So, I guess its pretty common knowledge that I don't own the OWC any longer. But I've learned a tremendous amount creating and growing that community to the level it was at (6000 or so members of the wine community). The main lesson I learned is that a community without a common reason to interact or an offline venue to network (i.e. the online community as an extension of the offline community) is really hard to make succeed. Even the hieghts that the OWC reached were still not considered a success by me (and maybe you as well).
The one thing that was helpful was having a place for WBC attendees to interact about the conference, share rides/rooms, learn about each other. And since the conference is my passion I'm setting up a community for the conference. Help me test it out.
Login is simple – its connected to Facebook, Twitter, and Google so no sign up is necessary. A couple quick questions and you're done. The site may ask for your email address but thats to manage alerts and such.
There are forums, groups, and a member map (which I need to test), Chat, and a feature request system that works like a Digg.com page (built in). I plan on adding Session RSVP (so you can see who's attending what session) and I'll integrate the WBC blog as soon as I upgrade that. I could also make ticket purchases available through here as well if this works well.
At a minimum, we need place to coordinate rides and stuff, and it has the upside of allowing folks to continue conversations that may start at the conference.
I think the coolest thing is the URL! Just go to: http://WineBlogge.rs
Let me know what you think! "Friend" me on the site and hook me up with feedback. Thanks!
Right now its EARLY testing! Not many people there. If it looks good and works well I'll auto-add all the attendees.
Joel Vincent 