I’m out on blogger vacation this week. The keys to TheKmiecs.com have been turned over to a few, select, awesome guest writers. The following has not been edited by me and is the work and effort of the original author. I appreciate the time and thinking that went into this post and hope you will too. Enjoy!

By Jen Beio, media planner and champion of the pursuit of internet awesomeness

I love the internet. I really do. Truly, madly, deeply.

I love it for its quiet brilliance. I mean, after LOLcats, of course.

As a self-proclaimed digital kid, I am perhaps more inclined than the average bear to jump on internet bandwagons, due partly to my age, and partly to the fact that I’m such a savvy so-and-so (I kid). As such, I often find myself defending web ideas to my suspicious circle of colleagues and friends, and am always a bit surprised to have to do so. The things I find so incredible in their simplicity tend to strike my skeptical cohorts as stalker-esque, creepy fads. Can all my Foursquare haters please stand up?

For anyone who’s unaware, Foursquare is a location-based social networking community that allows users to state their coordinates and offer helpful tips to friends and other users who might also frequent that venue. Check off items on your to-do list, earn points, win badges, and become mayor of your favorite spots by checking in there more than any other patron. Fun, right?

Last night, I found myself arguing on Foursquare’s behalf on two separate occasions. I know. I need to get a life. Anyway, both scenarios involved individuals in the advertising community, and both conversations, despite my fervent outpouring of Foursquare love, resulted only in blank stares and/or furrowed brows. What. Is up. With that.

Let’s all stop hating for a moment and contemplate what it is about Foursquare that launches it to the top of my list of quietly brilliant web innovations.

Here are the top reasons to hate on Foursquare that I’ve heard from the hater community. And, of course, the reasons I beg to differ.

1. It’s creepy.

Yes, there’s an element of weirdness to having a location feed available on the web for the masses, especially as a single female in a big city. I’m not stupid; I get that. Perhaps I will get kidnapped on the way home from my current location, and you can all have a good laugh about it (jerks). You know what? Life is creepy sometimes. And dangerous, always. This is one of those cases where I feel like the benefits outweigh the risks, so long as you’re smart about the information you share. Keep reading for more on that.

2. It’s annoying.

It’s not annoying, it’s information. Foursquare is a gold mine for consumer data. I really can’t believe that I would need to argue this to people in the industry. All pings, badges and tomfoolery aside, what Foursquare does, essentially, is give businesses a free list (a list! for free!) of digital-savvy consumers who love you enough to want to broadcast to their web community that they are a patron. These are people who carry a certain amount of digital clout that want to spread the word about you, and they are going to do it for free. And, you now have access to a list of them, what they think are the best parts about your business, and even some information about them (their Twitter handles, phone numbers, and so on). It’s a CRM-lover’s dream. How are you not excited about this?

3. Who cares?

You care! Especially all those ‘yous’ out there who are in the biz. Or, the business-owning ‘yous.’ Our job as marketers is to care. You care (a) what people do with their time (b) what they choose to tell their people they’re doing with their time and (c) when you can put your brand in front of them at the right moment in time. Not to pontificate, but if the internet is spitting out free applications that help us to gather the data that provides a foundation for our profession, it is your responsibility to care.

[A caveat: this is not to say that no-one cares. I have seen a few cool case studies of businesses who have jumped on the Foursquare train, and are riding it to Consumer-Love Station. This post about the Pit BBQ in Raleigh, for example, truly warms my heart. Kudos to you, Pit BBQ management. Consumer interaction: you’re doing it right.]

4. Why would I want to do that?

Well, this one is really up to you. I like it because it’s a game, it’s fun to do, and it gives me a tool to coordinate nights out with friends. I also like the idea of creating a database of my existence, which is why you can find me tucking seemingly trivial information into many different data-ports around the web. It seems to matter to me. Personal preference of the digital kid, I imagine. But, fun for everyone who chooses to participate, I find.

Like I said, my romantic feelings for the internet lie mainly in its outpouring of tools that unabashedly display simple, beautiful, quiet brilliance. If nothing else, I love that I’ve been able to use applications like Foursquare to build out a community of web-adoring geeks such as myself. I simply cannot wait to see what awesomeness lies ahead for those businesses that have us geeks heading up their marketing initiatives.

For all those out there who choose to remain creeped out, annoyed, apathetic and non-participating, I apologize for wasting a moment of your time.

Thanks go to my editor, Clay, for helping to un-muddle my thoughts on this one. Virtual high-five. Thanks also to Adam, for asking me to guest-post. I’m flattered, and honored.

Communities are bigger than “social networks” like Facebook.  Social Networks are just one type of community, albeit, one of the most recognizable ones on the web today.  Every community, big and small, relies on 5 types of roles to be successful.  The communities that have all 5 working together are the ones that tend to succeed and become desirable destinations.

1. The Host: Somebody has to be willing to entertain all these guests, put on a great event, maintain the peace, and clean up after the party is over.  On top of that, the host has to make sure everybody is having a good time.  The host keeps your glass full, the food coming, the music playing, and the entertainment fun.  Without the host you wouldn’t have a place to kick back, hang up your coat, and pass the time.  The host’s job isn’t all fun though.  The host has to be willing to set some rules, enforce them, and when in doubt kick some people out.  Perhaps most importantly, the host needs to be trustworthy.  After all, you aren’t going to just hand over your car keys to a complete stranger.
2. The Facilitator: They’re often confused with the host because they seem like a do-gooder who wants to ensure everyone is having a good time. However, they play a different and very important role. The facilitator genuinely wants to make sure everyone is happy. They have a curious nature about them and truly enjoy a good conversation. Without the facilitator conversations would grow quiet and stagnant. If you will, people would stop moving about and meeting other people. On some levels the facilitator is a matchmaker. Their grasp about all the things taking place in the community is amazing. But, unlike the voyeur, the facilitator is willing to share that information with people.
3. The Popular One: This is the most important person in the community.  Yes, the popular one makes it all about them, but they also bring a whole bunch of people with them.  Some people show up to see them.  Some people show up to be able to say they saw them.  Some people show up because they might see them.  The popular one has a tight knit set of friends and a large group of pseudo-friends that show up at the same places they do.  If you don’t get the popular one (s) to show up you’re going to have a tiny, boring, and listless community.
4. The Instigator: Somebody needs to stir the pot.  Somebody needs to be willing to say the things others won’t and do the things that make people shake their head.  That’s what’s great about the instigator, they keep things interesting.  People love and hate the instigator.  They love watching what comes next, but they hate all the attention he/she gets.  But, here’s the thing, everybody loves controversy.  It’s the reason the news outlets exist.  If everyday was 72, sunny, without a chance of rain, and everybody was happy, no one would tune in or read the paper.  The instigator engages in conversations just to take the other position.  They are pure entertainment.
5. The Voyeur: I love the voyeur.  They don’t cause problems, usually lend a hand to the host, never overstay their welcome, and always tell everyone what a GREAT time they had.  Some times they’re known as wallflowers, but that’s not really giving them their fair due.  Wallflowers, don’t interact and seldom even show up.  The voyeur shows up.  It’s that showing up that helps the community out tremendously.  Even without actively participating they make an impact, because they can be counted.  The host can say/claim 500 people showed up, even though 420 of them were voyeurs.  The voyeur can be taxed, even though he/she contributes less than many other community members.  Yes, without the voyeur we’d all be in trouble.

I’m sure you can identify with one of these roles. Often I’m the instigator, but on this site, I’m the host. Read my tweets, check out my posts on forums, and look at my comments on other people’s blogs to see the type of investigator I am

Knowing the roles and being able to spot the people playing them is critical to making sure your community finds success.

What would some advice be with out a visual and some weights? Exactly! The following image outlines the 5 roles and my belief on their importance. You may find that for your community the weights differ slightly. That’s ok, each community is different.