Shai Krishna’s Post

Now that you know HOW to GET MEMBERS. What do you DO with them in a community? — It starts with MONTHLY THEMES. — MONTHLY THEMES ensure you’re starting the design of your community with NOVELTY. — Each month, there’s a new theme designed to do 2 things. — To get members sharing their stories, experiences, and ideas. NOT ADVICE. — To tackle a theme that ultimately ladders up to your community’s BIG PURPOSE. — But the real benefit of Monthly Themes? You avoid the lull. How? — Just when you may hit a lull in your community, it’s time to introduce the next month’s theme. — This is SO EASY. AND IT WORKS.

Now that you know HOW to GET MEMBERS. What do you DO with them in a community? — It starts with MONTHLY THEMES. — MONTHLY THEMES ensure you’re starting the design of your community with NOVELTY. — Each month, there’s a new theme designed to do 2 things. — To get members sharing their stories, experiences, and ideas. NOT ADVICE. — To tackle a theme that ultimately ladders up to your community’s BIG PURPOSE. — But the real benefit of Monthly Themes? You avoid the lull. How? — Just when you may hit a lull in your community, it’s time to introduce the next month’s theme. — This is SO EASY. AND IT WORKS.

The Association for Community Design (ACD) is building a virtual map to visualize the field of practitioners, organizations, academic institutions, advocacy groups who self-identify as part of the community design ecosystem. The Asset Atlas will serve as a crucial tool of connection: from students seeking mentors, young professionals searching for future employers, established practitioners looking for collaborators, to community members or clients engaging design consultants. First, add yourself, your firm, your volunteer organization to the map! Second, share with other community design practitioners and help grow the network! Add yourself here: https://lnkd.in/eUYeQ-Em View the Asset Atlas here: https://lnkd.in/esGm83XB Share this post to spread the word!

4,500 people served. 60 lives changed daily. These aren't just numbers. They're stories of dignity and hope being restored. Industrial design students from Georgia Tech are collaborating with a local charity to enhance the dignity of Atlanta's homeless population by providing a Mobile Laundry Bus. Here's why this matters: • Clean clothes = renewed confidence • Dignity restored = steps toward change • Collaboration and innovation = real-world impact The Georgia Tech Mobile Laundry Bus project is more than a service; it is also a lesson in human-centered design. As a web designer for social impact organizations, I see parallels: • Identify a real need • Collaborate across disciplines • Create practical solutions • Measure tangible impact It's not always about fancy tech. It's about meeting basic human needs. So, how can we apply this mindset to other social challenges? What is an overlooked need in your community that could use innovative thinking? Let's spark ideas. Comment below. Together, we can design a better world ❤️. Read the full story here: https://buff.ly/4dksSMc #SocialImpact #InnovationForGood #DesignForGood #HumanCenteredDesign #SocialInnovation

Many founders who consider building a community decide against it when they realize how much work it might be. What if there was an easier way to start? Instead of a membership, host an event. Instead of a course, give a workshop. Instead of renting space, you can meet at the park. There are many ways to connect your people, and most don't require a ton of work or a long-term commitment. It's not all or nothing. You can start small.

Every project, including communities, begins with a blank ⬜️ canvas. And, as with any project, a community must begin with the right intentions🧐 If the intention is not set right, we will not create something worthwhile for people to participate in. In fact, when things don't go as planned, we will lose the motivation to pursue them further. Because at some point, they will. That is why the first exercise in the 'Start Your Community Workshop' is to visualize what your community looks 👁 like, what your members 🤷🏼♀️ are doing, and how your activities affect the world 🌍 around you. It is only then that we start defining the value proposition and developing a comprehensive strategy 📈 In 2️⃣ weeks, we will spend a full day creating a community launch 🚀 plan that has been put together with the right intention.

Focus on building containers, not community. What I learned from David Spinks' newsletter this morning. 🌀 David Spinks' latest piece in his four-part series on emergent community design, titled "The Universal River of Connection," rethinks the conventional mindset about community building. He proposes: 📜 "Usually, a community is described as something we 'build', 'architect', or 'engineer'. Rooted in these terms is the belief that building community is a linear, step-by-step process. 'If we just follow the instructions, we’ll have a community!' Emergent community design challenges this assumption. It’s rooted in the belief that we don’t build communities. We build containers where community has a chance to emerge. And to some extent, what emerges will always be out of our control." 📜 Reflecting on this shift—from actively building a community to crafting a container where one can naturally emerge—offers a powerful framework I can apply to designing live streams that foster community. From my experience in this industry, I've noticed a clear pattern in the ways certain live streams connect with their audience. Streams that are highly scripted, that focus more on reading a teleprompter in a controlled environment, always miss the mark and feel empty. They seem forced, like they're trying to manufacture community—or sometimes, they’re not really about building community at all. On the other hand, streams that embrace real-time engagement truly harness the potential of live streaming as a medium. By inviting participation and interaction, these streams create the containers David Spinks talks about, where community can naturally emerge. Designing for interaction and allowing for serendipitous moments transforms a simple broadcast into a living, breathing space where genuine community moments unfold. This insight has given me a new lens to view my work, and I'm excited to apply it to future projects. You can check out the full article on David Spinks' Substack here: https://lnkd.in/gf6JkvTC

How do you actually build a community? 🤔 You need three things to create a solid foundation 1️⃣ You need to find something people care about. 2️⃣ You need to care about it too. 3️⃣ You need to find your allies. Also, you should consider the stages involved in its design, such as: 📍 establising a vision 📍 planning and development 📍 implementation 📍 evaluation The power of community for you and brand is unlimited. I will show you how to tap into it. https://lnkd.in/eZuCJPvs

"luck is the residue of design" i often get asked "how do you build a strong community.", after 10 years in the space, working with thousands of businesses, surely i have some secret sauce? well, sure. but, i often found myself balking at taking too much credit & reflecting that the magic that exists, within brand communities, it often feels a result of sheer dum luck. but, after hearing this quote from english poet john milton, something clicked. what we often perceive as luck, is pretty much always a result of careful planning, effort, and intentional choices. luck exists, but you open the door for it come through, through staying curious, having a prepared mind & working hard. "good luck is what is left over after intelligence and effort have combined at the their best." so next time your customers start to use your product/service in unique ways, they bond in the space you've enable without pushing, don't chalk it up to luck. give yourself the flowers you deserve, you created your own luck. ➡️ for more insights on community building follow my newsletter here - https://lnkd.in/eXccMGmk

Your community strategy does NOT need to mean setting up a community[.]yourcompanyname[.]com website. (In fact in most cases, don't do this). Instead it's about going to where your current and potential customers are, maintaining a consistent presence, and offering value without asking for anything immediate in return.