8 Things to think about when exploring community

An extract from Patty Seybold's blog "Outside Innovation", referring to a conversation with Michael Perman, Consumer Insights at Levi Strauss and John Winsor, Radar Communications.

"The following were quotes from people/reporters who talked about community and were captured on videos:

1. Longing to Belong -- humans are genetically programmed to belong ... I grew up to be part of a community. My parents were friends. I was friends with all my parents' friends' kids. I haven't found other parents I get along with here...I have no family in Boulder. I depend on community a lot. It's like an extended family. We haven't found a church community where we are. Community for me is very important. I grew up in a community where a lot of people worked there. Closeknit, sense of family. Sense of hope. You see things working out. the next generation does the same thing. That just resonates success to me. Community drives hope, sense of family, brings roots. Levi: what our brand needs to emulate. What are the societal norms the behavioral norms, the memes. If you want to listen to this deeply. People are trying to connect to what they know. In the digital worls, they're connecting with something they don't know.

2. Going with the Emotional Flow -- the connectivity of community. It's that emotional connection. I really want to have feeling of belonging, of community. Online community can complement the real world community. The internet's fine to keep in touch, but for real live interaction you need to live in the real world. I was looking for women friends. There's a group called WINGS--women in need of going someplace. The virtual one is a great place to start. Inside out vs. outside in--it's really hard to do. Virtual communities aren't a substitute for physical communities, but an extension, or vice a versa.

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