Here comes Everybody 11- epilogue

This stinks... I started reading next week's section before realizing my error.... oh well. 

Successful groups have a promise, tools, and a bargain. 

• the promise: the basic "why" join/contribute to the group
• the tool: the "how" will this group manage itself
• the bargain: what can the members expect/ what is expected of the members

    Out of these three the promise is the most important.  It is what convinces a user to join the group.  If the promise isn't interesting enough, then the potential member won't make time in his or her schedule to add this to it.  Sometimes just the opportunity to be listened to is enough of a promise to bring people in.  The promise is more complicated than a marketing ad because the ad is endorsing a product made for the listeners, the promise is endorsing the making of a product by the listeners.  The promise also has to be "you will find this worthwhile AND your friends will find it worthwhile."  If the users that think they want to join aren't sure that there will be enough people joining for it to be worthwhile for them to join, making the joining process easier, creating personal value for the individual users, subdividing the community, and hosting could be the key to get them to really believe in your promise.

     The tools necessary for a group to succeed vary from group to group.  The key to a good tool is that it is made to fit, and it encourages the members to do what they want to do. The book uses the example of a wood cutter designing tools.  If he designed a better shovel, people aren't going to grab up all of the shovels so that they can all start digging ditches on the fly.  However, if this group were in charge of building a new river, the shovel would be the perfect tool.  To decide which tools to use, there are four basic considerations: Is the group big or small, and does it need to be short-lived or long-lasting?

    The final part of the list, and most complicated are the bargains.  The key to the bargain is to get the group to work together or in the same way (example: driving on the correct side of the road)

    Even with all of these elements in a given group, trouble still can and does happen.  With the proper tools, these problems can be managed and the group will continue on.  Otherwise, it will probably fail.