Organizations can develop in-house tools to manage content, payment and infrastructure or they can employ a host of external services. Established organizations may need to integrate new and legacy systems, which typically involves some amount of in-house development. I recommend small companies building from scratch go the third-party route to keep start-up expenses low. This model requires careful attention to the bottom line at all times, including that early period when everyone is hopped up to buy new stuff.

An initial tools checklist should include:

• A robust blogging platform installed on your own server. Movable Type and WordPress are the most popular systems.
• RSS feeds should be managed through Feedburner.
• A Google Analytics account. Be sure to install tracking code on all company-owned sites.
• PayPal and Google CheckOut accounts.
• An event registration/payment account through EventBrite, Amiando, RegOnline or similar services.
• Twitter accounts for the company and target communities.
• Facebook fan pages for target communities.
• LinkedIn groups for target communities.
• Ning social networks for target communities.
• A collaboration system. Offerings from Google Docs, Zoho and 37 Signals are all quite good.
• Instant messaging accounts for all staffers and community beat managers.