To create something that others want to join and support, we have to remember a core tenet: communities function best and are most durable when they’re helping members to be more successful in some way in a connected and dynamic world.

What is something your people can’t do solo? Or that would be better in a group? The more compelling the shared activity, the more likely you are to spark a community. Is the activity purposeful? Tie the activity back to your community’s purpose. And communicate that purpose explicitly, as Gavin Pretor-Pinney did when he formed the Cloud

Features of a sustainable community: First, there’s a clear group identity with understood boundaries and purpose. Members know who is in or out and why they’re together. Second, benefits and costs are proportional. Members have a system that rewards contribution. Getting more benefits than others must be earned, or the group will collapse. Third,