--- title: "Large Online Communities: When Things Get Massive" id: "35079" type: "post" slug: "large-online-communities-when-things-get-massive" published_at: "2016-09-22T21:50:20+00:00" modified_at: "2016-09-22T21:50:20+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/09/22/large-online-communities-when-things-get-massive/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/09/22/large-online-communities-when-things-get-massive.md" excerpt: "Management helps save the day for large online communities. Plus: How to spice up panel discussions." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "community engagement" - "Membership" - "online communities" - "Scaling" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Large Online Communities: When Things Get Massive As a community grows in size, some challenges can arise. To best address them, organizations must not only prioritize strong community management but also scale their communities. [StackExchange (opens in a new tab)](http://stackexchange.com/) and [Nextdoor (opens in a new tab)](https://nextdoor.co.uk/) both scale their communities by creating subgroups within them, [the team at FeverBee highlights (opens in a new tab)](https://www.feverbee.com/scale/) . However, each has different approaches: StackExchange guides its members through four steps toward going live as a subgroup. Nextdoor, meanwhile, allows people to create a pilot site for [their neighborhood (opens in a new tab)](https://nextdoor.com/find-neighborhood/) if there isn’t one already. Then they have to hit certain targets within three weeks of creation. Basically, the strategy of both is to allow members to help with community management. But doing so still requires limits. “Don’t let everyone create a group. Make it harder to create a group and support the right people to succeed,” the FeverBee team writes. Organizations must also take a few steps to help ensure quality subgroups. These include preventing duplicate groups, making sure group creators have motivation as well as skills and resources, and helping subgroup members successfully grow. ### Tips for Your Next Panel > 10 Ways [#EventProfs (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/EventProfs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > Can Improve Panel Discussions: [https://t.co/00FL8BiZiF (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/00FL8BiZiF) > [pic.twitter.com/PIYKPAoeuz (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/PIYKPAoeuz) > > — SmartMeetings (@SmartMeetings) [September 21, 2016 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/SmartMeetings/status/778579550238281728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > “Every six minutes, do something interactive to stimulate the audience, such as a poll or a game” [https://t.co/AVYIrxuyhI (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/AVYIrxuyhI) > > — Jade (@planner_diva) [September 19, 2016 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/planner_diva/status/778020599817969664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **According [to a 2014 survey (opens in a new tab)](http://powerfulpanels.com/report/) , 63 percent of conference attendees** say a normal panel discussion is “OK” or “poor or very poor.” Only 37 percent said the standard panel format was “good” or “great.” With that in mind, Susan Jacobs [offers 10 tips to improve the panel format (opens in a new tab)](http://www.smartmeetings.com/meeting-planning/91957/10-tips-to-improve-panel-discussions) at the Smart Meetings blog. ### Links Of the Day **Need a new assistant and another chat app?**Well, Google’s Allo comes in to save the day. The tool uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make chatting easier, along with something it calls “Google Assistant.” [Check The Verge‘s’s review from Dieter Bohn (opens in a new tab)](http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/21/12996170/google-allo-review-assistant-messaging-chat-app) . **It appears paid influencer marketing is on the rise in the event industry.** But is it ethical? Adrian Segar says no [in a piece published on his Conferences That Work blog. (opens in a new tab)](http://www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/event-professionals/2016/09/is-paid-influencer-marketing-ethical-in-the-event-industry/) **Get some summer reading in? Or need more reading recs?** *Inc.*’s Geoffrey James [shares 10 business books (opens in a new tab)](http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/the-10-business-books-that-changed-the-world.html) that changed the world—a fall reading list that could help with your professional growth. [Patrick deHahn](https://associationsnow.com/author/patrick-dehahn/) Patrick deHahn is a contributor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/patrick-dehahn/) Tags: [#community engagement](https://associationsnow.com/tag/community-engagement/) [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) [#online communities](https://associationsnow.com/tag/online-communities/) [#Scaling](https://associationsnow.com/tag/scaling/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Contract: Building Stronger Destination PartnershipsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-contract-building-stronger-destination-partnerships/) - [VideoMelvin Tennant, CAE, President & CEO of Meet Minneapolis, Welcomes You to Great Ideas 2026September 2, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/02/melvin-tennant-cae-president-ceo-of-meet-minneapolis-welcomes-you-to-great-ideas-2026/) - [VideoASAE TV Daily Recap: Final Day at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/24/asae-tv-daily-recap-final-day-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoTerin Bates, MBA, CAE, CX-PRO, Shares Her Experience at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 18, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/18/terin-bates-mba-cae-cx-pro-shares-her-experience-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2016%2F09%2F22%2Flarge-online-communities-when-things-get-massive%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !