The difference between Contribution and Commitment in your private social network

A chicken and a pig are walking through a farm together. The chicken turns to the pig and says, “Hey, we should open a restaurant together.”

“Sure,” says the pig. “What should we serve?”

“Ham and eggs,” says the chicken.

The pig thinks for a minute then shakes his head. “It won’t work. You’ll only contribute but I’ll be committed.”

Most of your members will be like the chicken. They’ll contribute to the private social network, posting content and adding comments.

A few, though, will be like the pig. They’ll feel committed to the community, keen to answer questions when new members post them, constantly posting new content and strongly identifying with the site. They’ll visit almost every day and feel obligated to it.

Your job is to foster that sense of commitment. The members of your site should compete to show the most commitment, the highest degrees of identity.

Reward them. Praise them. Recommend their content. Create a cost for them to pull back. Build your site around your most committed members, and you should find that it brings home the bacon.

That’s all for now! Next time, I’ll discuss the importance of surveying your members.