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Explaning Niche and Community using the Reverse Maslow

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I sat in a series of sessions of a co-professor who projected stuff from the Authenticity Book for his marketing class. Part of it had to do with understanding new media, the Internet — that sort of stuff, really. So I borrowed it. And it’s been a “formula” I use to introduce or summarize “new media” from a different perspective. Let me share this.

You may be familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Before aiming for higher and more profound functions of self actualization, the basic needs need (food, clothing, shelter) to be addressed first. Today however, with the advancements of technology and the “fast paced lifestyle” seem to push people to want to be “accepted” first in order to function properly. An argument here is that every human being ideally needs to belong to a family. With new media, it becomes easier for individuals of similar niches to find one another: Star Wars forums, Macintosh zealots, Trekkies, Trekkers, food bloggers … the list goes on and on. There seems to be a community for everything. Seth Godin refers to this social structure as “Tribes.”

With that mindset, it becomes more apparent how communities work, and how authentic messages can be distinguished from those that are canned from press releases or below the line gimmicks. Authenticity is still key, and this is where the machinations of A-listers, authority figures, conversion and credibility come along. Forums, blogs, microblogs … these are all manifestations of this.

If you’re a marketer, do you believe you are treading on sacrosanct grounds when you wish to involve communities?

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The 9rules Nostalgia and Building Community

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There’s been a blanket of nostalgia lately on the Internet. For those of you who may remember the good ‘ol days of blogging circa 2004 to about early 2006, this was a time when community was much smaller, and it was easy to spot the “A-listers” and blog networks. Amidst the typical blog networks that would hire and pay writers a fixed rate or revenue share, 9rules was different. It went against the grain of the “production house” blogging (not that this was bad in itself) and focused on quality content. 9rules had, well, 9 rules:

9rules is a place where members and readers can connect, build relationships, and learn new things. 9rules started in 2003 with a set of 9 rules:

1. Love what you do.
2. Never stop learning.
3. Form works with function.
4. Simple is beautiful.
5. Work hard, play hard.
6. You get what you pay for.
7. When you talk, we listen.
8. Must constantly improve.
9. Respect your inspiration.

Lots of other networks have adopted similar principles, but basically 9rules was a pioneer when it came to building a passionate community.

Today, Splashpress Media has acquired 9rules, (of which Performancing is part of the SPM network). From their blog, written by Paul Scrivens:

Why Splashpress? Because not only do they have the people that have a passion for publishing online content, but they also have the resources to make things happen without being too large as to forget the core of what makes 9rules special, the community. Much of the Splashpress team have been fans of 9rules for years so this will only make the transition easier as they understand the purpose of 9rules and why it is important to continue to push quality content to the forefront of the web.

The thing with the Internet is that the tides ebb to and fro too fast, and yesterday’s web is so much more different. In the past 2 years, big corporations have planted their blogging seeds through acquisition, while some argue that blogs were not what they once were with the rise of Twitter and Facebook. Tomorrow will be different.

The take away from all of this is that communities are bound to change. But change can be a good thing, and rebuilding a new community doesn’t mean the end of the world.