Wikis And Face-To-Face Events: "Face-to-face gatherings are very good at generating a large amount of enthusiasm and momentum. Unfortunately, that energy usually dissipates soon afterwards...For the past two years, I've been designing a set of processes that use online tools to maintain and even increase that energy after an event."
Comment: Courses and other learning events have a similar problem - after its done, ties are cut. Not every course has the potential to become a vibrant community...but I think every course should plug learners into existing communities so that a learner can choose to stay current in a field.