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Passion Economy: Not All Communities Are Created Equal

by Li JinJuly 15th, 2020

Too Long; Didn't Read

Many companies/brands/creators profess to have community, when they really just have customers or followers. Building a community can indeed provide a moat. But–I find many companies profess to having community, many just have followers. To have a truly defensible community, I believe the following need to be present: high intentionality, P2P interactions, & UGC content. The hallmarks of ‘real” community:Intentionality. Members seek out the community as a destination, not just as part of a broader platform’s feed.

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Building a community can indeed provide a moat. But–I find many
companies/brands/creators profess to have community, when they really
just have customers or followers.

To have a truly defensible community, I believe the following need to
be present: high intentionality, P2P interactions, & UGC content.

Hallmarks of “real” community:

Intentionality: Members seek out the community as a destination, not just as part of a broader platform’s feed
P2P interactions: Strong engagement and ties between members
UGC content: Members contribute content vs. just engaging w/ what’s broadcasted to them

More thoughts on community:

Originally published as “Not all communities are created equal"