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At what point in a project should the community be invited?
As I approach the completion of the front of the website and start to work on the content design and creation process for my project, I'm wondering at what point I should open the site to members. I will be creating the core content while the members will be adding their experience to the content. I was planning on creating buzz around the project until the "inside" is the site is ready (some css and language tweeking needs to be done). I was wondering if I should have some of the project completed before I open it to memberships? What are your thoughts?
Here is what I suggest:
You can start by manually adding the first 10-20 people from your immediate circles and get started. Populate profiles, interact, get the game started.
Then you can start with an inquiry form to pick and choose the first let's say 100 or 1000 people. The very first people who join a community pretty much determine the culture of that community. You want to first start with the best people.
At this stage do start a blog and let the world know about the purpose of your project. Tell them why they should join your community, what you are all going to accomplish, and how you are going to do it.
Most important of all start with people who you think are more likely to gain followers. If you seed your community with influencial leaders, they will attract more followers. If you seed a community with followers, you may not be happy with the results.
Once you reach a critial mass number of members and your intuition tells you that the community is able to mostly sustain itself, then consider openning to the public.
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