By Tom Ogg

I personally have believed in open peer-to-peer networks ever since Sandy Elson created one of the first travel industry networks in Compuserve known as “The Biz.” To join the conversation, an agent had to contact Sandy and share their qualifications. The Biz was an excellent resource for its members because it spawned the first forum where travel agents could openly discuss the many aspects of operating a travel business.
The Biz was followed by the Travel Professional’s Forum on AOL and then by many splinter forums that have evolved since. My wife Joanie and I have been fortunate to have moderated many of these forums and it has rewarded us with an untold amount of information and friendships.
One of the Web sites that InternetBrands.com purchased from me was the consumer peer-to-peer community known as Cruise-Chat.com. While I did sell Cruise-Chat.com, I still remain as one of the administrators for the site that enjoys over 15,000 seasoned cruiser members who discuss all aspects of cruising.
Recently, we had a gentleman join Cruise-Chat.com who was clearly a knowledgeable cruise agent. He included an advertisement in his signature file, hoping that members of Cruise-Chat.com would follow the link to his Web site and buy a cruise.
One of the other administrators contacted this member and asked him to cease advertising. He responded in a confrontational way and threatened financial action if he was not allowed to continue advertising. I ended up with the situation and told the guy to either cease and desist or be banned from the site forever.
He responded with more threats, so I banned him. Shortly after, he joined Cruise-Chat.com under a false identity, made a couple of posts and then confronted another of the administrators — and was banned again. This guy was so clueless as to how communities work that I thought I would offer some suggestions on how to successfully participate in online communities that are sure to gain increasing importance to consumers looking to purchase large ticket products and services.

Don’t Violate Community Standards: When joining an online community, be sure that you understand the subtleties of the community. If you are unsure of what is expected from community members, lurk within the community before you make yourself known. Each community has a different make-up and you should try the various communities within your genre until you find the one that meets your needs.

Don’t Advertise: The last thing that peer-to-peer community members want is to be solicited or to be subjected to advertising. Only a person oblivious to online community expectations would try to blatantly advertise or solicit members. While the prospect of approaching thousands of sophisticated cruisers by advertising in an online community seems tremendous, the results will be negative and overwhelming.

Never “Flame” Anyone: Never attack another person or their posts in any online community. While the whole idea of virtual communities is to discuss ideas and experiences, people who are aggressive toward others only damage themselves. It is fair to debate issues but it is considered unacceptable to attack individuals or issues. If you (or your post) are attacked by someone, your best action is to ignore it and move on. Never, ever get into an online brawl.

Do Participate: Online communities are great places to establish relationships with people you otherwise might not meet. By participating in a community, you become a member and after a while, become trusted by the community. Once you have established trust, community members will seek out your advice and expertise and will reward you with their business.

Help Moderate: Successful online communities exist for the benefit of the community members who participate in the exchange of information. By participating you become a member of the community, but if you offer to moderate a forum, you become one of the leaders of the community. Successful online communities need quality moderators to succeed, as the quantity and quality of the community content expands. While moderating a forum normally doesn’t pay anything, you will be considered the expert for that topic in the community. If you are moderating a forum for a specific cruise line, as an example, you could expect community members to seek your advice when they are considering a cruise on that line.

Maintain Professionalism: If your objective is to garner business from an online community, never lose sight of the fact that you are there for business and always participate in a knowledgeable and professional manner. Your image and respect will come from your overall behavior and knowledge that your contributions to the community represent. Your objective would be to become the “go to” person in the community rather than be everyone’s best friend.

Have Fun! Online communities are fun. You can meet many wonderful people and garner a good amount of business from them. They exist for virtually every topic and interest and are generally free to participate in. Give it a shot. I think you will find them very rewarding and fun.

Tom Ogg is editor and publisher of www.homebasedtravelagent.com