How often have you joined a Facebook group with descriptions such as; Artists Community, Entrepreneurs, Peace activists, or Community of engineers? You join the group hoping that this “community" would enrich your knowledge. You follow a few posts every now and then, but eventually, completely lose interest. Unfortunately, this is the common scenario online. We find ourselves in an online community that lacks personal interactions and valueless resources!
Fancy signs, well-written posts, and happy pictures, we end up falling for this trap. This word -community- somehow builds expectations of being an individual who could be part of a collective. You become seduced to the idea, that you can be part of something larger. Expectations aren’t bad if they are met, but when they aren’t met, you start losing hope. You start asking yourself “Why can’t I be part of a community, who really wants to make a change and motivate one another? Why haven’t I found it”.
So we should ask ourselves, How do we find the right community for us?
We don’t want this to be another broken promise or another marketing scam. We want a place that could connect our thoughts, concerns, and solutions.
There are two important things to understand when creating a community; the difference between a commercial community and a real community. Acknowledging that an essential part of creating the community starts from You.
You might be wondering, what is a commercial community? Places like Facebook, Instagram, and other social media create the illusion that you are part of a community, but in fact, you are a consumer of the product. Some social media companies describe their products as tools to create communities. Unfortunately, this use encapsulates the definition of "communities" as "conversations". Needless to say, conversations are byproducts of real communities, but they aren’t the only necessities of a good community. According to Jeff Jarvis, the director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the City University of New York.;
"Community means connecting people intimately and overtime to share interests, worldviews, concerns, needs, values, empathy, and action" - Jeff Jarvis
This definition draws an image of meaningful and lasting interactions, where there are trust and real value brought to each community member, instead of just enabling people to share and talk about something - content-, we create the means for people to organize a modern, digital rotary club of concerned citizens who want to improve their circumstances for neighbors, geographic or virtual.
So, what is a real community? It isn’t perfect, it isn’t hostile, and it isn’t exclusive. Rather it’s in constant motion, a community that consists of people who ignite change and motivate others to be the best versions of themselves. As a member of a community, you can ask each other questions for self-development. Find people who have similar ideologies, can exchange ideas, or start collaborations. Also, It’s an important factor in building the proper skills whether they are for personal or professional development. Most importantly, people who don’t laugh at your ideas but cheer you on to keep going.
Finally, being an active member is essential for a better experience within a community. While individuals profit through increased knowledge, networking opportunities, and peer recognition for their expertise, each individual's contribution to the community is the key to enable this engaged and efficient culture.
At Factory-x, creating value is a culture!
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