The next wave of big consumer companies will be community-based products:
- Niche, not everything to everyone
- Unique aesthetic
- Built-in community
- More memorable than big platforms
- Rewarding loyalty
- Unbundling large platforms
-... See more
In working so hard to become independent, we forget how much satisfaction we get from the sense that others depend on us, and the meaning we can create by allowing ourselves to be dependent on others—if only we have the courage to let them help us.
Stop trying to make social networks succeed, stop dreaming of a universal network. Instead, invest in your own communities. Help them make long-term, custom and sustainable solutions. Try to achieve small and local successes instead of pursuing an imaginary universal one. It will make you happier.
What's your vision for the future of online communities over the next decade, their global impact, and the role that Guild will play?
Reka: What's gonna grow is the super niche, small contextual communities, and the generation that's coming to the internet much more actively, genalpha. They are happy not showing their face, voice, or just being... See more
Zooming out: great communities, in the traditional sense, required limited options so people would remain dependent: no specialists or external trade (to ensure we all collectively worked together), and no diversity or weird ideas (to ensure a homogenous group with a focus on tradition). We had far worse medical treatment, underwent excruciating manual labor, and didn’t necessarily share the same interests with others, but because we were dependent on each other, the bonds were strong. Now the options are virtually limitless, and we’re seeing our social bonds decay as a result.