Fractal communities vs the magical bullhorn
By Ben Werd
A broadcast model creates a direct line from anyone with power to everyone. Theoretically, that's a beautiful, democratizing thing; in practice, it turns the protocols and assumptions underlying the broadcast medium itself into the ultimate influencer. Everyone who is trying to reach an audience falls into patterns that they know will improve their reach; they game the algorithms, which are really reflections of the values and ideas of the teams which created them. Influencers like Donald Trump game the minds of engineers and product managers in San Francisco in order to game the world.
College Campuses Are Designed at Human-Scale. Our Cities Can Be Too.
From Strong Towns
There are many reasons why the college environment facilitates relationships and personal connections. Everyone there is at a similar age and stage in life. Classes and majors tend to group students by interests and personality traits. There is also a relative freedom from responsibility. One factor often overlooked, though, is the structure of colleges themselves. Because of their scale and walkability, college campuses meet human social needs in a way that is impossible for many of our nationβs towns and cities.
π‘ Tip of the week
Diversify your income. Just because you run a community, it doesnβt mean all money has to come from community specific activities.

More community news:
- How to create an instant-community β Danielle Maveal
- My First Year Building an Online Community β Ronan Mc Guire
- Building Customer Personas with Community by Alex Angel
- How to tackle the monsters holding you back from being a good leader β Fast Company (h/t Jeremy Bonney)
- Vanessa Mason's Building the Future of Belonging at Work event series
- Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds β Adrienne Maree Brown π
- Hopin acquires StreamYard β Hopin
- π #1 Let the Journey Begin | Startup Communities: say "What?" β Francisco Fonseca
- We love this post about creating a community-centered social media strategy by Among Us' Community Director
- Why Has Clubhouse Been Plagued by Trust and Safety Issues? β Community Signal π§
- Building the Dream Community Team with Holly Firestone β Masters of Community π§
- Realizing a global movement π£ Colombe Cahen-Salvador, Andrea Venzon & Laura Giani, NOW! β GetTogether π§
- What to consider when starting a community β Build With Users
- Why you should organize a community event in Virtual Reality β Alfredo Morresi
- Issue #41: Belonging and Institutions β Future of Belonging
- Meetup Launches Keep Connected Podcast β Meetup π§
π Tools
- Passion Economy Stack has gathered resources for Community Leaders and Event Organizers.
- Ghost's Community Builder PDF starter set
- Feels like a good week to share Greater Good Science Center's Bridging Differences Playbook
π¦ Tweets
If youβre wondering why Iβve been so passionate about the loneliness epidemic the past several years, this is why. https://t.co/6iPP8fCbmO
— Tony Bacigalupo (@tonybgoode) January 11, 2021
What makes you want to join an online community?
— Christina Garnett (@ThatChristinaG) January 9, 2021
Community Building Pro-Tip: Ask not what your customer champions can do for you β ask what you can do to champion your customers. pic.twitter.com/sprFnCoYE9
— Tristan Lombard (@TristanLombard2) January 5, 2021
Really cool personalized DM from the @alteryx Community Team going out to all members. Itβs like Spotifyβs Wrapped feature, but for community engagement.
— Brian Oblinger (@brianoblinger) January 5, 2021
And, Iβm sure that they completely automated this to grab user data, generate the images, and send the DMs. Super slick. π₯ pic.twitter.com/oIt2mmg59k
Who uses Groups effectively in their communities? Right answers only.
— Brian Oblinger (@brianoblinger) January 8, 2021
Fantastic discussion about content moderation and section 230. https://t.co/03zDdKuV0H
— daniellexo (@daniellexo) January 9, 2021
When a community is growing up and professionalising, and it goes from a hobby circle to a co-op, thatβs one of the most interesting, terrifying, exhilarating, fragile and robust things in nature. It *is* nature. The gist. If I get this right β then Iβve made it.
— Anna GΓ‘t π§ Pilgrimages (@TheAnnaGat) January 9, 2021