Audience vs community
An audience is people watching your show. A community is people who come to the party and talk to each other, even when you're not in the room.
- Audience: one-to-many. People follow you and mostly watch.
- Community: many-to-many. Members talk to each other, help each other, and feel they belong.
- Psychologists David McMillan and David Chavis (1986) described sense of community with four elements:
- Membership: feeling you belong, with clear boundaries (who's in).
- Influence: members matter to the group and the group matters to them.
- Integration and fulfillment of needs: being in the group is rewarding.
- Shared emotional connection: shared history, events and experiences.
- Good communities have a clear shared purpose, for example "adult beginners improving their tennis together," not "my fans."
- Write one sentence: "A place where [who] can [do what] together."
- Check that members would talk to each other, not only to you.
- Write one example for Membership: how will people know who is in?
- Write one example each for Influence, Fulfillment of needs, and Shared emotional connection.
- Cross out words like "my fans" and replace them with who the members are.
- Check: your purpose sentence names a group of people and a shared activity.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "Followers watch you. Community members talk to each other."
[Text on screen: Belong. Matter. Get value. Share moments.] "Researchers describe four parts of a sense of community: you belong, you matter, you get something from it, and you share experiences."
[Host] "So before choosing an app, answer one question: what will members do together?"
[Text on screen: Shared purpose] "A shared purpose is the glue."
Write your community's purpose in one sentence: "A place where [who] can [do what] together." Then write one example for each of the four elements.
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I'm learning "Community Building: Groups, Skool, Discord" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Audience vs community". What the lesson teaches: - Audience: one-to-many. People follow you and mostly watch. - Community: many-to-many. Members talk to each other, help each other, and feel they belong. - Psychologists David McMillan and David Chavis (1986) described sense of community with four elements: - Good communities have a clear shared purpose, for example "adult beginners improving their tennis together," not "my fans." The exercise I'm working on: Write your community's purpose in one sentence: "A place where [who] can [do what] together." Then write one example for each of the four elements. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Audience vs community" from the course "Community Building: Groups, Skool, Discord". Here's what the lesson says: An audience is people watching your show. A community is people who come to the party and talk to each other, even when you're not in the room. The activity: Write your community's purpose in one sentence: "A place where [who] can [do what] together." Then write one example for each of the four elements. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- McMillan, D. W. & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6–23.
Choosing a platform
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Launching and the first members
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Rituals that keep people coming back
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Rules, moderation and safety
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Measuring health and charging for access
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Final project
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Quiz
What's the difference between an audience and a community?
An audience watches you; in a community, members interact with each other.
Name McMillan and Chavis's four elements of sense of community.
Membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs, shared emotional connection.
What does the 90-9-1 rule describe?
Most users mostly read (90%), some contribute occasionally (9%), and a few create most content (1%).
What are Skool's two plans and their transaction fees?
Hobby $9/month + 10%; Pro $99/month + 2.9%.
What's Discord's minimum age?
13, or higher if local law requires.
600 members, 120 active this month. Active rate?
20%.
Why build an email list alongside your community platform?
You don't own the platform; email lets you reach members if it changes.
Final exam
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Certificate
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