Concepts

Founders' motivations, goals, and planned actions for their new online communities significantly influence the early trajectories and success of those communities.

Abstract

This study explores the motivations, goals, and community-building plans of founders of new online communities on Reddit. The key findings are:

Founders' top motivation is topical interest, followed by exchanging information and connecting with others. Self-promotion is the least common motivation.
Founders have heterogeneous goals for their communities, but tend to prioritize quality-oriented measures like high member interaction over quantity-oriented measures like large user numbers.
Differences in founders' motivations predict differences in their goals and planned actions to build their communities, such as raising awareness, welcoming newcomers, encouraging contributions, and regulating behavior.
Founders' motivations, goals, and planned actions also predict differences in the early trajectories of their communities in terms of attracting visitors, contributors, and subscribers over the first 28 days.
The authors discuss implications for researchers, designers, and founders of online communities, such as customizing platform features and analytics to better support founders based on their motivations and goals.

Stats

"I started this subreddit because the topic is entertaining."
"I started this subreddit to collect/provide information that might be useful."
"I started this subreddit to meet interesting people."
"I started this subreddit because it helps me gain support or respect."

Quotes

"Founders motivated by 'topical interest' create communities that attract more early visitors, contributors, and subscribers."
"Founders motivated to 'exchange information' were more likely to prioritize community quality, while those motivated by 'self-promotion' were more likely to prioritize quantity."
"Having plans to 'raise awareness' was the largest determinant of a community's ability to attract early visitors, contributors, and subscribers."

Key Insights Distilled From

How founder motivations, goals, and actions influence early trajectories of online communities

by Sanjay R. Ka... at arxiv.org 05-02-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2405.00601.pdf

Deeper Inquiries

How might the motivations and goals of online community founders vary across different cultural or linguistic contexts?

In different cultural or linguistic contexts, the motivations and goals of online community founders can vary significantly. Cultural norms, values, and societal expectations play a crucial role in shaping individuals' motivations for creating online communities. For example:

Cultural Values: In some cultures, community-building may be deeply rooted in collectivism and social cohesion, leading to motivations focused on fostering connections and social support. In contrast, individualistic cultures may prioritize personal achievements and self-promotion as motivations for founding communities.

Language and Communication Styles: Linguistic differences can influence the types of communities that are created. For instance, communities in languages with rich literary traditions may focus more on intellectual discussions and knowledge-sharing, while communities in languages with informal communication styles may prioritize entertainment and social interactions.

Societal Expectations: Societal norms and expectations regarding online behavior can impact founders' goals for their communities. In some cultures, there may be a stronger emphasis on community harmony and consensus-building, leading to goals focused on maintaining a positive and supportive environment.

Historical Context: Historical events and cultural experiences can also shape motivations for community creation. For example, in regions with a history of political activism, founders may be motivated to create communities that serve as platforms for social change and advocacy.

Overall, understanding the cultural and linguistic contexts in which online communities are founded is essential for designing platforms and support systems that cater to the diverse motivations and goals of founders worldwide.

What counter-arguments could be made to the finding that founders motivated by self-promotion tend to create communities that attract fewer early contributors and subscribers?

While the study suggests that founders motivated by self-promotion may attract fewer early contributors and subscribers, several counter-arguments could be considered:

Quality over Quantity: Founders motivated by self-promotion may prioritize quality over quantity in their communities. They may focus on creating valuable content and fostering meaningful interactions, which could lead to a smaller but more engaged community.

Targeted Audience: Self-promotion motivations may attract a niche audience that is highly interested in the founder's content or expertise. While the community may have fewer members, they could be more dedicated and active contributors.

Long-Term Growth: Communities founded on self-promotion may experience slower initial growth but could have better long-term sustainability. By focusing on building a loyal and dedicated user base, these communities may foster deeper connections and higher retention rates.

Community Culture: Self-promotion motivations could lead to the creation of communities with a strong sense of identity and purpose. Members may be more aligned with the founder's goals and values, creating a cohesive and supportive community environment.

In conclusion, while self-promotion motivations may initially attract fewer contributors and subscribers, they could contribute to the development of a unique and engaged community with a strong sense of identity and purpose.

How could the insights from this study on founder attitudes be applied to support the creation of online communities focused on scientific research, education, or other knowledge-intensive domains?

The insights from this study on founder attitudes can be valuable in supporting the creation of online communities focused on scientific research, education, or other knowledge-intensive domains:

Topic Relevance: Emphasize the importance of topical interest as a motivation for founders in knowledge-intensive communities. Encouraging founders to create communities around specific research areas or educational topics can attract like-minded individuals who are passionate about the subject matter.

Quality-Oriented Goals: Encourage founders to prioritize quality-oriented measures of success, such as fostering high-quality discussions, sharing accurate information, and promoting collaborative learning. Quality content and interactions are essential in knowledge-intensive communities to ensure credibility and value for members.

Community Building Strategies: Provide founders with guidance on community-building strategies that align with their motivations and goals. For example, supporting actions to raise awareness about research findings, welcome new members to educational platforms, encourage contributions from experts, and establish guidelines for behavior and interaction in scientific communities.

Long-Term Engagement: Focus on creating sustainable and engaging communities by fostering a sense of community identity, promoting active participation, and facilitating knowledge sharing among members. Encouraging founders to invest time and effort in building a supportive and inclusive environment can lead to long-term success in knowledge-intensive domains.

By applying these insights, online communities focused on scientific research, education, or other knowledge-intensive domains can effectively leverage founder motivations and goals to create valuable and engaging platforms for collaboration and learning.