Community

An overused term that too often describes groups of people receiving messages broadcast from a single sender, such as via email or streaming video.

I received an email from a company in our industry whose name I will omit. I had already been on their mailing list, but then a curious new edition came through, stating, “Thanks for joining the [redacted] community. Every week, we’ll send you content, podcasts, and insights to guide you along your journey….” The subject line welcomed me to this community. It is not a community but a mailing list.

One of the problems is that the dictionary would agree with that email sender. The first Oxford definition of “community” referenced in Google states, “A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” By that definition, this email sender told me I am part of a community, and it must be true. I know nothing about the other members, so it is a little surprising to have that community forced upon me. In making my case to Oxford, I feel like I would lose unless I convinced them to redefine “community” in a future edition.

Given that the welcome message was delivered online, and I have spent 30 years as a member of various online communities, I turned to Wikipedia’s definition of “online community”: “A virtual community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. For many, communities may feel like home, consisting of a ‘family of invisible friends.’” The quote belongs to Howard Rheingold, and it is one of the more touching sentiments I have seen on Wikipedia.

The last time I was that touched by a Wikipedia entry was when I read the entry for The Koala Brothers, an Australian-British animated children’s TV show released in 2003 that has since resurfaced on Netflix. The character descriptions are profound: “Ned the Wombat… is often unsure of himself, but he dreams of adventure as an explorer or sea captain. He is very determined, and easily fixated on an idea.” George the Turtle “has no known residence but is always seen delivering the mail.” Sammy the Echidna “has the fewest problems” (as any echidna should). Alice the Platypus “works at the local café and appears to be the sole employee, though it is not clear if she owns the café.” It’s existentialism for children. It is also clear that these characters are all part of a community.

Building on Wikipedia and Mr. Rheingold, a community in any remotely digital sense should entail interaction among members instead of merely a broad trait in common. I founded a community for marketers and have my bias. It’s a bias against liberalizing the definition of community that accelerated as platforms like MySpace and Facebook scaled.

I do not consider the subscribers of my newsletter to be part of a community. To me, it feels like a community because I interact with many readers and do sometimes introduce readers to each other.

However, most readers will not feel like they are part of a community; they will feel like they are newsletter subscribers. I could call my newsletter “Serial Marketer Nation,” but it would be a nation in name only – all the nationalism, none of the interconnectedness.