Issue No. 103: What is Community Anyway?

Community means a lot of things to a lot of people. Whether it’s your local running group, a book club, your gym squad, family, or membership in an exclusive club, belonging to something is meaningful. Our identities, while obviously unique to us, are so shaped by the influence and power of community that it remains a biologically human need to hav... See more

This level of interpersonal connection is why Hydrow CEO Bruce Smith doesn’t think connected fitness machines will have a negative social impact, and that the sense of community that typically form at brick and mortar gyms will be more distributed. “Connected fitness is about bringing your body and your screen life together,” he says. “The more we ... See more

Sport connects us all, we know that. But what strikes me about this innovation wave in fitness is the emotional access. It’s the antidote to social media, and the mindless scrolling and fear of missing out. These platforms convene us, activate us and give us judgement-free common goals from the comfort of home. As wellness increasingly becomes a wa... See more

The essential goal of any tech platform is to make you use it again. This is called “stickiness”. But one step beyond stickiness is community: the key is to embed a tech platform into someone’s life, including their friends and wider circle of acquaintances and fellow athletes they haven’t even met. Group encouragement is proven to have a positive ... See more