Just because you have a lot of users doesnt mean you have a community.

It seems that among the many things that are discussed by Web 2.0 companies is this concept of community. Apparently, they all have communities. They all communicate to their communities about community-related things. New feature? Bring it to the community. Made a mistake? Thats ok, the community forgives.

But, do any of us really have a community around our product or service?

We have profiles of our users, and our users can send messages and friend/follow each other. But are they a community?

Well, like all good rants, we must start with a definition. Which means Wikipedia:

In biological terms, a community is a group of interacting organisms sharing an environment. In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.

In sociology, the concept of community has caused infinite debate, and sociologists are yet to reach agreement on a definition of the term. There were ninety-four discrete definitions of the term by the mid-1950s. Traditionally a “community” has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location. The word is often used to refer to a group that is organized around common values and social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household. The word can also refer to the national community or global community.

How amazing is that? 94 definitions of the term community by the 1950’s. No wonder there is so much confusion about the term and its application to startups. When I asked the same question on Twitter (and therefore Facebook), I got many many responses, with most being centered on the concept of “shared interests.”

Fair enough. Lets take that to the online world. What most people (I think) forget, is that Web 2.0 is really the Internet serving as a platform for software. Digg, Facebook, etc are all software packages that we are accessing through the browser. Which makes most internet companies software companies and most “shared interests” a product and/or service. Meaning that most of the communities that we talk about, are really some version of a user group.

If we look at commonalities in the definitions, the words interaction and shared identity stick out. A true community allows people to do two things: communicate and be part of something viewed larger than any one individual.

When community is viewed in this manner all of a sudden the word “community” as its used today is just wrong.

Community is not users. Community is not revenue. Community is not content.

Community is communication and inclusion.

Where does real community lie? It shifts. For a long time slashdot was a great example of a community that allowed for communication and inclusion. 4chan, for as scary a place as it can be, is a real community. Wordpress (on the developer side) is a growing community.

Inclusion isnt automatic.

Inclusion comes from displaying the ability to improve the communication and the community. If you dont add value you dont get in. Its that simple. To grow a community, the members must add value to the community.

Create a lasting community.

You cannot expect a community to grow on its own. Twitter does not a community make. Tracking blog mentions does not improve your community. 95% of current online community managers suck. They are not building community; they are protecting the product. They are not building community; they are promoting products.

Of the two components: communication and inclusion, the latter stands in complete opposition to your sales team. Getting users doesnt build a community. In fact, in many ways, it destroys your community. If anyone can be a member of your community, your community is full of people that add no value.

Thats right. Not every user brings the same level of value to your community. Decide what value you want your users to bring to the table, and then facilitate paths and roadblocks to ensure that your users are providing that value.

Create the ability for community members to communicate as they want to. Brand managers and most companies want to control the conversation. If your users are truly part of the community, they will do nothing to hurt and/or destroy the community in which they live. [UPDATE: great example of the community protecting the community.]

Trust them to make your product better. Trust them to make your community better.

The lie of community is that by having users or by creating content, a community just exists. That by being on the Internet somehow we are all part of some global community. There is no global community.

But, there can be community that grows organically around a “shared interest.” As community manager your job is to foster that organic growth by ensuring a focus on community-driven communication and inclusion. While this might sound cliche, the only way to truly succeed at that is by not using the word, but by living IN IT.

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