Blog Entries
Community Spotlight, Week of 5-3-10

After the finale of our first Community of the Week competition it's time once again for a Community Spotlight!

Community of the Week

This week's featured community is the Natural Horse Network, or NHN. It was created by DC2010 as a community site for their website about horses.

 
We all know the saying "Nothing in life is free", but with the advent of the web that notion seemed to have been put on its head. Users expect content to be free, but web owners still have to pay the bills to keep it active. Many sites have gone with the traditional approach of advertisements being displayed on their pages, but there's been a lot of interest lately in another method, which is selling products directly targeted at the site's user base. The Natural Horse Network has done just that.
 
If I were to leave it at that you might think that the creators of NHN were greedy people out there for nothing more than money, but it's most certainly not the case. A quick visit to their site will show you that they have a passion for horses. Expanding this to a business is a very natural -- and savy -- progression. If you enjoy something enough and are good at what you do why not create a community for those who are just like you. When you recommend products to them they will appreciate it as you're fulfilling a need they have. A community site (such as those made possible by the Spruz platform) provides a place for people to discuss their passions, and for you to advertise. It's a mutual relationship that both parties benefit from.
 
Congratulations once again to DC2010 and everyone at the Natural Horse Network! Stop by their introduction page for more information.
 
There are seven more weeks to go before the community will once again vote for the top Community of the Week! If you'd like a shot at our next round of rewards post an introduction that follows the guidelines we've provided.
 
 
Suggestion of the Week
 
This week's suggestion comes from OhioGamerz who suggests that event creators be able to upload an image for their event. He proposes that a small change like this could potentially make events and sites overall appealing to both members and nonmembers alike. Voice your opinion, be it for or against the suggestion.
 
As always we want to hear what you think about each idea. If you've thought of a feature you'd like to see added to the Spruz platform feel free to post it in the Idea Room. Remember to make it as detailed as possible; all topics must be approved before they'll appear.
 
 
Tip of the Week
 
This week's tip posted by CH Staff is a question as well: should you discourage lurking on your site, and if so how would it be done? CH Staff believes that it can damaging to their community if they have a large number of inactive accounts as it makes it easier for spammers and those from other sites trying to poach community members. On the flip side a benefit of keeping them on your site is that it appears larger, encouraging new users to get active.
 
What's your opinion? Post a response or a tip of your own in our Tips and Tricks forum.
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