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The Power of Community
Welcome
Every year when I attend SpiceWorld, the Spiceworks Technology Conference, in Austin, Texas, I arrive at the same conclusion: The power of community has more impact than all the marketing and advertising from all types of media put together. OK, so that might be overstating things a bit, but I think you get the message that I have observed that community is a formidable force for spreading the word among those of a like mind. The Spiceworks community is only one example of how members of a collective can pool their resources to create something greater than ever imagined. Linux is another example of a global community coming together to create a disruptive product that has literally changed the world. Hyperbole aside, the significance of what these global communities have achieved shouldn't be minimized, and neither should it go unnoticed.
Community isn't anything new or spectacular. Barn raisings, for example, were a popular community project in days of yore, where a group of folks would come together to help one of its members create a structure that would give back to the community as a whole in the form of storing hay, housing livestock, or even hosting a barn dance. Imagine if the farmer had built the barn himself, using only his resources, the desire to share his handiwork with the community at large might have taken some convincing. When every community member gives and participates, every member benefits.
Technology communities provide common areas where everyone on the experience continuum, from the greenest newbie to the most highly seasoned expert, can come together and have mostly civil discussions about all things tech. It's a safe haven, where we all prop each other up and share insights and commiserate over our collective pain points.
The community works. It fits our innate need to band together for a common purpose, lending strength in numbers. Community succeeds.
These communities have not only built dozens, or perhaps
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