Without enough content, it can be difficult to attract users, and without enough users, it can be difficult to generate the content that would attract others.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Creating an online community requires a critical mass of users and a sufficient amount of content to attract and retain members. This is known as the critical mass problem.

In a cancer support group, for example, the content may be messages shared by cancer survivors and caregivers. In an open-source software development community, it may be a base of working code for developers to build upon. On a site like YouTube, the content is user-generated video clips.

Obtaining critical mass for an online community

Kraut, Robert E., and Paul Resnick. Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design. MIT Press, 2012.

Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design (Kraut and Resnick)

- Identifying a useful niche
- Managing competition from other online communities for both potential members’ attention and the niche

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