Working over the weekend in my garden has me thinking about the best way to grow a successful community.  Just as my tomato plants need the right mixture of time, water and healthy organic soil amendments so too does a community need the right organization and structure.

One of the classic pitfalls in growing a new community is not allowing it to grow naturally.  We typically see this expressed as a desire to split the community into many small, highly focused discussions that mirror the organization or product structure in some way.  When this happens, the community fails to thrive because the activity isn't concentrated and

new members aren't sufficiently confident that their posts will be answered and so they look to other channels. 

By concentrating activity in fewer boards, your community has a chance to grow more organically, and eventually map to different product lines.  We recommend that you give this process time and that each board has a minimum of 5-10 posts per board per day.  In fact, we recommend that a board have an established pattern of about 40 posts per day before it is split into two separate boards.

When your community is allowed to grow organically, it will have an opportunity to thrive and gather enough critical mass to be self sustaining over time.  When this is done properly you will be able harvest a bounty of benefits from your community.

Recently, my car achieved a new milestone, its odometer rolled over to 200,000 miles, and that got me thinking about longevity.  In looking at long term health with regard to community and the full life cycle of a community, it is important to plan and take certain proactive measures that will ensure that a community continues to grow and thrive over time.

Some things to consider when looking at the long term community health are the following practices:

Strong community leadership.  This is important at all levels, from the business sponsor down through to community management and moderation.  A community that is well lead, directed and managed will be much more likely thrive and grow for many years.

Roles and Ranks.  Communities that have done well over the long term tend to have a well thought out and deep rank structure that encourages users to continue to actively participate.  

Super Users.  Strong communities manage their super users well and recognize the extra value they bring to the community with special incentives that reward active participation.

Of course, there are also many other factors to consider when looking at long term community health and for these Lithium offers an array of specialized advice and guidance to help any organization achieve lasting success.

With proper stewardship and management it is possible to have a community that can go the distance and provide long term value for both the businesses that host them, and for the consumers that use them.

This past week saw the launch of Lithium's newest community, the Qsphere.  The Qsphere is the Quorum Health Resources (QHR) community devoted to helping hospital managers share ideas and gain insight into key issues facing their industry.

QHR provides management, education and consulting services to hospitals to help them improve efficiency and the quality of service that they provide to their customers.

Please feel free to drop by and see what happening:  http://www.theqsphere.com/qhr/

Lithium is getting geared up for its second annual customer conference on May 13-15 at the Le Meridian hotel in beautiful downtown San Francisco.  Want to learn how leading edge companies are driving and measuring real ROI from their communities?  Then you should join us as we share detailed case studies and real world examples from a variety of organizations and industries all using the Lithium platform. 

This year's theme is "Spotlight on Community Value" so come learn, share and connect with the Lithium team as well as your industry colleagues as we discuss best practices, our product road map, and much more.

Of course it won't be all work.  Join us on Thursday evening as we visit AT&T Park to watch the SF Giants battle the NY Mets. 

Space is limited, so register today, and if you sign-up before April 25 you will save $100.  More information and registration details can be found here.