Community refers to groups of users who work collaboratively around a shared interest or purpose. People participate in communities to learn, find purposeful work, connect with others who share their interests, and gain a sense of belonging. Examples of community platforms include Meetup for finding local groups, Smule for sharing music, Eduki for teachers, Google Crowdsource for AI training data, and Bikeable for improving cycling infrastructure. Building community involves fostering positive relationships, reflecting together, encouraging strengths, developing a shared vision, taking citizen-led action, and limiting excessive executive compensation.

1. Community

2. Question # 1
What does community mean?

3. User communities are organizations composed primarily of users
working collaboratively, voluntarily, and with minimal oversight to
freely and openly develop and exchange knowledge
in an area of common interest around an artifact. The artifact may be a
design, physical object, product, good, or service.
User communities can also play a role in spurring and supporting the
creation of new firms.
Why Do User Communities Matter for Strategy?
Sonali K. Shah and Frank Nagle
https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/19-126_f6decc9c-b44d-4f45-8796-abafd4c71018.pdf

4. Community development involves improvement of the
well-being of people through joint effort and
with regards to goals.
https://www.academia.edu/28068411/Analysis_of_Values_and_Principles_of_Community_development_A_response_to_the_Challenges_of_Real_World_Situations

5. Community means caring about our work, our colleagues, and
our place in the world, geographic and otherwise, and in turn
being inspired by this caring.
Henry Mintzberg: Rebuilding companies as communities. Harvard Business Review, July-August 2009.

6. Community is people’s sense of belonging to and
caring for something larger than themselves.
Community is the social glue that binds us together for the
greater good.
Henry Mintzberg: Rebuilding companies as communities. Harvard Business Review, July-August 2009.

7. 4 community values:
 Pursuit of excellence in one’s work.
 Respect for the rights, differences, and dignity of others.
 Honesty.
 Accountability for personal behavior.
https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/community-values-rights-and-responsibilities/

8. Question # 2
Why do people participate
in a community?

9. People may participate in a user community because they want
to learn more about a purpose, product or service that the
community is focused on.
Why Do User Communities Matter for Strategy?
Sonali K. Shah and Frank Nagle
https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/19-126_f6decc9c-b44d-4f45-8796-abafd4c71018.pdf

10. Participating may allow an individual a means for fulfilling
a need for creative, challenging, and enjoyable
work.
Why Do User Communities Matter for Strategy?
Sonali K. Shah and Frank Nagle
https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/19-126_f6decc9c-b44d-4f45-8796-abafd4c71018.pdf

11. User communities allow a person to find like-minded people that
share a common interest in a purpose, product or service
that the community focuses on.
For some, this generates a sense of belonging that leads to
continued active participation in the community.
Why Do User Communities Matter for Strategy?
Sonali K. Shah and Frank Nagle
https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/19-126_f6decc9c-b44d-4f45-8796-abafd4c71018.pdf

12. Belief in the mission of the user community is a
frequently cited reason for participation, although this is a
much stronger motivation for individuals who participate
frequently than individuals who participate occasionally.
Why Do User Communities Matter for Strategy?
Sonali K. Shah and Frank Nagle
https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/19-126_f6decc9c-b44d-4f45-8796-abafd4c71018.pdf

13. Status within a community can serve as an extrinsic motivator.
For example, scores documenting participation levels
or the usefulness of answers to others may be used as
status indicators.
Why Do User Communities Matter for Strategy?
Sonali K. Shah and Frank Nagle
https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/19-126_f6decc9c-b44d-4f45-8796-abafd4c71018.pdf

14. Question # 3
What are examples of
community platforms?

15. https://www.meetup.com/ is a platform for finding and building
local communities.
People use Meetup to meet new people, learn new things, find
support, get out of their comfort zones and pursue their
passions – together.

16. https://www.smule.com/ is a global community of music lovers
where millions of people across the world come together to
share their passion for music, make new friends, cheer each
other on, and simply have fun.

17. The purpose of https://eduki.com/ is to become a community
for teachers and help shape the future of education.

18. https://crowdsource.google.com/ is a fun, easy way for people
to contribute to the building blocks of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Answers from contributors are used in Machine Learning based
products - making them work well for the diversity of global
population

19. https://bikeable.ch/ is a tool for users and authorities of cycling
infrastructure to make riding a bike safer and more attractive.
This is how it works: A user takes a photo of a place to be improved or a
good example and uploads the spot with his title and comment. The spot is
then displayed on the map and shown in the list.
Other users can put emphasis on spots with their votes and can participate
in finding solutions in the discussion. Cities, engineering companies and
political interest groups as well as journalists can stay up to date about the
problems and preferences of the local bike community.

20. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ is a platform created by
teachers, for teachers to access the community, content, and tools
they need to teach at their best.
The educator community use https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/
to save time, support students, and learn from each other.

21. Question # 4
What can people do to build
and strengthen community?

22. A community is established when people, who feel part of the
community, reach out to each other – and everyone
benefits from it.
Inspired by:
Henry Mintzberg: Rebuilding companies as communities. Harvard Business Review, July-August 2009.

23. Nurture positive relationships between you and
other members of the community you are a part of.
https://conversational-leadership.net/communityship/

24. Meet up to reflect with and learn from others, for
example during a walk and talk or over lunch, can help build
community.
Inspired by:
Henry Mintzberg: Rebuilding companies as communities. Harvard Business Review, July-August 2009.

25. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Key-principles-and-values-of-community-building_fig1_312652725
Encourage people to use strengths they have.

26. Develop a vision of the future you want.
https://www.communitymatters.govt.nz/community-led-development-principles/

27. Use a process that helps you to achieve your goals.
https://www.communitymatters.govt.nz/community-led-development-principles/

28. The way to start rebuilding community is to stop tolerating
obscene compensation packages for CEOs.
Henry Mintzberg: Rebuilding companies as communities. Harvard Business Review, July-August 2009.

29. Most sustainable improvements in community occur when citizens
discover their own power to act, when citizens stop waiting
for professionals or elected leadership to do something, and decide
they can reclaim what they have delegated to others.
Henry Mintzberg: Rebuilding companies as communities. Harvard Business Review, July-August 2009.