Need your inputs on this paper on online brand communities. My proposal has been accepted and it's around online communities.

http://www.slideshare.net/michael_ling/exploring-the-social-and-functional-values-of-online-communities

hey,

nice work on the paper! u've done a lovely job on the literature. :)

still, i've some things on my mind ..

what differentiates a focal customer from a normal customer?
perhaps a definition would be nice.

u could offer an improvement to McAlexander's model further since the firm, product and brand should be in a *clique* and not separated from one another.
in other words ..
1. the firm should interact with the product to change its feature in accordance with the customer.
2. the firm should interact with the brand to improve its capacity to connect better with the targeted customer.
these interactions are not reflected by the model.

how does online brand differ from offline brand? how do they relate?

furthermore, how do experts come into the picture?
i reckon experts are specific portion of the consumer whose views have a strong impact on the community.

just my two cents.