Why community can not be explained, but has to be experienced

What does “community” mean? Facebook calls its billions of users a community, and multinational brands use this word to refer to their customers. Are these communities in any meaningful sense? What about the “brand communities” I mentioned earlier, do these qualify? And can a community that is paid truly be called a community at all? As paid commun... See more

 Too often, companies view community as a nice-to-have, an add-on to the GTM efforts. In this approach, instead of elevating the community to a role of unique influence, the community program is often co-opted by the goals of other teams, and is expected to influence core business outcomes. But the lens of business metrics is NOT the best or o... See more

I sometimes think about communities as human search engines. Groups with trusted relationships and a healthy sense of belonging are a great way for people to answer questions in their lives. And in fact, that’s what many people use communities for. We regularly work with communities of change-makers and most activities in the online forums are sear... See more

The promise of community begins to feel disingenuous when what’s described is little more than a euphemism for a targeted demographic of interested consumers. Is there any other reason to facilitate community if not for a business to sell more products and accrue more members? Is it possible to find real community beyond the parameters of one’s con... See more