Community 2.0: Connection Culture

I started this newsletter to help trend-watching brand marketers and innovators learn about intriguing trends that may inspire new thinking on how you can grow your business. Each month, I’ll dive into 3 examples, and share my thoughts using this super-precise rating scale:

1) Spot On– An example of the trend I think is “sticky” and well executed

2) Missed the Mark – A well-intended, but poorly executed example of the trend

3) What the… An example I can’t quite relate to or don’t see gaining traction

This month, I’ll start with a little exercise: Raise your✋if you joined some sort of online community during the pandemic.

Chances are, there are around 700 hands in the air right now (Thanks 🙏loyal subscribers!)

During that dark time, the reasons to join were clear—no need to relive it.  But in this era, there’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while:

Post pandemic, why are we still so Community-Crazy?

Whether it’s an IRL or online group for 📱Metaverse Gaming, 🍄Mushroom Foraging, 🍜Southeast Asian Vegan Cooking, Microbrewing 🍻, Competitive 🏄Wake Boarding, or New Moms over 40… or Swifties for Vinyl💽, communities are alive and well. And while I hate to give it more airtime, I won’t leave out the Pickleball 🏓Phenomenon, which I would humbly suggest falls somewhere between community and cult.

There are even a surprising number of people that make a living TEACHING other people how to build a community!

So, why do we keep showing up? What’s in it for us?

I have a few hypotheses, and I’d love to hear your thoughts:

1) Validation: if you’re have an interest, but aren’t sure if others think it’s cool, or if you want to make sure it’s worth spending $$ on whatever type of Gear it requires, finding your people makes you feel Seen. What’s not to like about the reflective glow from others that share your passion.

2) Contribution to the Whole Self: each of us has many parts of ourself–we are not one thing. Joining a community might scratch an itch that accounts for say, 15% of who you are/what you’re about (leave it to the data geek to put a # tor something unmeasurable!) But many of us shape shift between parts of ourselves and the things we love. So, in theory, we could join 5 communities for our 5 favorite interests, which together might account for ~75% of our “whole self.” Don’t worry, I don’t actually think about it this way, I’m just making a point.

3) Control amid the Chaos: Improving and maybe even Mastering a skill, or putting your hashtag, handle or email address behind something meaningful, offers a shared sense of control in what increasingly feels like (or just IS) an Out-of-Control World …and that’s saying it nicely.  Joining the “[insert neighborhood name]’s Association for Composting & Recycling Excellence” gives us a small bit of comfort that we’re doing something to fight a really scary, daunting inevitable problem, when if we’re honest, left to our own devices, many might even throw up our hands and do nothing because of the massive scale of it.

In my mind, any and all of these are worthy reasons to be a joiner. Plus, every time you join a #movement or #community: you instantly get the bonus of what I’ll call the 💫Halo of Collectivism– the sense that what you’re doing together will make a bigger impact than what you could do alone.

OK. Time for the 3 examples.

SPOT ON – Bio-K+ Gut Health Kommunity

First, let me just say that I find the whole gut health territory truly fascinating. Maybe that’s because my father was a Gastroenterologist…go figure.

The science of the Microbiome, increasingly revered as the command center of the body continues to gain awareness and engage interest. I shouldn’t have been surprised to find that googling “IBS Network” would lead to a real organization.

But what struck me about this Kommunity, vs. the many health condition-focused communities out there, is the positive, proactive tone of their messaging, rather than scare tactics/ stats or reminders of unpleasant symptoms.  Of course, any community like this should be a safe, comforting space for people with a certain illness or condition to get support managing the emotional and physical challenges and negative impacts they’re facing. But the Bio-K+ site is more into about geeking out on probiotic strains, connecting people to healthy eating tips, offering dietician education. etc.

They’re upfront about being owned by Kerry Foods, a reputed global ingredient company with a mission to “promote people’s health through food and science.” I liked their use a timeline visual to show how Bio K+ ‘s growth paralleled the expanding strength of the science behind their products.

MISSED THE MARK – Modern Prairie Lifestyle line and App

This one irked me from the get-go. Melissa Gilbert use of “Prairie” in her brand name sure felt to me like a sad attempt to reclaim her child actress heyday.  What happened to her after her run as Laura on Little House on the Prairie📺 from age 9 to 18, and why should we care now?

But it’s not just the name, or the apparel line replete with floral dresses and prairie skirted 👘 tunics, that annoyed me.  I feel like her approach to forging connections with other “mature women” comes off as tone deaf; it feels syrupy, kumbaya, and a little condescending to people over 50 who don’t think of themselves as any different than when they were 40.  Here’s a snippet—you be the judge:

AM I RIGHT?!

While Melissa G. is only 59 and looks good, IMHO, this whole gestalt is not likely to resonate with the demographic she’s aiming for.

My final beef with Modern Prairie “community” is the attempt to be ALL the things that she thinks this target would want, all in one place: a place to expand your wardrobe, overhaul your houseware collection, and find lifelong friends who share your crafting/ gardening/ journaling hobbies. Really? Don’t women over 55 still work?! It’s too much.

What the…. Myna Snacks for Gamers

Even after reading and loving the book Tomorrow (you say it 3x), I ‘ll be the first to admit my inability to relate to the wide and deep universe of Digital Gaming.  I’m a wordle junkie, and pathetically, I STILL play Words with Friends, but that’s where screen games end for me.

To give Gaming it’s due credit, in pandemic times, it was a ubiquitous outlet for tweens, teens and young adults to connect and lose themselves for a while. (Does anyone still play Fortnight?!) I’m sure there are other positive effects—reflexes, hand eye coordination, quick decision making… who knows what else. But what I tend to hear from parents of Gamers is hand wringing about a round the clock obsession that impedes sleep and socialization. Two sides to everything, right?

So, I may have been biased from the start, but discovering Myna, the new snack brand for gamers, struck me as super gimmicky…and that was before I saw the recent controversy about the similarity of their formulation and name to another product on the market.

If you haven’t caught up, the brand’s hook is that one of the founders is Imane Anys, a celebrity gamer known on Twitch as Pokimane. She brings the street cred, while the other co- founder, Darcey Macken, is a former Kellogg exec who brings the CPG expertise.

Coming at it as a former sweet snacking innovator, the Midnight Mini Cookie product passes muster. Solid name (if it’s theirs), good fit with the “mindless munching” occasion may snack brands want to tap. The formula checks the boxes: appealing flavor (they call their white chocolate chip in a dark cookie Oreo-like) natural ingredients, addition of trendy mushroom powder for Vitamin D, gluten free. But by now, that stuff is all table stakes.

Lest they be cancelled for “cash-grabbing,” the founders have also stated “It’s not just about gaming. It’s about really anyone that’s sitting behind a screen all day.”  But let’s get real—I’m first-hand familiar with the plethora of wholesome and tasty options on the shelves for eating while working, studying or otherwise entertaining oneself at a computer.  Their differentiation is definitely the Gaming angle. They talk about their goal to fill a snacking white space for young people with a healthy but delicious, no mess option for the time between lunch and dinner, but IMHO I’d say that space is a faded gray at best.

All in all, regardless of the particular interest, what I think is most enduring and compelling about communities done well is a lead focus on the people you’re trying to bring together, rather than the brand or product. Bringing the authenticity without blatant commercialism. Of course, brands and non-profits have to make money, but if the real motivation to join something is all the intrinsic stuff I talked about above, which I think it is, there are other ways to sell your product. Many.

What Do You Think? Share an example of a community you’ve enjoyed, or one that turned you off.

See you next month!