Yep, I'm talking about the E word again.
Rosie SherryDec 2, 2025
3 min read
It's pretty surprising to see how many people only see community as the interactions (engagement, conversations and discussions) we have.The idea that community is more than that often gets shut down.Typically, this shows up in the defiance of saying that a newsletter is not a community. I'd argue, how can you run a community without some form of good email communication? I'm not sure it's possible.It's funny to see people argue with such conviction. 🤷🏻♀️When a community is seen as a system, then we can easily start to see that it is more than engagement, it is more than a community tool, this is siloed thinking that doesn't enable growth.I brush it off, but also, the truth is that this kind of thinking is actually harmful, overall, to our industry. We have to get better at showing that community is more than engagement.The truth is that community is built upon actions, engagement is important, but that's only part of the work required.Change won't come overnight, but I'll continue to fly the community as a system flag.Explore further in Rosieland:Good CommunicationA communication strategy is often an under looked part of community buildingRosielandRosie SherryThe 80/20 conversations rule of communityWhen we think about building community we can fall into the trap of overly focusing on conversations. This doesn’t mean conversations aren’t important, they are crucial to our community work. What I see time and time again are comments from community members saying “communities are overwhelming”, “there areRosielandRosie SherryThe 80/20 Conversation RuleToo many conversations can be overwhelming and we must learn to balance them in our community design.RosielandRosie SherryCommunity as a System - RosielandLaunch, grow and sustain your community with regular strategies, advice and tips. We’re here to help you re-think what community means.RosielandCommunity Engagement 101This is the community engagement course you never knew you needed!RosielandRosie SherryThe community engagement trapThe community industry has a problem and it comes in the form of an unbalanced
