Invisible Communities Dave Mee, dave@TANDOT.co.uk

Before we talk of the invisible… What do we mean when we say community? What do we consider to be a community?

What do we mean when we say community?

What do we consider to be a community?

What do we think community is?

In a nutshell… community is communication between like-minded people about common themes

communication between

like-minded people about

common themes

What have been our assumptions about communities?

Then we all moved online

… Communication costs are falling IP has made communication (and participation) Cost-free (or very cheap) Disposable Casual Price each Preparation Delivery Press Flat rate, £000s Days Days, or weeks Mail 27p plus print costs Days 2-3 days SMS 7p None Instantaneous Email or RSS Negligible None Instantaneous

IP has made communication (and participation)

Cost-free (or very cheap)

Disposable

Casual

18 YEARS IN 5 BULLET POINTS How did we get zero-cost community infrastructure?

How did we get zero-cost community infrastructure?

Emergence of free community infrastructure

Discoverability changes

Critical mass takes effect

A pile of one in a millions

Niche community, arise!

YOU PROBABLY NEED THE TOILET BY NOW. It’s about time…

It’s about time…

Where does this leave us? Geography replaced by experience Community definitions are abstracted Casual participation can be valuable Membership sources are hugely expanded Engagement is pervasive Community space creation is mechanized and content can be scraped

Geography replaced by experience

Community definitions are abstracted

Casual participation can be valuable

Membership sources are hugely expanded

Engagement is pervasive

Community space creation is mechanized and content can be scraped

Virtual, Real world, and Invisible – Let’s draw some boundaries Invisible

EMBRACE THE INVISIBLE Do not know thy neighbour

Do not know thy neighbour

Visible Communities

Invisible communities?

RateMDs.com Communities defined by ‘having the same doctor’ Usually would never meet or converse, but the forum provides a neutral space where communication can flourish Has grown to become a major influencer in US healthcare

Communities defined by ‘having the same doctor’

Usually would never meet or converse, but the forum provides a neutral space where communication can flourish

Has grown to become a major influencer in US healthcare

Last.fm Community participation primarily through listening to songs People never meet but are represented by metadata; location, timezone, listening habits Creates microcommunities at different levels – song, album, artist, genre Passive or active engagement – use your normal MP3 player or visit the forums

Community participation primarily through listening to songs

People never meet but are represented by metadata; location, timezone, listening habits

Creates microcommunities at different levels – song, album, artist, genre

Passive or active engagement – use your normal MP3 player or visit the forums

EveryBlock US Site – builds a community record without needing to engage the community Builds the framework for an (invisible but defined) community to engage with Content is entirely machine gathered Participation is not an expectation of the site

US Site – builds a community record without needing to engage the community

Builds the framework for an (invisible but defined) community to engage with

Content is entirely machine gathered

Participation is not an expectation of the site

flickr An aggregation of micro communities Each community features members only united by themes of their imagery Abstract community qualification Discovery through search, both bottom-up and top-down

An aggregation of micro communities

Each community features members only united by themes of their imagery

Abstract community qualification

Discovery through search, both bottom-up and top-down

CONCLUSIONS

They’re visible in their own way…

Thanks! I appreciate your time and attention Further information will be relayed through smc_mcr Or dave@tandot.co.uk Twitter “davemee”

I appreciate your time and attention

Further information will be relayed through smc_mcr

Or dave@tandot.co.uk

Twitter “davemee”