Do you ever feel like the word "community" has become a buzz word in our current society?
Brands - everything from skincare to coffee to co-working spaces - are using the word "community," especially in their marketing. Some brands do mean well; others are almost certainly not using the word in its fullest meaning. The commodification of community is common practice, meaning using that word with the goal of conjuring up a feeling of fellowship to encourage you to purchase a service or a product.
But we need to understand the difference between "Little C" community and "Big C" Community. The definition of community is "to share a habitat or to share interest." These are largely circumstantial. So when people are in a "Little C" community, they share one of three things: interests, geographical location, or traits. For example: the theater community, the Tampa community, or the Asian or deaf community.
If you are referring to these kinds of things, then yes - you have community. But it is more likely "Little C" community; it is largely circumstantial. "Big C" Community speaks to something else - and many brands are trying to activate an appeal to people's hunger for "Big C" Community by marketing their brand with this word. However, they're not doing anything intentional to cultivate "Big C" Community.
Here are some examples or traits of "Big C" community:
In real genuine "Community" power is shared.
It's not a one-to-many relationship, where a single individual is choosing what to do or instructing on what a solution will be. Rather, people are sharing power and co-creating solutions to problems. Their voices are equal and feedback is contributed. There may be a designated facilitator for expediency's sake, but all members of the community are active and involved in decision-making.
The members of a genuine active community have shared positive experiences.
A "Big C" Community with nothing but negative experiences (gossip, toxicity, people sowing seeds of disharmony) is not a true community. These types of issues can show up at workplaces or churches - places where true "Big C" community is very possible. But if negative experiences make up the spirit of the space, genuine and rooted community cannot be reached.
In a genuine community, there is both giving and taking.
This likely requires the most self-reflection. Do we show up to the various places we share community, expecting to "get" (protection, resources, support, etc.), but never stop to give to others as well?
"Big C" Community in its fullest sense calls us to not only go, be a participant, and consume, but also to stay, integrate ourselves, and create. We must make ourselves available for others to have the same kind of experience we are pursuing.
As a tangible example, let's consider where we live. Do we have a sense of ownership or responsibility to help make our respective cities what they are? Are we just here circumstantially, or do we actively participate in Town Halls and vote to shape our communities? Do we volunteer? Do we prioritize buying local? Do we give to those in our own neighborhoods? Are we really pouring into the spaces we inhabit?
Recognizing these characteristics of a true, "Big C" Community can help us to evaluate carefully when the word "community" is used - by churches, workplaces, and yes, even brands.
At the end of the day, a brand's "community" is sometimes synonymous with "email subscribers." And while there is nothing wrong with an email list, this is not the kind of community that fosters the relationships we crave - and need! - in our everyday lives.
If finding (and engaging) in genuine community is an ongoing personal struggle, we can help. Listen to the Friend Forward podcast, or read our new book Fighting for our Friendships: The Science and Art of Conflict and Connection in Women's Relationships.