Hosting Web Communities: Building Relationships, Increasing Customer Loyalty, and Maintaining A Competitive Edge

Amazon.com

Former director of the Well, recent consultant to America Online, and current director of community development for Salon Magazine, Figallo knows what it takes to create a true community in cyberspace and what kinds of mistakes will torpedo the effort. Figallo believes that community comes from people, and so he begins by focusing on the human element. He writes about the groups that form online communities and how a community builder can foster the process. Figallo includes a great section on building a quality online staff. While he keeps technical aspects in perspective, Figallo doesn't shortchange them--he fully discusses types of interfaces and technical tools.

Figallo's discussion of the business side of a community is refreshingly hype-free. He provides excellent information on revenue models and support strategies. He further shows the advantages businesses can gain from creating or supporting online communities, plus what types of expectations are unrealistic. He believes, for example, that creating online communities is not a reasonable way to directly boost sales or provide a highly profitable income stream. He does show, however, that it can offer major corporate advantages in the same way that good public relations or other indirect marketing activities do. And while Figallo never claims that there's an easy formula for building the type of online feeling that brings people back again and again, he demonstrates with both theory and real-world examples how dedicated community builders can pull it off. --Elizabeth Lewis

Book Description

A detailed, easy-to-follow recipe for planning, developing, and maintaining a successful Web community. With a refreshingly practical perspective, this book explores the principles and techniques of hosting a Web community that allows your business to interact and build relationships with more customers than ever before. The book lays out a step-by-step plan for getting the project off the ground by showing how to define purpose, establish member profiles, incorporate custom site features, organize marketing events, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Relationships are Key.......2001-11-04

Figallo appears to be providing his own model for web community success, which is built on building meaningful relationships... between "you" (the site owner/designer/manager/maintainer) and the people who visit your site, as well as between the site visitors themselves. "Meaningful relationships, far more than size, determine the success of online communities." He provides a lot of practical advice, and it's an easy read. My only complaint is that his WELL experience seems to have biased him toward WELL-like communities...he focuses mostly on the social, relationship-building aspects of web forums, chat and the like, as if everyone looking to build a web community should be striving to create a Salon/Cafe type place.

Excellent!.......2001-04-30

Cliff writes an excellent book for those who are truly looking to build and Host (yes, Host is the correct term as in being the Host of a party!) an online community. This book takes you through all of the scenarios of building, growing and managing an online community. This is not a technical book about building the backend of community systems - it is a book on the human/social side of online communities. Congrats to Mr. Figallo on writing a book dedicated to the subject.

Good history book.......2000-07-27

This is a good history book for those who feel a need to read up on the roots of Internet communities as we know them. The author was head of The WELL.

For those who need practical advice on how to create an online community today, the book by Amy Jo Kim is more useful.

This book was very disappointing........2000-06-13

It uses the word Hosting in the title, so I'm thinking it means Hosting, like "Webmaster" material. It speaks in general, non-technical terms for a day trader or something, in fact, the whole time I'm thinking "what is the guy talking about." Where are the details? Why aren't they talking about technologies i.e. Languages, Scripts, e-commerce engines, application servers, web servers, job price assessment.

The book is very out-dated, and is written for very non-technical people, therefore does not offer anything to technical users trying to get a general (big picture) look at being an in depth webmaster/hosting engineer. I was suckered by the title and the reviews, both were very misleading.

Do not waste you money. I recommend an e-business or e-commerce book.

Jason

A must read book.......1999-11-28

A must read book for planning, developing, and maintaining a Web community. Cliff Figallo has a vast experience on this area and it shows his expertise in a easy to read book with rich and useful content.

Book Description

Published in association with the UK Chapter of the Academy of International Business (AIB), this ninth volume in the AIB series focuses on the new challenges and developments in the field of international business. The book successfully brings together an integrated set of research concepts and results to present some contrasting views about how international business is adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that the 21st century presents.

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Exclusion in Health in Latin America and the Caribbean (PAHO Occasional Publication)

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Exclusion in Health in Latin America and the Caribbean (PAHO Occasional Publication)
Pan American Health Organization
Manufacturer: Pan American Health Organization
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Public Health | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9275124760
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Book Description

Millions of people in the Region of the Americas currently do not have access to health services and are excluded from the benefits of health protection systems. This issue is of growing importance in the public policy arena, not only as a social phenomenon that must be confronted and resolved, but also because of its potential use as an analytical tool to develop and evaluate interventions aimed at improving people's health status and the performance of health systems.

Despite abundant evidence of increased inequity and loss of social protection during the past decade, national sociopolitical agendas have, in many cases, dealt with this situation in only a fragmented and indirect manner, without sufficient data regarding its magnitude, causal factors, and the affected populations.

Product Description

Latin American Marketing Data and Statistics is a new book from Euromonitor. It allows you to compile detailed demographic and economic profiles of 43 countries, making it an extremely valuable reference and powerful marketing tool.

Many different sources are contacted to research this data, including international organizations such as the IMF and UN, as well as national statistical offices and national trade associations. The value of the book is in the data quality and presentation in easy-to-use tables that allow comparisons between countries. At a glance you can compare similarities and differences in population, home ownership, expenditure trends, crime statistics and much more.

Monthly household data: not seasonally adjusted data: characteristics of the unemployed.(Statistical table): An article from: Employment and Earnings

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Monthly household data: not seasonally adjusted data: characteristics of the unemployed.(Statistical table): An article from: Employment and Earnings
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Employment and Earnings, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2006. The length of the article is 8527 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Monthly household data: not seasonally adjusted data: characteristics of the unemployed.(Statistical table)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Employment and Earnings (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 53 Issue: 10 Page: 39(9)

Article Type: Statistical table

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Monthly household data: not seasonally adjusted data: multiple jobholders.(Illustration) : An article from: Employment and Earnings

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Monthly household data: not seasonally adjusted data: multiple jobholders.(Illustration) : An article from: Employment and Earnings

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000EGCFZS
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Employment and Earnings, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2005. The length of the article is 860 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Monthly household data: not seasonally adjusted data: multiple jobholders.(Illustration)
Publication: Employment and Earnings (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 52 Issue: 12 Page: 49(1)

Article Type: Illustration

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Quarterly household data: not seasonally adjusted data: characteristics of the unemployed.(Illustration) : An article from: Employment and Earnings

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Quarterly household data: not seasonally adjusted data: characteristics of the unemployed.(Illustration) : An article from: Employment and Earnings

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Unemployment | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Employment and Earnings, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2005. The length of the article is 2677 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Quarterly household data: not seasonally adjusted data: characteristics of the unemployed.(Illustration)
Publication: Employment and Earnings (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 52 Issue: 10 Page: 188(3)

Article Type: Illustration

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Evaluating components of international migration: Quality of foreign-born and Hispanic population data (Population Division working paper)

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Evaluating components of international migration: Quality of foreign-born and Hispanic population data (Population Division working paper)
Arthur R Cresce
Manufacturer: Populaton Division, U.S. Census Bureau
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Latin American Data & Statistics (Latin American Marketing Data & Statistics)

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Latin American Data & Statistics (Latin American Marketing Data & Statistics)

Manufacturer: Euromonitor Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

International | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Statistics | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Pan American facts;: A summary of financial and commercial data,

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Pan American facts;: A summary of financial and commercial data,
Oscar P Austin
Manufacturer: Market World
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008CIK5C

Book Description

This law handbook contains information on basic business legislation, laws and regulatoins affecting export-import, business, foreign investments, property rights, taxation and banking. (Updated annually)

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