What does community mean? How do we define who is in our community and who isn’t? Geographical parameters work…well sort of…but what about online communities?
Do online communities exist by virtue of a username and password? Do members of our communities need to be engaged or can they be interested bystanders? Who makes the call? What is the acceptable level of engagement? A few posts? A purchase? A positive contribution in some way to others in the our community?
Am I in your community? Are you in mine? We’ve never spoken before but you know a little bit about me and I know what browser you like to use, are we a community? Whichever way you want to define what a community is and which individuals make up our communities, we all belong in some way or another to a community whether we like it or not. Does that mean we have an inherent obligation to others in our community? If so, what are these obligations? If not, who’s to say we’re not welcome?
Communities are defined by the contribution of individuals to others. An attempt at growth, not in the number of members, but in the purpose on which the community exists in the first place.
Historically our communities have been defined by where we live. Today, in this connected world, a community is very different. We need to rethink how we define ourselves relative to others and decide for ourselves whether we belong. It’s not determined by where we live or what we do but rather how we choose to occupy our time in space online…engagement is key to a community in the connected world.
Do you feel a part of a community? Are you engaged with other members of your community? If not, you may think you’re in, but no one else does. Does it matter? ‘I think I’m in and therefore that’s all that matters’ may be a legitimate proposition.
In any case, communities exist in the connected world and will continue to serve a very important function in our lives: fulfilling our need of belonging. In some way communities give us a purpose to exist; creating responsibilities on ourselves to take ownership of outcomes we can influence.