Types of Blogging Communities & Methods to Build Blogging Communities

A blog community is defined as an accumulation of different blogs that provide in-depth discussions and information for people within a group (Kinkeldei 2007). It encourages quick networking and spreading of knowledge for other readers.

There are three types of blogging communities as stated by White (2006), which are:

(Source: White, The Knowledge Tree, 2006)

One Blog Centric Community – A community that revolves and is moved by a single blogger.

Topic Centric Community – A community where the subjects of relevance brings its bloggers together.

Boundaried Community – A community that is shaped by a society of bloggers from a social platform.

An example of a blog that practices the One Blog Centric Community is Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s blog. The former prime minister of Malaysia stated in a recent interview that he had 20 million guests on his blog (New Media and The Informed Citizen 2009).

As Mahathir’s blog generated that many viewers, it is most understandable that he had taken these steps to make his blog such an influential one:

1.)  Write More To Get More Remarks – Mahathir represents a blogger who is constantly active in blogging who writes at least 3 blog posts a week. This gives readers a reason to visit his blog.

2.)   Create Interesting and Comprehensible Content – Mahathir made the content in his blog interesting content incorporating matters of prominence.

3.)    Identify The Most Trendy Content – As the former prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir still blogs about issues and important matters relevant to the country. Thus, he should be able to identify which of the posts that he writes conveys the most significance to his readers.

References

• White, N 2006, Blogs and Community - launching a new paradigm for online community, The Knowledge Tree, viewed 24 August 2011, <http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community>.

• Kinkeldei, B 2007, Blog Communities: Forging Connections and Promoting Growth Through Blog Communities, Whitepaper, 21publish, viewed 24 August 2011, <http://21publish.com/pub/21publish/blogging-whitepaper.pdf>.

• 2009, Interview with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, New Media and The Informed Citizen, viewed 24 August 2011, <http://www.paradigminfinitum.com/Interview%20with%20Tun%20Dr%20Mahathir%20Mohamad.pdf>.

• Mahathir, M 2011, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Blogger, viewed 24 August 2011, <http://mahathir-mohamad.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-08-14T17%3A37%3A00%2B08%3A00&max-results=1>. 

• Yoskovitz, B 2007, 8 Steps to Growing Your Blog Community One Person At a Time, Instigator Blog, viewed 24 August 2011, <http://www.instigatorblog.com/8-steps-to-growing-your-blog-community-by-1/2007/01/09/>.