We here at TN20 ask ourselves this question a lot. We ask people that organize groups this question a lot as well. The answer, it turns out, we learned a long time ago; it all depends.
I hate it when that happens. But it is a very accurate answer. It depends on who you are asking. It depends on whether the group is informal or formal. It depends on how you think about your community. It depends on your role in a group or community. Our research has shown that communities range from a group of friends wanting to keep in touch to a formal 501(3)c tax-exempt organization (after all, you aren’t REAL until you have a tax ID number).
Does an e-mail list make a community? At first glance, it seems like a silly question. I mean a community as defined by wikipedia as follows:
A community is a collection of living beings that share an environment. The individual beings can be plant or animal; any species, any size. Communities are characterized by interaction in many ways. The definitive aspect of community is that each subject in the mix have something in common. This article focuses on human communities, in which intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the degree of adhesion.
There are many key phrases that permeate the definition. Share an environment; Have something in common; functioning as a loose unit. When translating into an online community, these phrases make subtle, yet critical points. A community is more than being able to post a message. It means interacting with those in your community to both give and receive support, advice, information, and experiences.
When we look to off-line community examples to see what the defining characteristics of a community are. Examples we study include Mothers Groups, Religious Organizations, School Groups, Alumni Groups, Hobby Groups, Political Groups, and Family Groups. The consistent theme to all of these groups gets down to shared life experiences. Rich life experiences past, present and future. The activities of the communities vary greatly, but are linked by these experiences.
So what does that mean to create a complimentary online experience that facilitates and not limit these rich experiences? Well, that is what we are working on solving. Communications is but one element of these experiences. While important, it should not be the defining element.
So, we would love to hear from anyone about how they define community. What is important and why? We are learning new stuff about communities every day. Social behavior changes from offline to online. So, while we keep building out the service, we would love to hear from you and get your opinion on the subject.
