366 — Building online communities

The Mind Tools L&D Podcast

In organizations, learning-oriented ‘online communities’ often bring to mind empty forums and unused Yammer groups. But what does a vibrant community of practice look like? And how do you go about building one online?

In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Ross G are joined by Anamaria Dorgo, founder of L&D Shakers and Head of Community at Butter, to discuss:

· the benefits of online communities of practice

· how to build and maintain online communities

· how to measure the impact of online communities

· what all of this looks like in an organizational context

You can find out more about L&D Shakers here.

During the show, Anamaria referenced Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner's work on communities of practice.

In his trademark style, Ross G equated online communities to pornography, recalling Justice Potter Stewart’s famous line - ‘I know it when I see it.’

He also mentioned the ‘Success Case Method’, which we discussed in a previous episode.

In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross G recommended Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull.

Anamaria encouraged listeners to check out Katherine Zhou’s ethical design toolkit.

And Ross D talked about pushing some eggs through a sieve after watching an episode of The Bear.

For more from Mind Tools, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers:

· Ross Dickie

· Ross Garner

· Anamaria Dorgo