Looking for Community, Finding NOISE and Capitalism
Most "community tools" are actually just sales funnels in disguise. Stop treating your members like "leads" and start treating them like neighbors.
The Trojan Horse of "Community"
Every entrepreneur's playbook now includes a chapter on "building community." But let's be honest about what that usually means:
- "Community" = Email list (so I can sell to you later)
- "Community" = Facebook Group (so I can retarget ads to you)
- "Community" = Slack channel (so I can upsell you to my course)
If the endgame is conversion, it's not community. It's a funnel with a friendlier name.
Community-Washing: The New Greenwashing
Companies slap the word "community" on everything now. But here's the test:
If you're not the customer, you're the product.
Does the platform make money by serving you, or by serving advertisers who want to reach you?
Facebook Groups? Free—because you are the inventory being sold to advertisers.
Discord servers? Free—until you realize the VC-funded company needs an exit, and suddenly "community features" are paywalled.
Mighty Networks, Circle, Skool? You're paying rent for a digital landlord who owns your member data and can change the rules anytime.
What Real Community Actually Looks Like
Real community isn't about scale. It's not about "engagement metrics." It's not about maximizing lifetime value.
Real community is about neighbors.
Neighbors vs. Leads
| When you treat people as LEADS | When you treat people as NEIGHBORS |
|---|---|
| You optimize for conversions | You optimize for care |
| You measure "engagement" | You measure "connection" |
| You broadcast | You listen |
| You segment and target | You check in on people |
| You extract value | You create value together |
Data Sovereignty Matters
Who owns your community's data? Who can see who's engaging? Who gets to decide what content gets surfaced?
On most platforms: Not you.
You're a tenant, not an owner. And tenants can be evicted. Ask anyone who built a business on Facebook's algorithm, only to watch their reach plummet overnight.
A Different Approach
What if community tools were built for community leaders, not for advertisers or investors?
What if the metrics were "Are people meeting in real life?" instead of "How many clicks did we get?"
What if the business model was serving you, not selling you?
Reclaim Your Community
Built by community leaders, for community leaders. No ads. No investors demanding growth-at-all-costs.
Join the Pilot