A Look at How We Are Turning to Online Communities for a Sense of Belonging
--
Over the past couple of years, I noticed that my online activity has been mostly confound within virtual communities targeted towards very specific interests. Not only that, but I have been tightening up my privacy settings for my social media and hardly posting on my newsfeed anymore. Globally, we have witnessed a decline in people who share personal details of themselves on social media by 35% over the past 5 years.
On the other hand, participation in online forums, blogs and communities has increased by 76% in 2019; online users are becoming more active in private forums and groups than they are on social media newsfeeds. They are looking for more meaningful online communities, where they can meet and share experiences with others around the world.
Today, I am active in approximately 5 online communities: A fitness community, a force-free dog training community, a nutritional therapy community, a tech-talent community, and a learning community. All of which cater to a very specific interest niche. They provide a sense of belonging and familiarity between members, that otherwise may be missing from their immediate physical group of friends.
Defining online communities
In a research paper by the International Association for Development of the Information Society, community is defined as “a group of persons who share something more or less decisive for their life, and who are tied by more or less strong relationships.”
We can look at communities as two types: cultural communities, and communities of practice. Cultural communities will typically share a common feature (e.g. doctors), while communities of practice are a group of people who share a passion about a topic, or concern, and will continuously interact to deepen their knowledge.
For the purpose of this writing, we are mostly interested in communities of practice, and how the tools available online have made it easier for them to interact, and form bigger communities with stronger connections.
When we look at how communities form and interact online, we find that the interaction is largely dependent on the platform being used. Although they are all fairly comparable, a closer look might bring out the differences in users and how content is organized.
One way to differentiate between the platforms is to look at their users and the way threads are organized. While the chart below has room for improvement, it provides a sense of how we can look at some of these platforms differently.
We find that platforms that put more emphasis on members tend to have longer and richer threads; as user profiles help build relationships between members. With time, members form stronger connections and a sense of familiarity amongst each other. There also seems to be a higher frequency of interaction among members, as their relationship grows stronger.
Discussions on topic-based communities, on the other hand, tend to be short-lived, mostly dying out as the thread ends. Although the lack of emphasis on user profiles adds a sense of privacy, it also takes away familiarity between members.
Fan-based communities tend to put more emphasis on the content. With a many-to-one relationship (many fans, one celebrity), the fans are usually on the receiving end. Some fan-based platforms also provide forums for discussion, but again, the one-way interaction does not help enrich the connection between members in a natural way.
Why Online Communities are on the rise
In 2019, 83% of internet users shared content online on a monthly basis; photos, videos and product reviews. That’s a lot of users sharing data either about themselves or about things that they find interesting. And with a rise in online community based activity, came a shift in how users share online.
Contextual communities emphasize the theme or topic it is centered around. This takes the focus away from the online personality of its members and redirects it to the common topic at hand. It also removes the pressure of validation that is often associated with social media. This allows members to feel more comfortable in their own skin and form stronger bonds and connections over their similar interests.
Online communities take away the pressure of the traditional follower-based social media newsfeeds and timelines. We are no longer sharing as a means of broadcasting to our followers, but rather in ways where we can engage in meaningful conversations with people who we trust.
Two main reasons stand out as to why online communities have become so attractive:
1. They provide a sense of belonging
When Twitter first came out, it was where the all the interesting discussions happened and users made snarky remarks at the world at large. We followed a few interesting (maybe famous) people here and there and actually read their tweets. We had interesting tweets exchanged with your friends. Today, most of us get lost and overwhelmed by the noise on our timelines. And the same thing can be said for every other social network really. This unfortunately has created a more individualistic experience on social networks with a focus on the self rather than on the community.
When connecting with others who share similar interests, we feel a sense of belonging. Being in a space where everyone speaks the same language and shares the same passion, provides a safe environment where everyone can engage freely without feeling judged by others.
Where else would I geek out about the latest Star Wars trilogy, or about desensitizing my dog to strangers, if it wasn’t for the online communities I have become a part of. Certainly within my own group of friends, they would not be interested in discussing both, and this is where online communities come to fill that gap.
2. They facilitate meaningful conversation
Members of the same community feel more comfortable expressing their opinion. They know whatever question they ask, they will not be made fun of by a random friend or follower who doesn’t relate. Hence, a sense of respect also gets established behind the walls of these groups.
I know if I post on my newsfeed about consent training my dog and giving him choice, I’ll get a few sarcastic remarks by people who can’t relate to force-free dog training. Posting this question to my online community of force-free dog trainers is a completely different story, and will likely result in a long thread of super rich and engaging content. Take that and apply it to any other niche interest and you’ll find that our newsfeeds have become intimidating, and that we no longer truly engage in candid discussions for fear of exposing too much of ourselves to those who would not appreciate it.
A survey by GlobalWebIndex showed that 36% of respondents felt their social media experience can be improved with a more genuine connection with others. The tighter controls behind online community platforms allowed for that genuine connection to happen. Users felt more self-confident and validated, knowing there are others who are as passionate as they are about their interests.
Coronavirus is accelerating the trend
We are seeing first-hand how social distancing has created a need for connecting with others virtually. We’re connecting with our friends and colleagues on Zoom, our Kids are on Google Classroom, and our fitness buddies are on virtual runs. This need has accelerated the desire for people to find online communities to substitute for their lack of contextual socialization.
With more than 300 million users, Zoom has seen a 50% increase in its daily active users since the lockdown. We are already starting to appreciate the benefits of virtual events: they’re cheaper on the organizer, conveniently close for the attendees, and facilitate access to network via user profiles.
We are basically learning how to migrate our lives online, and in the past few weeks we have been more connected than ever. We’re on Zoom calls, WhatsApp groups, and virtual events. Even our grandparents are learning to use internet the way it was meant to be used.
Community members are banding together in neighborhood specific Facebook groups, to provide support and share the latest information with each other. This is where they go to ask if the store around the corner does home delivery, or where you can go to buy thermometers. Some good samaritans are even helping out those in self-isolation who are not able to get hold of the supplies that they need.
And that’s the silver lining. Our online behavior seems to be improving, and the way we spend our time on the internet is now healthier than ever. Yes we are still scrolling our time away on an endless feed sometimes, but it is much less now compared to the time we spend online doing something useful.
At a time like this, we should think of ways to build strong virtual connections and mobilize our physical communities, to replace some of the social elements we have lost with quarantine. There are nothing but good signs that the world, post COVID-19, will do a much better job utilizing the internet to its true potential.
Reflecting on the Passion Economy
While I have been primarily focused on the community members so far in this post, let’s not forget the other side of the screen and who runs these online communities. I write this having just finished reading Li Jin’s piece on the Passion Economy, and it gave me a sense of reassurance knowing where online communities can live and strive.
It seems to me that the Passion Economy is really where online communities are mostly born, and I see this piece of writing as a dissection of one of the building blocks of the Passion Economy.
Li defines Passion Economy as follows:
New digital platforms enable people to earn a livelihood in a way that highlights their individuality. These platforms give providers greater ability to build customer relationships, increased support in growing their businesses, and better tools for differentiating themselves from the competition. In the process, they’re fueling a new model of internet-powered entrepreneurship.
Community building becomes an important aspect for how creators and entrepreneurs can build their audience and generate ongoing revenues. New tools and technologies enable entrepreneurs to turn their skills and passions into commodities that they, as well as others, can benefit from.
We can see many examples of content creators and entrepreneurs who built a community behind their business. Mark Sisson, fitness author and former athlete, has created a facebook group for his book “Keto Reset” that is a 32K member strong community. With almost 12 posts per day, members are sharing together their journey going through the 21-day Keto Reset Diet program, with pictures of their meals, venting to and motivating each other through the program.
Another example of a great community is Condé Nast’s Women Who Travel group on Facebook. This is a community of 152K members that defines itself as a “a place where all self-identifying female travel lovers can join in conversation about what it means to travel as a woman today.” Condé Nast Travel editors have been able to use this group to understand and gain more insight about their readers and build editorial content that caters to them. Moderators have managed to establish a strong and active community, and a two way dialogue where they also post poll and questions for their members on a weekly basis. The high level of engagement from this community has even sparked the launch of the Women Who Travel podcast.
Although Women Who Travel is not a Passion Economy example per se, it is still a great example for how brands can use community groups effectively to grow their business with their customers in mind.
You can read more about the Passion Economy on Li Jin’s newsletter.
Looking ahead
I strongly believe that the future of social media is in online contextual communities. As social media sharing declines, participation in online communities continues to increase supported by trust, privacy, and meaningful connections and conversations. Would Twitter have been in a different position today had it invested more in building a community engine behind its timeline?
When announcing its latest app redesign which puts more emphasis on Groups, Facebook said “There are tens of millions of active groups on Facebook. When people find the right one, it often becomes the most meaningful part of how they use Facebook.” — In my experience, Groups are the sole reason why many people, including myself, still use Facebook.
Over the next two years we will see a lot of disruption in how we use the internet. Entrepreneurs and brands will dedicate more time towards engaging with their fans online, beyond pushing for sales and conversion. As consumers seek to interact with more meaningful content online, so will businesses start to adapt and give more added value, not only to their community members, but to their community builders as well.
Related reading:
- Facebook Groups Help Condé Nast Reach a New Community of Readers
- The Passion Economy and the Future of Work
- Contextual Communities: Why Young People are Straying from Traditional Social Media in Search of More Authentic Connections
- Sense of Virtual Community — Maintaining the Experience of Belonging
- A Semiotic Approach to Online Communities: Belonging, Interest and Identity in Websites’ and Video Games’ Communities
