Caterina’s post from Monday reminded me of a question I’ve been contemplating for a while: namely, why do we typically discuss community as something unique to software? In the blogging world – or here, for that matter – it’s probably not unusual because a lot of the folks writing blogs are involved in software; more so than hardware or other technical disciplines, in my experience. In the post linked to above, Caterina (one of the founders of Flickr) mentions her desire to mod her car.
This is a hobby with a rich history, dating back to the hot rodders of the 50’s and probably even further back, but is not often talked about in terms of community and collaboration. It seems to me, however, that despite a vibrant aftermarket for car parts (I used to drive a ’73 Mustang, so I know all about that), the car industry doesn’t do much to advocate the modification and extension of their platforms – the cars. When it comes to the portions of the infrastructure that are safety related – i.e. brakes, steering, etc, that’s probably a good thing. But if I was running Ford, GM, Toyota or any of the other manufacturers I’d be trying to build communities around my product lines, whether its iPod integration, GPS blending, etc. Come to think of it, I believe that Scion is running ads that talk up the “modding” of the cars, so maybe they get it in part. But the community aspect is, to me, what’s important here. What kinds of really cool and interesting things can be done with/to cars? I’m not talking about the basic stuff that can be purchased from commercial suppliers or your local NAPA, but the Do-It-Yourself (DIY), MAKE Magazine style modding.
And why stop with cars? One of the things I’m surprised we haven’t seen more in restaurants & bars (besides wifi), is community building. In Portland, ME there’s a cool bar in the Old Port called Gritty McDuff’s (try the Gritty’s Pub Ale, it’s better than the Brown and the Bitter). They’ve got a program – replicated in other fine drinking establishments the world over – whereby regulars can get their own personalized mug so when they come in. Rather than being served in a regular, plain old pint glass, they get their beverage of choice served in their own personal stein-like vessel. In NYC and DC and other more hip venues, bars are running so-called “iPod” nights where customers become the DJs and are able to play 5 or 10 song playlists. Here in Denver, I’m trying to get some of my own burned CD’s into the jukebox at the Wazee Supper Club, so that I can listen to my Pearl Jam bootlegs and indie music (here are some metrics on the last 11K tracks I’ve listened to, in case you’re curious) when I’m there. By offering individuals to personalize the venue in small ways, the overall experience can be extended. I think enterprising bar and restaurant owners might find that embracing a community approach would benefit not only their regulars and create a self-reinforcing draw similar to airline reward systems, but that their respective venues would become more interesting and vibrant places for all of their patrons. This is due to O’Grady’s First Law: a community is always more creative than an individual.
Speaking of creativity and communities, if I was a keg manufacturer I would be *all over* these guys and doing everything possible to build a community there. Think of the sales to fraternities alone 😉
Anyway, maybe it’s just because the benefits of community are so obvious in the world of software, but it seems like a no-brainer to me that other industries would benefit from a bit of community building themselves.
