This post has gotten popular over time, so we've updated it for 2020.

Are you looking for something new and different to do with your online community?

Set up a virtual talent show.

Bonding experiences

In high school, I made a frightening attempt to sing an Andrews Sisters song with two of my friends at our school talent show.  

It was epic in its badness, but my friends on stage with me, and our friends in the audience, all bonded over the experience.  

It became part of our "friendship lore."

Your online community needs to have "friendship lore" like that, along with celebrations and traditions. 

Especially when times are tough, or people are feeling isolated, this type of bonding is critical. It's the glue of your online community.

Ideas for setting up an online community virtual talent show

First, if your community isn't shy about going live, you could use a livestreaming platform like Zoom or Google Meet to give members the spotlight for a set amount of time. Maybe each "act" gets 5 minutes to wow the rest of the group.

Promote the talent show ahead of time by setting up a calendar event, and include a link to the livestream in the description. Take it one step further by including a chat event in your community, so members can share appreciation for the talent (or talk trash) during the event.

Consider recording the video stream so you can upload it to your file sharing space later, in case anyone missed the live event.

Are your community members too shy to go live? Setting up a virtual talent show could be as simple as having everyone record a video of their talent and then uploading it to the community site (or a social site like YouTube).  

You might want to set up some ground rules first, based on the tone and mission of your community.  

Here are some other ideas:

• Consider using moderation tools to screen videos before they go live on your site
• Use the "like" feature or reactions for voting
• Offer a prize, either a tangible item or "bragging rights" like a custom badge or title
• Make it an annual event if it goes well
• Invite celebrity judges related to your community's topic area
• Join forces with another online community and pit your talent against theirs
• Make a Twitter hashtag to help spread the word about your virtual talent show
• Either allow member uploads during a certain period of time, up to a deadline, or have everyone submit their videos to you, so that you can post them all at once
• This same concept could work for a story contest or audio-only contest, if your members are camera-shy 

So what's your talent?  

If anyone implements this idea in their community, please come back and let me know! I'd love to see it!  

(No, I won't be submitting an Andrews Sisters performance video.)

Title image: Rob Laughter on Unsplash, Image: dlofink