To celebrate Invision Community turning 20-years-old (an eternity in Internet years), I interviewed the company's founding fathers.
Ahh the good ol' days. Remember simpler times?
This new video interview touches on Invision Community's past, present and future thanks to the invaluable insight from @Charles, @Matt and @Lindy.
In our chat together, these gentlemen...
Take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and reflect on the company's origins
Explain the power of community amidst the social media boom
Offer advice for new community leaders on how to grow
Share some of the biggest changes to the platform
Recant fond memories from the earlier days
Reveal a teaser of what's next for Invision Community
Noteworthy quotes:
Charles:
Lindy:
Matt:
Thoughts on the interview? We'd love to hear from you in the comments! 🎂
Twenty years ago today, Invision Community was founded and within months the first version of Invision Community was released. Little did we know, this would be the start of a remarkable journey spanning several decades.
Our first version appeared shortly after we founded the company. It might be hard to imagine a time before social media and YouTube, but when we started out, the web looked very different.
The first version of Invision Community was called Invision Board, reflecting the popular term for forums back in the early 2000s. It was full featured and you may recognise some elements that persist today.
Like today, it even had a separate control panel where you could create new areas of discussion and customise the theme.
Twenty years is a long time and we've continued to adapt with the ever-changing needs of community managers. We've seen the rise of social media impact how people consume content and found ways to compliment Twitter and Facebook by offering a place for long-form permanent discussion.
Several elements remain from those early days but the concepts behind the theme have change significantly. New workflows, UI elements and views have helped the platform stay fresh and we've certainly innovated a few features that have since become industry standard over that time.
I can't express how proud I am of what we've built together. From those humble beginnings working until 2am to growing a creative and talented team around our passion for community.
I'm still as excited today as I was back in 2002. This year will see us build and release new tools to help guide and inform community managers. Our community platform continues to go from strength to strength.
Of course, the platform is only one part of Invision Community. Over the last twenty years I've been grateful to get to know many of you and watch your lives unfold.
This is as pure as community can get and I'm privileged to be part of it.
We have a few other surprises to celebrate our twentieth anniversary. We can't wait to share them!
I'd love to hear your memories of Invision Community! When did you first use our products and what was your community for? Please let me know in the comments below.
