In this Mashable article, Telligent founder and CTO Rob Howard discusses the life cycle of online communities - how to understand it, and how to garner value from it. "Community life cycles are often portrayed as simple linear progressions, with the goal of 'maintenance' once maturity is reached," Howard says. "However, I have found that a community has unique characteristics that conflict with many of the preconceived notions of success." Read the full article here.