Community is not a new concept: humans have always survived and thrived in community. Community develops around a shared interest, goal or need that is perceived by the members as important and requiring community collaboration. However, community in 2023 looks rather different to the earliest forms of community and manifestations of community within the events and marketing industries reflects this.
Community now manifests itself in online, offline and hybrid communities and these diverse structures not only shape individuals but can also foster a powerful sense of belonging and identity. Furthermore, communities wield a significant impact on businesses, organisations and society at large, as will be explored.
The image below is the Opte Project Map of the Internet, created by Barrett Lyon in 2003. The image visualises internet activity in 2003, which is interesting given that the internet in its entirety is one big community of around 5.2 billion people, of which 4.8 billion people use social media (Statista, 2023). And with total global population of just over 8 billion (Worldometer, 2023), there are great opportunities for community development and expansion.
In an increasingly interconnected world, the concept of community has become both more nuanced and more needed, as we go about “seeking out alternative spaces” (Scaman, 2023:33) to combat isolation. ONS Data from 2021 reports that people living in urban areas are the most likely to feel lonely “often” or always”, despite these being the most densely populated areas. Whilst we are now beyond the forced isolation of COVID-19 lockdowns, the stark reality of how lonely people felt and still feel is an issue to be reckoned with. Scaman writes that “we’re more connected, yet more isolated than ever”: so it is no wonder that people “seek out companionship in the virtual world” (2023:18).
And this speaks to the importance of and value in building meaningful, purposeful community.
There is accelerating momentum amongst the “proliferation of platforms” (Scaman, 2023:36) that are accommodating human society’s ever diversifying needs and wants. Commentators speak of the shift away from “big social”, on account of how “social media giants steal our attention, cloud our minds, distort our relationships, sharpen our tongues, and obscure truth” (Gabriele, 2023). The emerging community landscape is exciting, multifaceted and highly personalised.
Reliable and up to date data on the true picture of community engagement is hard to find. However, the following statistics help give an indication of how fundamental community involvement is to society, through the lens of online communities.
- In 2019, 76% of global internet users engaged with an online community (Reddit and Global Web Index, 2020)
- In 2019, 66% of people were drawn to online community engagement by the desire to connect with others who have similar interests (Reddit and Global Web Index, 2020)
- In 2020, 1.8 billion people were using Facebook Groups every month, with over 70 million people in active group moderation roles (more people than the UK’s population) (Noveck et al, 2021)
It seems that each purchase also now involves the opportunity to join a mailing list and a community, often through an app, where users can get involved at different levels. When this was explored anecdotally, it seems highly likely in certain networks that a much greater proportion of people are involved in communities in some format, whether online, IRL or hybrid.
But what do these community formats involve?