Migration of community or let it go?
Different ways to remove content:
Found that in this instance it took 100
dev hours to develope various formats - 82% of all content ended up
being under Creative Commons
-Some sites want to do a read-only mode
and give the members enough time to take their posts down when there
aren't enough dev hours to give other options.
-When you have a certain amt of history
you have good cop/bad cop if you delete it can revive bad stuff. Old
content avail for a year, but cannot reply to it. Then it was closed
off. No one complained.
-Member asks: Why can't I get access to an archive?
The traffic is going to tail off when
no one was going to go it (6 month mark), when it drops below a certain
point the plug can be pulled (net 60 days) taking away the archieve.
Trolls went nuts. This was not the closer of the community. They still
waited before closing it, but they did not close that one.
-How do you avoid closing a comm or it
becoming toxic: why is the community here, what do we want? Create an
area where this back-and-forth exchange is permitted between
members/staff, but keep it confined/segregate. Makes it tolerable.
-Redirect traffic of top groups/boards
to the new site. This is good SEO value. Google site map implemented
into a redirect is very helpful.
-When asking yourself why to migrate, you must consider the value in making a decision TO mirgrate:
Content side - (see above notes)
User side - culture, reputation - it's
all about getting the top 10% buy-in from them to act as ambassadors,
members value content, what users care about is that their contribution
is recognized that's why the content is important. Connect w/the user
more than the content. Recognize that member as a past contributor.
What kind of value are you assigning? - Time spent to do the migration
Ask the client: Why do you want to migrate?
-Problem scenario: Old site vs a younger site
A section of the old site needs to be
closed and migrated - sections of the site are being closed - why does
it need to be closed? It has to do w/biz model, can't sell ads,
advertisers don't want to sell to certain types of members. Critical
masse is going to be beneficial - from small to moderate. Solution:
Messasing needs to be made in such a way that it's an improvement for
them members to convince them that it's for the best. Took key
influencers from old comm into the new comm, they then invited their
friends and convinced them. They disliked it at first but over time
they began to like the new comm. Make them part of the birthing
process, makes it more difficult for them to denegrate it. Provide them
with a founding member bagde to use in the new space, or something
along those lines.
-Migration fact: The more hurdles you
put in front of the members the more resistant they are going to be to
the change. The place they're going to has to be of more value to them.
-Open ID and SSO: What do you do when you want their old name but it's already taken?
Incumbent upon you as the provider
where the member can do that. Diff in platform can preclude this from
happening. Timing is important, this is the window of oppp to resserve
the name. Hundred or less users who will want to do this. Usually known
members who want their old IDs. Someone else sometimes grabs someone
else's user name. Cna create a problem.
-Selling migration to comm
It takes awhile for people to come
atround. Create a forum for people to let them complain about it.
Compile a list of all of their requests. Proactive - listen to the comm.
-Question: What happens when certain
platforms have better features that the same platform and members see
that? How do you deal with those members?
SAS providers run into this -- the best
way to deal with this is to bring it up in the beginning when
customizing - customization is very specific to 1% of your members.
What do the users do when the members of the old comm come to the new comm how do they behave?
Shut off the ability to post - if they
want to complain they have to create a new account - to allow posting
on the old board. --Only allow members 1-2 weeks. You want to give your
comm the most success, one of the things that can make it bleed over
time is keeping the old one open. How do you get people to feel
comforatble (esp w/older members) you provide faq, flash, screen shots,
to make them feel comfortable. Message to comm should be something
like: We're opening this new comm now, so we're closing comments at X
time. We will do everything we can to get you into the new space. Turn
off the abilty to create new posts, and then turnoff replies.
-Question; What about moving one board at a time
Oversegmentation occurs if there are two different places to spend time.
"Managing Transitions" is a book about migration one state of being to another - translates very nicely to online platforms.
-HP did something where they burned up
the old boards over time. The old comm goes out with a bang. Turning
this change into a celebration rather than an "oh no we're losing
something" in favor of something new.
-Question: What kind of hit did you take after you migrated?
20% loss but 10% gain since the move since the new platform could handle more members/features.
-Question: What happens when you run platforms side-by-side?
Influx of new members to the new
platform, which makes it more positive. But this can go both ways -
depends on your audience when you put people together.
-Very rarely will members not migrate over to the new platform when it offers all of their fave old features and then some.
Page Last Updated: Jun 23 11:16am by hvirga@forumone.com