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About Douglas Atkin

Douglas believes that community is the engine of loyalty -- to companies, brands, religions, causes, sports teams, whatever -- and that social glue is generally a good thing. He works with organizations to create to create stronger glue through better community platforms and programs. He does this through his venture: The Glue Project.

What happens when your community grows up?

This is a guest post from Douglas Atkin, CEO at The Glue Project and author of “The Culting of Brands.” What happens between the moment of birth and spawning (when the community is mature-the subject of the last post)? Communities go through recognizable life-stages as they grow. You should be aware of them because you can…

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The 5 ingredients of community glue

This is a guest post from Douglas Atkin, CEO at The Glue Project and author of “The Culting of Brands.” It may seem trite to have a list of ingredients. We’re talking about high-functioning communities here, not a sponge cake. But over and over, the same motivations, techniques and principles emerged as I talked to members…

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What is a community?

This is a guest post from Douglas Atkin, CEO at The Glue Project and author of “The Culting of Brands.” I keep being asked this question. Not surprising really, since I go on about community a lot. And perhaps not surprising because it’s one of those culturally familiar, but rarely examined ideas like fairness, or even…

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The two questions people ask before joining a community

This is a guest post from Douglas Atkin, CEO at The Glue Project and author of “The Culting of Brands.” These are the two universal (and often unconscious) questions people ask when deciding whether to join a community. They’re the two fundamental social needs that should be met if you’re going to successfully recruit potential members….

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Keep your community obviously active

This is a guest post from Douglas Atkin, CEO at The Glue Project and author of “The Culting of Brands.” An active community will keep its members. But being obviously active will attract new ones. People stay in active communities because they do stuff that satisfies their original need for joining. And because they’re interacting with…

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Emotional Loyalty vs. Transactional Loyalty

This is a guest post from Douglas Atkin, CEO at The Glue Project and author of “The Culting of Brands.” The distinction between these two kinds of loyalty came home to me last summer when I was participating in a brainstorming session on behalf of a major Big Box retailer. They wanted to develop a loyalty…

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Social vs. Community. Are they different? Does it matter?

This is a guest post from Douglas Atkin, CEO at The Glue Project and author of “The Culting of Brands.” I’ve been working with a big online content brand where the very smart and well-informed people who work there often use the terms “social” and “community” interchangeably. I’d like to propose that they’re not the same….

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23 tips for new community managers

This is a guest post from Douglas Atkin, CEO at The Glue Project and author of “The Culting of Brands.” “What are the top five pieces of advice you’d give to new community leaders?” “What are the five things you wished you’d known when you started out?” I’ve been asking these questions of community leaders a…

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