The topic of communities, a concept that has existed for decades, is currently undergoing a significant transformation. While many individuals are already part of numerous groups and communities, there is a clear indication that a strong move back to very specific, niche communities is occurring. This shift is primarily driven by emerging pain points within traditional social media platforms.
The Challenges Posed by Current Social Media Feeds
One of the most pressing issues in contemporary social channels, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, is the overwhelming presence of AI-generated content. This includes AI-generated posts, often following templates for viral engagement, and comments that also appear to be AI-generated. This proliferation of inauthentic content is causing users to become jaded.
Furthermore, beyond the AI ‘slop’, social feeds are often characterised by virtue signaling and humble bragging, contributing to a sense of playing a “game” that many individuals are growing tired of. The core problem is the lack of genuine, real connection and value in these feeds; instead, users often encounter AI-regurgitated content. This increasing pain point, particularly with AI acting as a ‘tipping point’, is pushing people to seek more authentic interactions.
The Re-emergence of Niche Communities
As the current social media experience becomes too painful due to inauthenticity and noise, a return to communities is anticipated. However, this will not be a return to just any community; people are actively seeking authenticity and real connection. The predicted solution involves a move towards communities that possess specific characteristics designed to counter the issues prevalent in broader social media.
A ‘good’ community in this evolving landscape is defined by several key requirements:
- Well-Moderated and Closed: To prevent external factors from affecting the community and to maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio, communities must be well-moderated and operate as closed groups. Communities left to ‘run wild’ are likely to fail, whereas those with careful attention to detail and strong moderation tend to succeed.
- Free from AI ‘Slop’: A crucial element is the complete absence of AI-generated content, engagement bait, and self-promotion.
- Provides High Value: The content shared within the community must be valuable and relevant to its members.
- Authentic Members: Members should be well-vetted, possess real-world experience, and avoid the promotion of content or courses without genuine, proven success.
An Example: The HubShots Community Approach
The principles outlined above are being applied in the development of the HubShots community, which has been under development for a couple of months. This community is built on the School platform and is designed with specific goals to ensure quality and authenticity.
Key features and goals of the HubShots community include:
- Small and Managed Membership: The aim is not to accrue thousands of members but rather to cultivate a group of a couple of hundred very key members. Currently, the community has 138 members, with a goal of reaching approximately 400 to 500 members maximum to maintain a “nice and comfortable, kind of cosy” environment. The focus is on quality over quantity to avoid the experience being ruined by excessive noise.
- Rigorous Vetting Process: Potential members are required to complete a questionnaire, and the team carefully vets them to ensure they are a good fit. This moderation helps maintain the community’s integrity and high standards.
- Structured Content and Engagement: The community includes a main “community tab” for updates and discussions, alongside a “classroom section”. The classroom hosts a growing number of courses, ranging from extensive lessons to short, sharp content, all designed to provide high value on specific topics, such as setting up HubSpot meetings effectively. This structure allows members to gain high-value content and engage with others on various topics.
The evolution of online interaction suggests that as individuals become increasingly jaded with the ‘AI slop’ and general noise on traditional social platforms, there will be a significant pushback towards these smaller, authentic, and high-value communities.
