Community before 2000 to beyond 2000 Hallmarks of

Community before 2000 to beyond 2000

Hallmarks of Community Organic: built around people, not technology Messy: the “odor of life” Relational: defined by quantity & quality of connections Seasonal: flux with interest Stimulated: must be fertilized Pruning: communities must be cut back

Hallmarks of Community Organic Built around people, not technology • Microcommunities jostle toward stability as they grow. • Quality of community = Character X Relationship Effect • Rules & required knowledge are barriers to entry, can qualify or limit growth • Life spawns life; traffic attracts traffic; nice gets promoted, poor gets trashed • Some communities can host others in symbotic relationships

Hallmarks of Community Messy Weeds & moss, smells and dirt, animal droppings • Growth is irregular: sometimes dense, sometimes patchy • Final shape can be changed by irregular shifts (northwest instead of north) • Rarely stays within defined lines without assistance • Disease can spread exponentially; sometimes the only cure is amputation • Compost (dead organics) can serve as fertilizer; dead-ends can refresh focus

Hallmarks of Community Relational Sustained by member relationships • Communities are the sum of their members’ interaction • If all members are lurkers, there will be no community • Grow larger by recruiting relational people • Limited by maximum number of personal relationships sustainable by anyone • High value on personal networks; violate trust and the bad word will ripple out • High-quality people demand high-quality relationships

Hallmarks of Community Seasonal Relationships go through periods of life • Spring - new relationships seeded, formations of new ideas • Summer - friendships blossom, grow, good times, ideas take shape • Fall - Some relationships slide away while others deepen • Winter - stress cycle burns away bad relationships, kills some communities

Hallmarks of Community Stimulated Communities require fertilizer to grow • Needs outside stimulus - water, soil, air, minerals • Organic life comes from other life; communities are born out of relationships • Stimulus can consume enormous time and resources

Hallmarks of Community Pruned To achieve the desired effect communities must be maintained • Level of pruning dependent on purpose of community • Free form can be left to run wild, but will see turnover and flash fires • Works of art must be maintained more closely • Disease must be nipped in the bud or will ripple out • Disasters can fertilize (forest fires, etc)

Building Communities Envision: reveal, authenticate, assert, advertise, assimilate Connect: associate, link, attach, combine, unite Improve: heal, correct, refine, develop Protect: harbor, defend, guard, shield Support: encourage, supply, serve Promote: publicize, elevate, champion Animate: invigorate, activate, impel

Building Communities Envision : : ‘Apocalypse’ Communities begin by communicating vision • Revealed. It may come in different forms: dreams, ideas, flashes, analysis… • Authenticated. Wise counselors must vett the dream and critique it. • Asserted. Must be written down, published, asserted as true. • Advertised. It must be circulated to those who would share it. • Assimilated. Potential new members make the vision their own.

Building Communities Connect Communities grow when people join • Associate. Join as a partner, friend, companion; keep company with. • Link. To add or attach, connect, yoke, have a relationship with. • Attach. To become as if one; mix without fundamental loss of identity. • Combine. To bring into such close relationship as to obscure individual traits. • Unite. Engulf, mix so that separate elements cannot be distinguished. • Federation. Join charismatic leader, opt to share resources. • Cell. Planting large organization through pyramid growth. • Mentor. Personal network with leader/disciples. • Network of influence. Friendships extending in concentric circles. • Clubs. Affinity groups with links to similar groups.

Building Communities Improve There is always room to grow • Heal. To repair wounds incurred before or during their stay in community. • Correct. To amend any problems which arise as a result of the community. • Refine. Reform, fine-tune, polish, prune: changing the oil. • Develop. Enhance, enrich, upgrade, add to their capabilities.

Building Communities Protect Shielding community members from harm/disease • Harbor. To provide a safe refuge while a member regroups. • Defend. To drive away attackers; to vouch for or defend (as a lawyer). • Guard. To protect, escort, preserve, maintain, and watch over.

Building Communities Support Providing both spiritual encouragement & physical supplies • Encourage. Applaud, cheer, appreciate members when they do good things. • Supply. Arm, subsidize, support members with what they need to work. • Buttress. ‘I got your back’--the promise of future support.

Building Communities Promote Lauding the community to other communities • Publicize. Regularly communicate opportunities to cooperate to others. • Elevate. Regularly extol community members to other communities.

Building Communities Animate Compelling communities to matter. • Invigorate. Stir up the community, ruffle some feathers, get them thinking. • Activate. Give precise steps, actually do something, push the ‘on’ button • Impel. Stretch the limits of influence; command, impel, draft, conscript.