What is “Community” theoretically?

Stop being distracted by going the wrong way to get what you want. Theoretically, this article will help you understand this definition fundamentally.

The original idea of ‘community’ meant ‘common unities’ — people with a common purpose, common values, common interested, and living in unity. When there is unity, people are in agreement and act together for a particular purpose.

A community is only created with all these principles:

1. A group of people who share common purposes, values, or interested
2. Be united/led by an organization, a group, or a person

Above all else, communities require that every member can contribute, not just consume. Without contribution, a community will definitely soon run out of resource. That’s why a community always needs:

3. Contribution and have regular activities together

Particularly very important, building a community must intentionally start from 1 to 3, as the formula above. Which also means the second principle can’t be fulfilled without the first condition, and so on.

A Community without these 3 principles

Without principle No.1: they are individuals don’t believe each other, separated, unable to be gathered,
Without principle No.2: they are separated individuals, unable to scale, easy to be stopped
Without principle No.3: they are now a community already. But unsustainable, unable to grow, easy to be stopped.

Wrong definition

“Community” means: “The community is all the people who live in a particular area or place.”

Ex: There are many different groups of people who follow Republican Party or the Democratic Party, living in the same place. So “living in the same place” is a wrong statement about the definition of community formation.

— Remember principle number 1.

“Community is a group of people who are similar in some way.”

Ex: There are many series-killers on the planet but only some of them luckily has been led/gathered by an organization. So “are similar” can’t help them become a community of series-killers.

— Remember principle number 2.

And, remember without principle number 3, they are still a community but unstable, unable to grow and easy to be stopped. Without contribution, a community will definitely soon run out of resource.

Details topic:
Three words that made “a Community”
What is “a customer-related community” meaning?
From “customer community” to “customer-related community”
Without 3 key factors your business contribution doesn’t matter at all

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Reference:
Oxford Dictionary: definition of community
Carrie M. Jones, a community expert: You’re Using the Word Community Wrong