Thought stream for the day: event-driven communities.

I’m sceptical about the idea of long-term digitally-hosted legacies. Rather than thinking about the Web as a space in which we should all upload our consciousness, I see it as the ultimate tactical medium: for spreading the word, for reaching out to strangers, for getting involved and then - when what was needed has been achieved - for switching off while you do something outside in the world.

My approach to social media is centred on the idea of event-driven communities: groups that come together around a real-world activity, happening or need. Whether that’s Twestival, an arthouseparty, a w00t meet or a Social Media Cafe, the socially-mediated landscape is full of communities that find one another online, meet in the real world, but then use the Web again to reach further, to consolidate connections and to announce future happenings.

I’ve been working and getting involved in online communities for years, and believe that this focus on event-driven work (whether the event is a virtual one or not) is crucial to the healthy development of a networked society. We all upload enough of ourselves online: digital communities need an anchor in the real world, face-to-face meetings, concrete projects and rounded human relationships to deliver true benefits.

That’s why I’m excited about being part of Team SOMESSO. SOMESSO is a new series of conferences around how corporations can benefit from social media. I’ll be looking after the new online community - and I’m excited because this is a great opportunity to show how an event-driven community can evolve over a number of iterations.

It’s early days yet - the community platform has not yet been launched - but as it progresses I’ll be posting my thoughts on how we juggle the needs of an immediate conference with a community conversation that develops over time.