Communities
Communities are groups of people with something in common that interact together. Communities may share common attributes, culture, leaders, processes, laws, rules and a code of what is accepted. The people within communities may find it easier to relate to others within the community than those outside the community. The following are types of communities:
- Industries - people that work with or within an industry with common impacting realities like culture, leaders, language, rules (laws), protocols and communication.
- Organizations - people that work at business or not-for profit legal entities with a common mission, leadership, culture and unique nuances in the way they operate.
- Locations - people with a common geographic location like a country, state, city, region, town, school district, neighborhood or even a street.
- Groups - people that have a common bond that is less formal such as users (i.e., Facebook), social circles, demographics, shared perspectives, families or common interests (i.e., sports fans, book club, watch same TV program).
- Families & Support
Communities may influence people's decisions and/or potentially impact the enablement of an eDream. People's desire to be accepted, belong and feel like they are part of something can result in communities having significant influence over an individual's actions. People may make decisions to improve their position in the community or to protect how they are perceived by others within the community. People outside the community may struggle to relate, be dismissed as an outsider or even be considered a threat to the community.
The successful enablement of an eDream may require identifying and understanding:
- Which communities could impact enablement of the eDream
- Which communities that may impact aspirers, beneficiaries, decision makers or contributors
- What it may feel like having the attributes people in the community
- How people relate and act within the community and to people outside the community
- What are the impacting realities within the community and how it influences the community
- What are the impacting realities outside the community and how it influences the community
Everything big happens first in a small community. Facebook began with Harvard students, PayPal began with people on eBay needing to send money online. It can be a community like Silicon Valley that creates culture that almost anything is possible. Jeff Bezos learned about the book communities when pursuing his big idea which led to the creation of Amazon.com.
Communities is a component of Enablement.
