A Fool and his Errand: Render Render Land

This post was published to A Fool and his Errand at 1:56:50 AM 2/2/2007

Render Render Land

Traditional media outlets like the New York Times and their blogging counterparts like BoingBoing have focused greatly on questions of community in the last few weeks. Whether the community being examined is that of MySpace, World of Warcraft, Second Life, or LinkedIn the question has arisen as to what defines community. Coincidentally, circumstances have conspired to make me examine very similar questions.
Before these circumstance came into play, however, many of these issues had begun to flicker at the edge of my consciousness. John Barlow's essay “Is There Any There There brought many of thoughts on community into focus. Barlow’s essays immediately grabbed my attention. They immediately reminded me of one of my favorite writers and thinkers, Corey Doctorow. Corey’s work as an author and essayist shares much with Barlow. As does his work with Copyleft and the Creative Commons issues. The most striking similarity between the two, however, is their faith in us. Corey Doctorow’s faith in society and the belief that if given enough chances we as a species may actually get it right seems to me to be mirrored by Barlow. Barlow’s faith was not what has made him the focus of this post. Nor is Barlow’s faith the reason why his essay has been posted and reposted on the internet since its publication. The understanding of community evident in that essay is why it’s so popular. The most important fact outlined in this essay is routinely ignored by both traditional media outlets and those in the blogging world. Community is independent of form or environment. Community may be found in Small Town America, or even I suppose in the Disney corporations reimagining of one. Community may be organic like those of Deadheads, Phishheads or even Gothamites. Communities may even be virtual like those of Alphaworld, World of Warcraft or Second Life. Form is irrelevant. A community only needs one thing communion. We all share a need for communion. That is why this piece has the resonance it does. Everyone can identify with Barlow. There may be no simple answer to the question of what makes a community. But we all know it when we’re part of it.