Building communities is vital today, whether it's to support a software project, an online site, or a company. Online communities not only provide a reliable support network, but also a source of ideas, and a powerful marketing tool - especially when money is tight. In "The Art of Community", you'll learn about the broad range of talents required to recruit members, motivate and manage them, and make them happy to be part of your community. The book takes you through each stage of community building, from software tools to conflict resolution skills, and teaches you how to: establish sustainable processes for management; acquire useful tools and infrastructure; build buzz around your project; measure aspects of community success; handle conflict management; manage live events; and get your community to scale. Author Jono Bacon has been building and managing communities for a decade, particularly in areas of open source software, such as KDE and Ubuntu. Currently, he's the Community Manager for Ubuntu, arguably the largest community in the open-source software arena. His experience and his relationships with other community managers provide a rich and deep well of expertise for "The Art of Community".

About the Author

Jono Bacon is an award-winning leading community manager, author and consultant. Currently the community manager for the worldwide Ubuntu community, Bacon is a regular keynote speaker, has also authored four books and acted as a consultant to a range of technology companies. Bacon's weblog (http://www.jonobacon.org/) is one of the widest read Open Source weblogs and he writes regularly about community management.