Extranets, where several Intranets are linked together to form a fast, reliable means of communication, multiuser environs can help move a project toward completion. Salespeople from Honda showrooms scattered across the country can use each other as a quick and easy resource when hunting down a customer request. Reporters from different satellite bureaus of the Wall Street Journal can work together on stories from a virtual newsroom. An online community makes a company's Web site a viable investment, because it is a cheap and effective way for that company to achieve its business objectives. Minimal upkeep costs are required to support a community which can house countless potential customers.
Fresh content is the main factor in keeping an online community a low-cost endeavor.
Instead of the expense of constantly checking and updating text and links, in online communities, the visitors themselves are the content. A new experience is guaranteed with each visit, because there will always be new people with new ideas and changing moods, as well as diverse programming. Hosts provide a specific forum where an event is the draw, but the visitors themselves are at the core of the experience. The American Medical Association can sponsor an online medical lecture at minimal expense, where numerous users can share ideas and philosophies. Also, site hosts can actually generate revenue from their content through advertising, since advertisers pay for their ads to be viewed by the site visitors.