In my work with people “building” online communities, it’s been a huge surprise to discover that a fairly large percentage of them are not members of other online communities, or even in-person communities. My mind is consistently blown by the idea that someone might consider themselves the right person to run a community without being a part of a community first.
This reflects a basic misunderstanding of the concept of community, I think. It suggests that one person can be at the center of a community and manage it, when how real community functions is naturally decentralized, more Brownian than linear.
Joining a community is not the same thing as taking a class; following an influencer or brand; or attending an event, though these can be entry points. Joining a community means you’re intending to be interconnected over time with other people who you can relate to and potentially befriend or collaborate with.
As community stewards, our experience of joining a community can help us to empathize and understand people seeking out the community we’re shepherding. What drives us to contribute to a community? What experiences give us a sense of meaning, fellowship, or belonging?
“But,” I hear some hypothetical person saying, “my skills are in convening and bringing people together, so shouldn’t I be the one starting or managing a community, not wasting my time in someone else’s?”
In my experience, contributing to a community offers opportunities to lead and grow in ways trying to start one from scratch can’t match.
Communities that work start small. Communities are built on trust, which takes time and doesn’t scale quickly. It turns out you have more opportunity to make an impact by developing into a leader in an existing community than you do by starting a new one.
When people do start new communities, they can easily destroy necessary trust by exerting too much control, or making it about them or their product and not about what members need or care about. On the flip side, one person trying to serve the needs of a whole community is destined for burnout.
It’s often more effective to find a community, participate, contribute, and support other members’ goals than to start a new community.
Sometimes, there’s no alternative to creating a community because the collaborative goals people have aren’t currently served, but beware that self-serving interests always get in the way of the relationships a community depends on. This is part of why brand communities or community-as-a-business often fail: narcissism and community aren’t great companions. Communities aren’t promotional channels. If you’re a business fostering community, think of it as part of your product, user research, and customer development programs, not sales or marketing.
Sustainability and growth rest on a philosophy of collectivism. In other words, the best communities don’t need a manager, they need stewards who share responsibility and a process within the community that develops more stewards, so nothing depends on just one person or authority.
If you don’t find joining a community compelling, what makes you a good person to bring one to life? As someone working in service to the community, you’re much more effective as a member than as an administrator. Start your journey in community by being a great participant- the best part is, you may find your own sense of community in the process.