Ian Dickson is putting together a community, he wants it to be large, but ran into a few challenges. Here you will find comments and a brief summary of his findings on the psychology of communities.
What is a community?
A community is a group of individuals who have a common interest, purpose, objective, or desire; who work together to reach this future point.
Communities share resources, ideas, and generally help each other relate reach objectives as defined by subgroups in the larger collective.
Individuals in a community can relate to the experiences to others in the same group and often community these points with each other.
Communities are often defined by a trait recognized but not necessarily understood by individuals outside the community, this trait may even be an abstract belief.
Who is the most important person in it?
Individuals in the group are the most important part of a community, their contribution increases community value for others and shapes the outcome created.
Community leaders are facilitators or solutions providers as defined by the individuals in the group, they remain in power as long as they produce value.
Individuals can choose their own level of activity or involvement in a community, in turn this influences the amount of value they will receive, and how relevant this value is to them.
Group segmentation is better defined my its members than leaders of the group, use surveys and research to understand key important issues inside a larger group.
Individual desires determine the perception of community value. You can appeal to the group by appealing to individual needs under a common theme.
Most people are semi detached from their communities most of the time
Most people are shy about speaking in public
"People do not like to impose"
"Real communities have knowledge"
People who are silent are important
"Established communities are largely self sustaining and self managing"
Communities are not isolated, but have relationships and interactions with other communities.
/ active-members | relationship-realms /
Ian Dickson is the CEO of Commkit, a provider of tools and knowledge necessary for building communities that work. For more papers and articles visit on-line at http://commkit.com/
Subscribe in a reader