How important is “Community” to you and your business?

“Community” is one of those interesting words that gets used in many different places and many different ways. When you look at your business, how important is “Community” to you and your business? Also, how do you define “Community?”

For instance, there is the Microsoft Small Business Specialist Community (SBSC). This is a “community” setup by Microsoft for Partners focusing on SMB around the world. Also, many of you belong to SMB, Partner, or SBS Groups in your areas. Those too are types of “Communities,” would you agree? Or how about the online “Communities” I see so many of you in where you go for information, support, or to converse with your peers? Then there are the social networking types of “Communities” as well.

When you look at the world of business, most every business exists to make money in some way (even non-profits “make” money, they just spend what the make and break even, ideally). The concept of “Community” does not often have that direct correlation to revenue generation though, yet it shows up in so many different business models and environments and there are so many differing opinions on it.

So what I would be very interested in hearing from you is, how do you define “Community,” and how important has “Community” been to your business so far (in any regard, whether growth, startup, revenue, people, etc.) and how important do you see “Community” being to your business today and in the future? For those of you who know me, I am sure you know my take on this; however, this is about your input and thoughts.

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman
Global Partner Experience Lead
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

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Comments

• Anonymous
  February 19, 2009
  PingBack from http://blog.a-foton.ru/index.php/2009/02/19/how-important-is-%e2%80%9ccommunity%e2%80%9d-to-you-and-your-business/

• Anonymous
  February 19, 2009
  I define community as a "collection of like minded individuals for a common purpose". I live in a community. For the most part, the other people who live in my community do so for the same reasons; to have a safe place to raise their families and store their stuff. In business, I "belong" to several communities. Primarily, these are vendor communities and peer communities. I belong to these communities to be a part of the conversations that evolve within these communities. It helps me to stay informed and grow. My most important business communities are; Yahoo technical groups, vendor groups (in particular, the ones for my PSA and RMM tools), various user groups, LinkedIn and HTG. I do not consider SBSC to be a community. I think of it more as an association. Communities are very important for building relationships, having visibility to trends, as a sounding board for ideas, and as a resource for solving problems. I don't think our company would survive without being part of communities.

• Anonymous
  February 19, 2009
  The "C" in SBSC was well established before Microsoft came along and, really, there's not much "C" in what Microsoft supports.  Microsoft are removing any and all funding from User Groups, for one, which isn't very "Community".  A lot of the SBS User Groups around the world arew changing their name and their focus into SMB IT Pro groups, focussing not so much on SBS but on solutions appropriate for their SMB clients from vendors including Microsoft. Aside from that, the "Community" varies from area to area.  In Brisbane we've got a pretty good community that extends to both the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast as well as out to Toowoomba.  There's some little pockets outside these main areas, too, which are truly a part of our community because they put in the effort.  And believe me, that effort is appreciated.  I know some other areas are struggling to have any real community at all, which is unfortunate. Now, as for our business, well I've been involved in the community since I began in IT.  I've been involved in User Groups, IT Pro Groups and so on since the mid 1980s.  A great deal of the information I've learned has been from the community and I feed that back into the community. So, a fair amount of time that I could focus directly on our business is instead directed into the community via mailing lists, phone calls with other partners and so on.  Do I look for specific return on this?  No.  But I know that we do benefit from this in a number of ways, mainly intangible.  The best thing that I can see is that we have a more knowlegable and more capable group of IT professionals in and around the Brisbane area - the SMB IT Pro Brisbane group members - because of the community spirit that we encourage here. Microsoft obviously saw my community focus by asking me if I'd be the SBSC PAL for Australia for FY09.  I just wish I'd had more contact from Microsoft and with the SBSC Partners to be able to realise more of my goals.  Unfortunately, Microsoft won't let me know who the SBSCs are in the region I represent, so I can only represent those few who have contacted me about issues - the rest remain voiceless.  If I represent a community, I'd like to truly be able to represent the entire community.

• Anonymous
  February 19, 2009
  Lessons learned in working with blogging communities:

1. A community is a network. Networks cannot be controlled but they can be given an identity. People diecide to join a community or network once they see and understand the structure or pattern otherwise everything looks random.
2. People stick with established ties they trust. Therefore quality of relationships vs quantity of relationshps becomes a foundation for a thriving collection of people.
3. Recognition promotes participation.

• Anonymous
  February 21, 2009
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  February 21, 2009
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  February 21, 2009
  I endorse Hilton's comments, and add the following:- Microsoft are a large organisation, and do offer an opportunity for us to engage, but MS seems to have forgotten the base tennant of community, the freedom to make choice as to engaging or not, and so many are now looking at the NOT option. For me the former Brisbane SBS group, now SMB IT Pro, is a shared intellect.  It is something that I want to be part of, both in terms of receiving info and assistance, and in that I want to, and do, contribute! I actually gain benefit, in, and from, contributing to the community.  I am free to be critical, and others are free to critisize me.  Indeed, I learn from constructive criticism.  When I stop learning, from my peers, it is time to bail out. I think that many others gain benefit from belonging, irespective of receiving assistance, or contributing.  So to me the definition of community is all about belonging.  And, Belonging is all about wanting to participate, combined with a feeling of freedom to participate. Tony

• Anonymous
  February 22, 2009
  I posted my comments on my blog at http://www.Simplex-IT.com/BizBlog.

• Anonymous
  February 22, 2009
  Community is my business. I would be nowhere without the small business community in my area. Online communities help me every single day. I would have been toast if it were not for the SBS Newsgroup and the community there many times over in the past few years. Community is the most important thing to me and my business.

• Anonymous
  February 22, 2009
  Hi Eric and the rest of the "community" Before I started typing, I looked up the word community.  There were 12 different definitions there.  All of them apply to what we consider to be vital to our business and our lives.   There are different communities that I am part of, too.  One of them is the professional community - my peers in the SMB IT in San Diego and around the world.  The values of that community are sharing of technical knowledge, processes, business ideas, referrals, friendship, professional relationships (I have some of them as resources for problems that I can't solve, and vice-versa), some social interaction, and camaraderie/commiseration (we understand each other and talk each others' language).  The mere fact that the Internet has revolutionalized my ability to obtain knowledge and solutions makes that community a vital, irreplaceable value. I have my local community, which is where I do business.  In that community, the foremost value is an ability to make a living by helping those customers and clients to solve problems that they otherwise would not be able to solve.  That community is a place where I serve.  Where I am able to be the glue between different businesses, letting each know what the others are doing and fostering business arrangements between them.  Where I get the recognition as the source for IT knowledge and expertise, and give the best possible service that I can provide them. I have a number of other communities that provide me with other things that I need in my life - social groups, purpose-centered groups, athletic groups.  All of them serve me by providing me with emotional, mental, or physical support and allowing me to give the same to other members of those groups, or to the group as a whole. It's a really good deal that we have - we can get whatever we need if we treat our communities with the respect, dignity, and honor that they deserve.

• Anonymous
  February 22, 2009
  The SBS Community is a group of people who share a common interest. They are from all different walks of life and locations in their careers. In theory the community is an environment where the more experienced can teach/mentor the inexperienced and retain their respect. It is an environment where new members are welcomed with open arms and without question. It is an environment were all experienced and new strive to improve their knowledge and experience. A true community will go beyond the common interest and provide a network for a full range of needs for those that are involved in the desire that it entices new members. In short it should involve all members going above and beyond for others withing the community without the expectation of any return. It is an environment where each members should contribute what they can without judgement. As I said "in theory". Can community revolve around a mature commercial product these days? It certainly doesn't appear that way to me any more. Thanks Robert

• Anonymous
  February 22, 2009
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  February 23, 2009
  Extremely!  I have found the SBS community to be the best and most helpful of any product we use at our small (13 people) office.  The newsgroup is great, it's nice knowing that if I get in a bind I can call an SBSC and know that they know SBS. Thanks for all your work improving and maturing the community!

• Anonymous
  February 23, 2009
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  February 23, 2009
  Community to me is where like minded individuals rely on each other to deal with changes in our profession, share and gain knowledge, protect our livelihoods and clients from the inevitable results of greed and ineptness of vendors whom we are forced to rely on daily. Most businesses fail the first year; more the first five.  I’ve beaten the odds because of this community. I was in a massive career change and needed to know reality of the business quickly.  I came up to speed in months and am now viewed as a guru by my clients. I have shared my knowledge in turn to help others. Interestingly I have sealed deals when I mention I am a part of worldwide organizations that deal specifically with technical issues in the small business community.  Little did I know these professionals are leveraging their professional communities the same way and immediately hired me, We will see large changes in this economy over the next 5 years.  The community will be pivotal in keeping my business afloat. It was key in my startup, it was key in becoming profitable, it will be key as I grow, and will be key in implementing new revenue opportunities. It seems I can’t do business without it.

• Anonymous
  February 23, 2009
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  February 23, 2009
  PingBack from http://sbsc.techcareteam.com/archives/336

• Anonymous
  February 24, 2009
  Community is a group of like minded people. The size and range varies according to the area of interest, the communication channels and the perceived need for the community. Community prevails in times of hardship or when there is a void of resources or communication. Community is all about social interaction - a need to be valued, recognised and associated with a clique. In relation to the C in SBSC - Microsoft didn't create this community but merely provided a label for a collection of partners to identify themselves with.

• Anonymous
  February 24, 2009
  Dear mr. Ligman, I always experienced you as a serious businessman and you should be ashamed for asking this question. You know all the answers and you also know that SBSC is the worst branding in the last Microsoft decade. I am sorry to say, Leen Kleijwegt CORBUS The Netherlands

• Anonymous
  February 25, 2009
  @ Leen - Thank you for your feedback.  I assure you that my asking the question is not an effort to see answers I already know, and is sincere in its intent.  I will readily admit that I don't know all of the answers, which is honestly why I ask the questions.  Yes, I have my thoughts on what some of the answers will be but I believe if you look through the responses so far, you will find a pretty large collection of differing definitions of community in terms of scope, focus, relevance, etc.   I am a firm believer in asking for input directly from the Partner community on various topics vs. having Microsoft just assume they know and go from there.  I am not sure how long you have followed the Blog or the User Group but if it has been for any significant amount of time, I believe you will see that I do try to reach out to the Partners for their real insights.  I also believe that many of the Partners who know me will attest to this fact. I would be very interested in understanding more fully the information and feedback behind your statement regarding SBSC.  It is apparent that you have some strong feelings about it and I would like to understand more about where the program has and has not worked for you and led you to the opinion you currently have about it today. Thank you again for taking the time to read the Blog and post your comment. Eric