Today marks the launch of Open Community, a terrific new book from Lindy Dreyer and Maddie Grant for associations that want to dive into the world of online community. As the authors put it,

Written for the complicated and quirky world of associations and membership organizations, Open Community is about how associations can—and why they should—build community online. (Not to be confused with building a successful private social network. That’s just one small part of a really big picture.)

The book is a collection of big ideas. The simple yet far-reaching concepts, framed by our own definition of Open Community, describe how to approach the inevitably long and complex process of building community online in such a way as to help your association succeed. The concepts in Open Community are actionable and applicable to any association, large or small.

I’d be psyched about OC anyway… but I’m especially excited because Maddie and Lindy invited me to draw the cartoons you’ll find at the beginning of each section of the book. So all this week, you’ll be seeing Open Community cartoons on Noise to Signal – which I think will mark the longest stretch of continuous posting in the cartoon’s three-and-a-half-year history.

I’m delighted to be associated with Open Community, and I hope you’ll find the book as nptech-a-licious as I do! (You can buy your copy here.)