Community building — at least when there is money involved — is an interesting beast.

Much as we might like to think that there are those who are very idealistic and constant "cheerleaders," most people are ultimately more loyal to their wallets than they are to causes or communities.

In this case, I'm not just taking about crypto wallets, or even physical wallets, I am also talking about our psychological and emotional wallets.

It's basic human psychology: Whenever we put forth some kind of energy or effort, we have an expectation of getting some sort of return on that. Maybe that sounds too "transactional" for some people... but it tends to hold true.

Think about it. Why do you do something?

Enjoyment and amusement are "currencies, in their own right. Meaning... that when you claim that you're part of something "just for fun," you are stating the reason for your participation.

What does this have to do with community building?

Well, actually, it has more to do with the failure to build communities.

Most communities start with great fanfare and enthusiasm. You might say that the "wallets" of community members are filled at that point.

But most wallets tend to work the same way... after a time, they draw down and eventually drain to empty, IF we don't keep putting something into them.

In the context of community building that means that it's simply not enough to just create and build a community... it has to be tended and nurtured and nursed along, and anyone who thinks that role should just fall to the community members tends to be in for a rough awakening!

Which is not to say that community members don't have their role to play! Definitely, they do. But unless something keeps coming back — in the form of a VALUE of some kind — they are not going to take on that all-important role of being "cheerleaders" for the community.

Here in the world of Hive, many of our communities have a connection to Hive-Engine and with that, their own tokens.

Which, of course, can be great but it doesn't amount to much if the "community" ends up being nothing more than a repository for people to tag their posts in hopes of gaining a few community tokens which they will immediate sell. That's not what a community is!

In time — as the value of the native token trends towards zero — people are going to look at both their psychological and Hive-Engine wallets and think to themselves "This is just a waste of time, why am I even bothering?"

And that's definitely a valid question that warrants an answer from whomever created the community.

What were you hoping to accomplish? And what were you prepared to do to keep everyone enthusiastic enough that they feel like their various "wallets" are being regularly replenished?

In many ways, Hive's various communities work as a nice "sandbox" for the greater world... an opportunity to discover that perhaps your amazing idea isn't quite the game changer you thought it was. On the other hand... maybe it's a way to discover that you have something that warrants firther building.

You just never know!

Just remember, people are most loyal to their wallets... no matter what shape such wallets might take!

Thanks for coming to visit, and do leave a comment if you feel so inclined!

=^..^=

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Posted with proof of brain