Since the beginning of internet there has been a tension between private communities and public social networks. Of course, Facebook and the likes have for a while given the advantage to public networks, but private communities now do come back strongly.
An excellent post by Steve Pavlina ‘The Rise of Private Communities‘ describes in much detail the advantages of private networks (in addition, he is in the coaching business where this type of networks offer probably an advantage when it comes to the quality of interaction).
There are benefits and drawbacks to the rise of private communities – although they also do apply to public social networks who do offer some similar features with some restrictions:
- The advantage is a better interaction through a barrier to entry and a strong facilitation, which should make content much more relevant with less waste
- The drawback is that the community might tend to close upon itself, and in the extreme develop its own delusions
Therefore, private communities and open networks will always remain complementary. They are tools that need to be used in the right way for the right purpose.
