WikiLeaks is an online community that publishes and comments on leaked documents alleging government and corporate misconduct around the world. It hasn't been a very popular website, until they recently released a video of a 2007 US airstrike in Iraq that killed 12 people, including two reporters from Reuters. The questionable judgement on display made it newsworthy enough for the New York Times to run with. It was also discussed on the major national news outlets.

In a world where regular people like you and me have difficulty getting traction with our personal blogs and company websites, there are lessons we can learn from WikiLeaks that has created a successful online community despite the inherit challenges in getting members to participate in what essentially amounts to direct opposition to the major governments of the world, including the US.

Have a mission. At WikiLeaks, they believe that "courage is contagious." Despite the risks that their members are taking by handing over classified, censored or otherwise restricted material, WikiLeaks is able to get submissions because members believe in their mission. This is not just a website, this is a way of life. 

Do what ever it takes to create participation. Governments all across the world are taking steps to shut down WikiLeaks. To protect it's members information is submitted through secure transmission. Also, community managers have created duplicate versions of the site called Mirrors. If the main site is down, the mirrors persist. Having these duplicate sites probably costs a lot more, but WikiLeaks understands that they need to protect and preserve member participation and submission of content - the lifeblood of their wiki site.

Follow sensible rules. Your community members all have unique personalities. If you've successfully encouraged their participation, community members will take your community in directions you didn't anticipate. But, an unruly mob is not the same as an online community.  A thriving community encourages engagement and participation at every turn, but also follows a set of procedures that create order out of chaos. Given the mission of WikiLeaks, it surely attracts every conspiracy theorist around the world to submit all kinds of wacky ideas, as well as angry opinions about perceived injustices caused by political personalities. WikiLeaks does not accept rumour, opinion or other kinds of first hand reporting or material that is already publicly available. Without these sensible rules, WikiLeaks would surely devolve into a popular gossip mill.

Whether you're attempting to build an online community with as daring a mission as WikiLeaks or maybe just a simple peer support community, follow these rules and you'll have a better chance at success.

Please - share your what you've learned in creating your virtual communities in the comments below.