I feel like people have a desire to be a part of a community, but I'm not sure they necessarily realize they want to join a community. Does that distinction make sense?
I think the current page is too focused on the concept of communities, while really it should be about finding your peers. Meeting people with similar interests, hobbies, or tastes. That this can happen through joining an online community, is secondary.
What does that mean in practice?
Well, I think rather than showing a list of online communities, you could perhaps have a questionnaire. Asking people what they are looking for. Are they looking to connect with like-minded individuals? Or do they want to expand their worldview and seek out opposing perspectives? Do they want to meet new friends to hang out with in real life (perhaps initially through connecting virtually), or are they looking to connect with people in a more professional way?
Based on what people are looking for (their actual needs), I think you could guide them to the right community to join. Perhaps you even could include tips to get the most out of that community. Like you pointed out yesterday, WIP isn't the place for self-promotion. So that's something you might want to point out if you recommend WIP to someone. But perhaps some other communities are totally fine with it, and so it's worth explainig that as well.
I think with that approach Community Finder becomes more of a personal guide, helping you find your peers, rather than just a list of places where the reader has to wade through him or herself.
I feel like people have a desire to be a part of a community, but I'm not sure they necessarily realize they want to join a community. Does that distinction make sense?
I think the current page is too focused on the concept of communities, while really it should be about finding your peers. Meeting people with similar interests, hobbies, or tastes. That this can happen through joining an online community, is secondary.
What does that mean in practice?
Well, I think rather than showing a list of online communities, you could perhaps have a questionnaire. Asking people what they are looking for. Are they looking to connect with like-minded individuals? Or do they want to expand their worldview and seek out opposing perspectives? Do they want to meet new friends to hang out with in real life (perhaps initially through connecting virtually), or are they looking to connect with people in a more professional way?
Based on what people are looking for (their actual needs), I think you could guide them to the right community to join. Perhaps you even could include tips to get the most out of that community. Like you pointed out yesterday, WIP isn't the place for self-promotion. So that's something you might want to point out if you recommend WIP to someone. But perhaps some other communities are totally fine with it, and so it's worth explainig that as well.
I think with that approach Community Finder becomes more of a personal guide, helping you find your peers, rather than just a list of places where the reader has to wade through him or herself.