All of that skepticism towards community is further strengthened by the fact that the term “community” is becoming en vogue and is being used in pretty much every marketing and sales campaign these days, not to describe actual communities, but as a fancy way to say customer or audience. People who have never experienced community see the term being... See more

Relationships are the energetic core of communities. They are the glue. They are the reason people keep showing up. They are the biggest (and yet ironically the most intangible) value that communities create. Relationships are the community’s soul and source of life. Without relationships, the community is an empty shell.

Community isn’t structure. Community isn’t having a plan or a roadmap. Community isn’t the gatherings we organize to come together. Community certainly isn’t a social network or any other technology we use to connect. Community isn’t a shared vision, mission or agreements. Those are all tools that can enable or hinder a community. But they aren’t ... See more

People read nonfiction to learn and to feel. My framework for ensuring a blog post accomplishes both is to start with a first draft that focuses on "novel" ideas.

A novel idea is one that's not just new to the reader, but also significant and not easily intuited. Think of it as new and worthwhile . I've identified five categories:

• Counter-intuitive —

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