I came across an interesting article about writing earlier this week, and it compares the written word to interval training programs like Crossfit. Interval training is based around the idea that you push yourself to the max for a certain period of time, and then slow down to a baseline where you’re still working hard, but also conserving for the next max interval. Only occasionally do you get a full break. That sentence could be my full break as it applies to writing, as it is much shorter than the others, which helps to break up the monotony of the traditional paragraph structure.
Online communities used to focus more on the old, grind it out style of training, where you’d do the same thing every week and see the same results every week. Rinse and repeat. You could say the online community, especially co-creation communities run by KL Communications, has now evolved into the interval training model. Sure, there’s still the baseline, the weekly activities, surveys, etc. However, now there’s also the high intensity intervals of CrowdWeaving® (our company’s name for our proprietary co-creation sessions).
CrowdWeaving®, as well as other in depth activities like bulletin board groups, serve two positive purposes. They engage the members, allow them to do something else, and use a different part of their brain. It removes them from the relative pattern of the weekly activity, and makes them feel like they are part of something important, and encourages them to let their voice be heard. Across all of our communities at KL Communications, we see the engagement for these high intensity projects come in higher than the usual weekly activities when used appropriately, so it’s a great way to keep your members engaged and active.
From the client’s perspective, it allows them to dive in-depth to a problem or challenge that they’re facing. These high intensity activities bring excitement to the workplace, and you’ll see that many of the clients’ peers get excited and “peek in” to the community when they otherwise wouldn’t. In addition to getting some great information (and maybe even a new product!), the client is raising the profile of the community within their workplace, which is a win for them and a win for you.
By all means, keep the regular activities going. Everyone needs a baseline, and everyone needs to stay consistent. On top of that, add your intervals. Bring something new to the table and you, your members, and your clients will all benefit from the change of pace.
If you’re interested in reading the inspiration for this piece, please click this link!
j#