Defining "community" using analogies

Plus inspiring web3 community builder Pichapen and Youtube's new Hype feature and the future for community

Author

Carmen Taubman
October 04, 2024

Welcome to the Community Coach newsletter, a value packed read
for community builders who love hanging out with other community builders (so we don’t have to explain what a “community” is…)

P.S. I’m in Dubai for the next few weeks. If you know any great communities or people I should meet, reply and let me know! Already spotted a few solid club meetups happening around town.

From book clubs to dinner clubs and workshops at an open community space - spotted in Dubai!

In this newsletter…

📚 Community 101: Explaining to others what a community actually is - using analogies

🔥 Inspiring community builder: Pichapen for GATH3R

👋 Answering your questions: This week I’m commenting on Youtube’s new feature called “Hype”

Community 101: Defining “Community” using analogies

I love using analogies to describe something, because usually people really “get it” if the analogy is solid.

This past week I’ve shared my own analogy on how a community differs from an audience on social media…

My analogy of community vs audience on Reddit recently

And then I read this tweet by David Spinks and it sent me down another rabbit hole of how we can think of communities as “forests”.

In fact this caused me to to have a deep and meaningful conversation with ChatGPT (yes I love having long chats with AI, and please don’t feel sorry for me - I do chat to real people too!).

I started asking ChatGPT to share more details about the ecosystem of forests, and how they compare to community building. It’s response is epic so I thought I’d share it below:

Here’s a breakdown of the forest ecosystem layers and how they align with community building:

1. Canopy Layer (Leaders and Influencers)

  • Forest: The tallest trees in the forest form the canopy, absorbing the most sunlight and providing shelter to the ecosystem below.

  • Community: This represents the community leaders, influencers, and key contributors. These are the visible, guiding figures who provide direction, leadership, and structure, creating a sense of stability and vision for the community as a whole.

2. Understory Layer (Core Contributors)

  • Forest: Shorter trees and shrubs that grow beneath the canopy, thriving in limited light but still critical for the forest’s health.

  • Community: In a community, this layer represents active members and core contributors. They may not be as prominent as the leaders, but they are critical in sustaining the energy and culture of the community. They contribute regularly, participate in discussions, and support newer members.

3. Shrub Layer (Moderators and Support Roles)

  • Forest: A diverse range of plants, bushes, and smaller trees that occupy the space between the forest floor and the understory.

  • Community: These are your moderators, support staff, or volunteers, ensuring the rules are followed, conflicts are resolved, and the space remains welcoming. They create a sense of safety and help nurture the growth of newer members.

4. Herbaceous Layer (New and Occasional Participants)

  • Forest: Comprising small plants, herbs, grasses, and flowers, this layer contributes to the forest’s biodiversity but is often overlooked.

  • Community: These represent newcomers, occasional participants, or "lurkers"—those who may not contribute regularly but are essential to the diversity and future growth of the community. They learn from the more active members and may eventually rise into more significant roles.

5. Forest Floor (Foundation of the Community)

  • Forest: The forest floor is rich with decaying leaves, organic material, fungi, and insects, forming the nutrient base that fuels the entire ecosystem.

  • Community: This layer represents the core values, culture, and shared experiences that form the foundation of the community. It's where resources, knowledge, and ideas decompose and regenerate into new ones. The stories, history, and norms that keep the community grounded live here.

6. Roots and Mycelium Network (Hidden Support Systems)

  • Forest: Below the surface, trees and plants are interconnected by a vast network of roots and fungi (mycelium), which share nutrients, communicate, and support one another.

  • Community: This is the invisible network of relationships between members. Like the forest’s mycelium, strong communities thrive when members feel connected, supported, and able to share resources and knowledge. This unseen layer is vital for the long-term sustainability of the community, fostering collaboration and deeper connections.

Key Insights:

  • Diversity: Just as forests thrive through biodiversity, communities flourish when members from different backgrounds, with various perspectives and skills, contribute to the collective.

  • Interdependence: Each layer in a forest is interconnected and interdependent, just like in a community. Every member, regardless of their role, plays a part in the ecosystem’s health and success.

  • Growth and Adaptation: Forests constantly evolve, adapt, and regenerate. Similarly, communities grow and adapt to the needs of their members, embracing change while staying rooted in core values.

  • Nurturing Over Control: Just as a forest can’t be controlled but can be nurtured, a community thrives when it's given the space to evolve naturally without micromanagement. Leaders guide, but the ecosystem of the community takes on its own life.

This forest analogy emphasizes the organic, interconnected nature of communities, encouraging a holistic approach to fostering growth and engagement.

You may think this is completely irrelevant - but every day as community builders we have to explain to others what a “community” really is. I do believe if we can find analogies that resonate with people so they can visualise something that is usually tough to visualise, it helps people understand the definition better.

Do you have any favourite analogies to describe what community is? Reply to htis email and let me know!

Inspiring community builder: Pichapen for GATH3R

I love receiving messages from people in my network telling me I have to check out what another talented community builder is doing. This happened recently to me where I was told to check out Pichapen - a talented community builder based in Thailand.

I love how Pichapen approaches community building and wanted to highlight a few things in this newsletter.

Very active in several communities in web3/crypto

This is a superhuman move. If you’re in this space, it definitely pays to tap into several high calibre communities that tell others quite a lot, including:

1) You are passionate about crypto/web3/ your industry in general
2) The other communities you participate/ are a member of speaks volumes on your values/interests/focus within a broad industry lie
3) You are actively participating and adding value in the space (in Pichapen’s case - 4 separate projects listed as founder + advisor to 2 other projects)

Adding value to the crypto/web3 community by creating GATH3R

Take note on the way Pichapen writes about GATH3R. It’s not just a description of an online directory (community built) - but it also focuses on the reason why it was created in the first place. It addresses a key problem that anyone in the crypto/web3 space can relate to - tired of being scammed.

The response was well received:

Understands how to encourage participation from new community members

This reminds me of Wikipedia and the way they recruited Wikipedians. The more black and white you are about how your members can participate and add value to the community (whilst also helping them with their own goals) the better.

Actively plugs into other big players in the space

Pichapen is a member of other large web3 projects such as WolvesDAO, ARC and Creators Nexus. ARC is “the” web3 community focused on Singapore/Asia, WolvesDAO is a large web3 global community and Creators Nexus curates the best Web3 influencers out there.

By tapping into these other networks, Pichapen is able to leverage their influence and remain relevant by learning what others are up to in the space.

GATH3R - founded by Pichapen

GATH3R: Your Web3 Compass - Navigate the Web3 maze with ease using GATH3R, your curated Web3 yellowpages. Make informed decisions, maximize your Web3 experience, and avoid the hype.

t.co/fHxzChB0Hw

Answering your questions

“How will Youtube’s new feature Hype impact on community building?” 

In case you haven’t heard, Youtube is introducing a new feature called Hype that puts smaller creators up on the stage and helps them stand out in what is usually a brutal algorithm:

The tweet further explains how Hype will work for Youtube creators:

Source: Greg Eisenberg

Now how could this concept be applied to community building?

 You probably notice that certain vocal people in your community can get more attention or focus from other community members - simply because they make more noise.

But what about the members who are quieter, or perhaps their questions/insights get buried underneath the noise from active participants.

I love the idea that we could “hype” these community members to make sure they are seen and heard.

The fact Youtube is actively trying to encourage this speaks volumes: if you only allow a small % of your membership to be seen/heard, then you’re not actively growing.

Implementing a "Hype" mechanism in reality (i.e. your members are part of a community platform) means that community platforms would have to consider adding the following features:

  1. Highlighting Posts: Platforms should allow moderators or members to highlight or "pin" posts from quieter members to ensure they receive attention. This can be a manual selection or driven by nominations from community members. I.e. enable the ability to “supervote” or hype posts especially from less vocal or newer members.

  2. Custom Badges or Reactions: Develop custom reactions or badges that members can award to posts they find valuable but are perhaps under-noticed. This could act similar to "Hype," where each member has a limited number of special acknowledgments they can give out weekly.

  3. Automated Features: Integrate features that automatically promote posts based on criteria other than likes or comments, such as novelty of the topic or quality of content, determined through member feedback or AI. This would also ensure we stop chasing vanity metrics in communities.

  4. Regular Spotlights: Create regular features or spotlight posts that focus on introducing and sharing contributions from quieter community members, perhaps curated by moderators or through community votes.

  5. Feedback Loops (adjusting the algorithm): Implement systems where community feedback directly influences visibility, with algorithms adjusting to promote diversity in whose voices are heard. Posts that receive positive feedback but from less frequently heard members could be automatically given higher visibility.

"Automated Features" focus on pre-set criteria for content promotion, while "Feedback Loops" use ongoing community interactions to continually adapt which content is highlighted.

By adding these features, community platforms could create a fairer and more welcoming space, actively involving everyone (and not just the most outspoken members).

What are your thoughts? Reply and let me know!

Got a question for me? DM me on Twitter and ask away. Your question may be answered in a future newsletter (and I’ll reply to everyone who asks).

Until next time,

Carmen
Community Coach

Connect with me on Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn.

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