2008.08.29

Technology is not community

Congratulations to Connie Crosby and Eden Spodek on launching a great new podcast, Community Divas.  The show explores the role and dynamics of community with an apparent focus on social media.

Connie and Eden jumped off the ropes swinging by releasing a great two-part discussion with Jay Moonah.  How they limited him to just two episodes is beyond me, and I mean that positively — because Jay has a million insightful ideas, he’s energetic and most importantly, speaks eloquently — not because there’s a running joke that Jay talks a lot.

There was a fleeting moment during which Connie and Eden recognized that some people refer to web services and their verbifed names such as Twitter, Facebook, Ning, MySpace, etc… as community.

Consider that web communication services are tools just like a telephone; they’re widgets that enable people to connect.  And like widgets, their appeal cycle is far less permanent than their purpose cycle.  That is, if a new tool emerges with a fresh look, improved interface and simpler API, people will flock, en-masse, to the new tool.  The constant migration of the community from one tool to the next, and the effort to re-establish itself in a new location is more like changing your bank account to start fresh than flying south to avoid the cold of winter (although, now that I’ve written that I realize there are strong parallels with both).

If the tool really was the community, we would no longer have any connection or way to connect with others in that community when the tool collapsed.

Be sure to follow the discussion over at Community Divas.

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  • Mark,

    This is a great post (and to Eden, Connie, & Jay: great show!)

    I really think that it is VITAL that we realize / remember that PEOPLE make up a community. A company can make the best communications tool, but if no people use it than... well... it does not matter how good it is.

    I think that many people in the new media community are to quick to give credit to the services, and the people who create the, and too slow to give credit to the users who are really the heart, soul, and fuel of any community on the web.

    -N

    P.S.

    I can talk more than Jay. Did someone just get told? Yeah? OH SNAP!
  • Mark, Thank you so much for your kind words about Community Divas. As you know, we've been part of the "pod" community for a long time and this is the first time either of us have been involved in a podcast we can call our own. We're still trying to figure out our grove. Luckily, we have amazing people like you and Jay to support us and interview right off the bat.

    I don't want to give too much about our next episode away. Suffice it to say, you've given us our discussion topic. And get ready because we want to interview you (and Bob and you and Andrea) soon.

    Cheers,
    Eden
  • Stevie... I would argue that your description of Facebook as a community is more reflective of a community that is dependent on a single tool or gathering place. A community should be resilient and portable. Certainly, a strong community should be resilient and portable. This of course opens up a bigger discussion on how many tools/gathering places are too many in the quest for a strong and engaged community.
  • Didn't you mean you mean "not _just_ because there’s a running joke that Jay talks a lot"? ;-)

    Thanks for the props Mark, and I wanted to say again that it was an honor to be on the first episodes of Community Divas -- it's shaping up to be a terrific show!
  • Mark:

    Good points - I think people tend to forget that there are people behind these tools, and start worshipping the tools instead - that's why conferences like PAB and NOTL and Podcamps are so important - because they remind you that there is a person behind that text, and people are far more interesting then words. Especially when you consider that web-based communication tools are even FURTHER removed then, say telephones, because at least with a voice-based tool you get inflections and meaning that cannot be easily conveyed otherwise.
    Of course having said all that, some of these tools such as Facebook ARE communities unto themselves, they never existed before Facebook, and they WOULD collapse if Facebook went away. Some would regroup around another tool, such as Myspace, but I think that many communites built around the tools would cease to be if that tool were taken away. Does that make them any less of a community then, say, a group that also gets together at a pub the first Friday of every month?

    PS - If there WAS a podcast called "Community Tools" who would be interviewed first ? :)
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