Community Maker
Haebom
Do you remember the game 'Princess Maker' that was beloved in the mid-1990s? In this game, the player takes on the role of raising a young girl (daughter) into adulthood. Depending on the player's choices and actions, the girl can grow up in all kinds of ways.
아직도 프린세스메이커 3 보다 재밌는 차기작이 안나온 것도 레전드
What makes Princess Maker so interesting isn't just 'clearing' the game, but actually interacting with the girl and watching her grow. For her to grow up healthy and happy, it takes constant attention and effort. You need to balance things like studying, working out, and resting, and sometimes you have to make tough choices. If you don't look after her well, she can end up unhappy or even rebellious. (At first, I used to make her work part-time five days a week to earn money for her education...)
Why Most Companies Mishandle Communities
Let's put the Princess Maker story aside for a moment and take a look at how many companies handle their communities. In my experience and observation, most companies see communities as just tools for reaching their own goals.
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The community will bring us more customers through social media or content marketing.
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The community will use customers' collective intelligence to boost our service's problem-solving ability.
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The community will help speed up our development by contributing to open source projects.
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And so on... (max happiness circuit activated)
Of course, it's not wrong for a company to seek profit. But I've seen so many cases where, while building a community, no one really thinks deeply about what participants will actually get out of it. Honestly, there's very little discussion about what value the company's new community activities will provide for members.
Communities Need Nurturing
Like the girl in Princess Maker, a community needs thoughtful care. Just because it's not growing in the direction you want, you can't force it. If you do, all your efforts will only go to waste.
This holds true whether you've started a community yourself or are joining an existing one. The company goals I mentioned earlier are all about what they want from the community, with little talk about what they'll offer to the community first.
If you don't give to the community sincerely, people will quickly see through you. Your interactions will come across as superficial and self-serving—if you're lucky, it'll just be ineffective, but at worst, it could actually harm your reputation.
Especially when forming a community early on, nothing matters more than the sincerity of each member. More than flashy credentials, you need people who genuinely care about the community and jump in, participate, and communicate . The culture and atmosphere these people create will be a huge asset for the community down the road.
I recently heard about Wonder Club, run by PD @OAKPDNOW , and I think this part really applied well. I could feel the power of a community where genuinely good people work together with sincerity, without expecting anything in return.
You get back what you give
Once, in an interview, Ohtani said he believes the reward you get matches the passion and energy you put in. I was really struck by how he said picking up trash, cleaning, and even the way you treat people all add up, like mileage points, and come back to you as good luck. It's exactly the same in a community.
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Keep putting steady time and passion into your community. Lots of companies want fast results, but a community doesn't move to your schedule. It takes a long time for a community to grow and build trust with you.
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Before you start demanding things unilaterally, think about what you can offer the community. Put yourself in the participants' shoes. What value can they find in this community? Listen to their questions, and create opportunities that help them grow.
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Become a real part of the community. Don't just appear for a particular purpose—genuinely interact and communicate with the members. Show that you keep coming back and participating to build strong bonds with people.
You can't predict how a community will grow
In Princess Maker, our choices affect the girl's growth but we can't predict it perfectly—it's the same with a community. Every community has its own unique character, and over time, it evolves in its own way. (Of course, some people try to calculate everything and play by the guidebook... but then, half the fun is gone. Unless you’re just collecting everything for a compendium...)
If you're starting a community from scratch, maybe you can steer it the way you want at first—but as it grows, there will come a time where it slips out of your control. But that’s also a sign that your community has gained its own life. This actually fits well with what community managers are supposed to do. Still, if you focus only on short-term, numbers-based results, you could end up hurting your community’s health.
There was a time when, after Notion became a big hit with its community, lots of people started seeing communities as a tactic rather than for their true purpose—and then blamed the community if things didn't go well or it just cost them money with no results. I know people who do professional community building, and even they have a tough time because of this.
Effort for the community shouldn't just fall on a few staff. Only when the whole company cares about and gets involved in the community can we truly build a partnership where we grow together with our community.
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I post articles related to IT 💻, economy 💰, and humanities 🎭.
If you are curious about my thoughts, perspectives or interests, please subscribe.
haebom@kakao.com
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I post articles related to IT 💻, economy 💰, and humanities 🎭.
If you are curious about my thoughts, perspectives or interests, please subscribe.
haebom@kakao.com