I came across this article, Eight Reasons Why People Don’t Get Involved, in the Guardian a while ago. The article is actually about joining a local community cause-related group, but it got me thinking about whether some of these lessons might apply to our online communities.
Read the full article here. Here are the eight points, summarized:
1. I’m not sure I want to join
This is the big one. There’s no point joining unless you are clear about what attracts you to the cause.
This is the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) factor. The baseline, the reason someone would come into the community the very first time. Are you clear about what’s in it for your members?
2. I have nothing to offer
Is that true? Newcomers to a group often hold back from offering anything because they assume that everybody else, having been there longer, knows best. Weeks and months might pass before the newcomers realise that nobody else has a clue how to (among other things) organise meetings, book the venue, set up an email list, or just make tea – and eventually the newcomer steps forward to do it.
How much are you helping newcomers know what’s expected of them in terms of participation, and what they can offer?
3. It’s too much work
We often hold back from joining a group because we fear that, for the campaign to succeed, we will have to give up more time, and do more work, than we can manage. In reality, that may not be so.
Is joining your community “work” for the member? Just one more thing on their plate? Is the effort they need to expend worth it for the value they will get out of it?
4. I won’t know anybody
This one is easily resolved. Most groups are delighted to have new members and will welcome you. If they don’t, they don’t deserve you.
How are you connecting newcomers to seasoned members in your community? Do seasoned members even have a way of knowing who’s new?
5. I don’t like so-and-so
The American writer and activist Parker Palmer is a passionate advocate for community, but he’s clear eyed about it too. After a year of living in one particular community, he came up with this definition: “Community is the place where the person you least want to live with always lives.” …
For Palmer, community isn’t some kind of creature comfort, available as a no extra charge when you move into a particular area. It’s built through work and commitment – a byproduct of people uniting in a common cause, to right some wrong, heal hurt or give service.
Do you have a troll or two poisoning the community for everyone else? What are you doing about it?
6. I’m not like the other people in the group
As a newcomer, it’s easy to look around at established members of a group and assume that they all share a similar worldview. In reality, that’s unlikely.
How are you encouraging diversity of opinion and welcoming or supporting different views?
7. The other members might think I’m a hypocrite
Sometimes we might draw back from joining a group because we fear being found unworthy. For instance, we might want to campaign against climate change but worry that owning a car rules us out. Or we might want to campaign for animal rights but think that, because we are not vegans, we can’t. Underlying this is the fear of being called a hypocrite.
To me this sounds similar to the vendor vs association exec clash – where non-association folks are treated like second class citizens, when in fact they are just as invested in pushing the industry forward (if not more) and just as knowledgeable (if not more). (Bias showing – no apologies for that.)
8. I don’t want to look messianic
Aligning ourselves to a cause that sets out to make a big difference in the world might feel grandiose or unrealistic (or both).
This final one might be less relevant, but I do think the idea of inviting participation in small, manageable chunks works better that overpromising and underdelivering the value of the community.
Just a thought – read the full article here and see what you think.
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