October 1 - Design to Thrive - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of Design to Thrive explains the process of creating a sense of belonging among members of communities, and I love that Howard chose to use the much-loved ritual of fraternity hazing as an example of initiating individuals into a community.  Initiation rituals, Howard explains, basically serve as ways to help novices become part of a community, and "level up" the ranks as they become more experienced and knowledgeable.  This idea of leveling applies directly to social media in the sense that users who become involved in a community will want to build their own sense of belonging through a sort of quantifiable experience level - think leveling up in online games like Warcraft; however, Howard points out that there are drawbacks to creating belonging in this way.  For instance, once a Warcraft player reaches the highest rank possible, his or her interest will likely fade.  And perhaps a more relevant example of this drawback would be social media sites like Facebook or Myspace.  For better or worse, a great deal of people seem to build their sense of status among online communities through their number of friends or connections, and I feel that this actually detracts from their sense of belonging as they become fixated on simply raising those numbers rather than interacting with the people they represent.

Stories or myths can be effective ways to create belonging among communities.  The first example that comes to my mind is the legend of the alligators in the sewers of New York City.  Although it's highly unlikely, the story has survived for so long mostly because of the unique sense of community every New Yorker seems to feel, and the togetherness they get from speculating together over the truth of the myth.  Symbols or visual identities are two more great ways to build belonging, and while Howard provides the example of Clemson's logo and the ubiquitous C-L-E-M-S-O-N chant, perhaps an even more basic one would be the instantly-identifiable Clemson orange, and how the color has become invariably associated with the Clemson community.  And how has the color orange become so tied to Clemson and the members of its community?  Howard has set out eight rules that explain this process, and they apply to any sort of social atmosphere.  First, create and distribute a story of origin.  Then, create an initiation ritual (think frat brothers hazing frat brothers).  Next, create a mythology and circulate it.  Create leveling up ceremonies, then establish routines and protocols, and then establish symbols, colors, and visual identities.  And finally, for online social media, create a membership application as an initiation ritual.  Through this process, any group of people- not just online social media - can create belonging among its members, and that is one of the first steps in creating a lasting and thriving community.