By Lauren Modeen, Manager of Online Strategy, GovLoop

Ever wondered what the biggest online community killer is? I’ve been looking at communities lately of all shapes and sizes. Is it mean bloggers? Spam? Too controversial?

Answer: Not Interesting

So…how do you keep things interesting?

5 Ways to Make Your Community Interesting

1. Invite people passionate about your subject. I get kicks talking about government, food, and running and will enthusiastically contribute to communities focused on this. Others, I may not care about, and will contribute little or nothing. You need fired up instigators, so go find your people.

2. Don’t hide or delete controversial posts. For examples, there was a blog post featured on GovLoop.com during an outdoor rally in the fall on 2010 in Washington DC. On the surface, the post appeared controversial, but in fact presented a rational personal opinion and generated solid discussion. Remember, as long as the discussion is respectful to everyone, there is nothing wrong with things getting a bit hot.

3. Drive the community around something people can get excited about and bond over: either a cause they are working towards, or a geographic commonality.

4. As the community manager keep discussions, blog posts, and new additions fresh and interesting. Don’t let things get stale.

5. Engage people directly so they feel personally invested in the community. Feature posts, discussions, ask direct questions, include specific names in a newsletter, and celebrate recent, personal successes. When people see their name in lights, things look a lot more interesting.