Lessons from MySpace on getting communities established

Posted by  Shawn Callahan —March 25, 2006
Filed in Collaboration

Aber Whitcomb, CTO for MySpace, revealed to Robert Scoble some of the secrets behind MySpace’s popularity. They sound similar to the advise one might give to anyone starting a community of practice.

  • They made sure influentials in Hollywood (stars, bands) were among the first users.
  • They listen to their users and add features frequently (usually noticeable new features every week).
  • They let the users tell them what to do. He mentioned that other services, like Friendster, tried to tell their users what not to do.
  • When MySpace visitors first log on they already had a friend: the founder Tom. That was in contrast to other services where you had to work to find your first friend. His page also gave you a template to get started.

About  Shawn Callahan

Shawn, author of Putting Stories to Work, is one of the world's leading business storytelling consultants. He helps executive teams find and tell the story of their strategy. When he is not working on strategy communication, Shawn is helping leaders find and tell business stories to engage, to influence and to inspire. Shawn works with Global 1000 companies including Shell, IBM, SAP, Bayer, Microsoft & Danone. Connect with Shawn on:

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