Enhancing Community Dynamics

Enhancing Community Dynamics: Exploring Community Needs

Hello Friends! September has arrived, and let’s make the most of the warm weather while we still can. I hope everyone is having a great return to school. Communities are complex systems that require attention and cultivation. To fully enjoy and engage with our social infrastructure and emotional landscape, we need to shift away from efficiency mode and embrace the sometimes uncomfortable process of improving our community dynamics and social life. This involves talking, interacting, and diving into our communities, which can involve navigating power dynamics and hierarchies while also recognizing our ability and agency to self-organize and contribute to our social ecosystem. As community members, our primary areas of focus should be increasing levels of belonging, strengthening social relationships, and enhancing overall satisfaction. I recently came across an interesting concept called the “community hierarchy of needs,” which I will link to on my website and discuss in a future post. This framework suggests that communities have four primary needs, starting with discussion boards for exchanging information, followed by community-owned projects that foster shared purpose, small community events organized by brands or community members, and finally, large brand-owned events that require payment or registration. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this hierarchy. Do you agree with it, or do you have different ideas? My question for you is: should one community try to fulfill all of these needs, or do we have multiple cross-functional communities that serve as meeting points for specific ecosystems within the larger community?