A Constellation of Communities

"He insisted that stars were people so well loved, they were traced in constellations, to live forever." — Jodi Picoult

Jake and I recently had an interesting discussion about Co-Create. He is leaning into this idea of communities within a community... something he refers to often as constellations. We all have the proclivity for multiple communities aligned with our varied interests.

Some of Jake's Interests:

• Plant Medicine
• Agroforestry
• Shamanism
• Astrology
• Creativity
• Music
• Etc.

Some of my Interests:

• Technology
• Sketching
• Creativity
• Writing
• Music
• Wine
• Etc.

Our interests are lengthy in number, but some shine brighter in the current season of life. Within these interests lie concentrated friendships... people who identify with us only in one or a few areas. And isn't that the way of most friendships? They center on interests.

The interests Jake and I share pull us together... an attraction not unlike gravity. Those interests we do not share are planted in the other like seeds. Some take root and stretch the mind in ways we cannot possibly predict.

Belonging to multiple communities is common in the creator economy. I am personally thankful for them all. However, I can't handle more than two or three at a time. Aside from the expense of multiple subscriptions, I am faced with...

• An array of communication tools
• Different working models that require a significant context shift
• Multiple social media platforms where engagement is necessary to participate
• No clear way to combine them in interesting ways as I do with my interests

I want communities to reflect the power of ideas. What I create in the moment may be centered on one interest area, but the ideas I incorporate come from an array of other interest areas. Ideas are not siloed, nor should communities be. Walling them off from each other makes each one so much less.

Jake and I are attracted to approaches in community building that yield a thriving ecosystem of not just one community, but many. We are interested in a place where our many and varied interests can be explored and mixed among friends.

I don't exactly know what this looks like in reality, but I hope to find out soon.

Food for Thought

How many communities are you a member of?

Do you find difficulty in managing more than a few?

Are any of them related?

One Small Step

We live in a time of burgeoning virtual communities. The ease with which we can join them makes for difficulty in keeping up with them all. I look at efforts like On Deck and wonder if there might be other interesting ways to intersect them.