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

Don’t work in community. Seriously. I never meant to become a community manager. Most of us didn’t. We fell into it sideways, like walking through the wrong door at a party and suddenly finding ourselves responsible for babysitting someone’s forgotten & drunk cousin.The job is a messy tapestry of contradictions. You'll build fences designed to be c... See more

When it’s real, present and felt, community can be a source of social connection, belonging, shared purpose and meaning. More often – and increasingly, in the absence of other social safety nets – it’s invoked in the abstract as something we desire, or should be working toward.

At its core, community isn’t transactional—it’s relational. An effective brand community strategy creates shared social context between its members: an inside joke, a visual language, a set of cues that help people recognize each other. Just like a themed dress code at a party gives strangers something to laugh about and bond over, these contextual... See more

The word community also came up more times than I could count, with young people desperate to live close to their friends (not their jobs) and have people around them who will love, support and accept them. However, it’s important to note that while the word “community” came up a handful of times, it was almost always used vaguely. Community is und... See more