What do you want out of your Online Community?

If we agree that community is important to people and that online community is a legitimate phenomenon in the 21st century, then that begs the question, “What do we get out of online community?”  What should we get out of it?  What do you want it to provide to / for you?

For me, I want connection … to people and to their ideas.  If we’re sharing a common purpose or interest, goal or passion, then I want to be able to share it well.  I want to meet people who are “top notch” and find access to ideas and information that’s right up there with them.  If there are people who aren’t very committed to the community and to the interest we share in it, then they’re less attractive to me.  If someone’s written 10 books on the subject, then I want to meet them.  Wait … only if their books are good ones, so I’m going to need a way to figure that out — ideally without reading all 10. 

If there’s any objectivity to the information — such as how to setup a few IR repeaters in my entertainment system, when the registration deadline for that conference is, or where the nearest Chicago-style pizza parlor’s located — then I need to find that information quickly and easily.  And it needs to be correct when I find it.  Plus, I feel an obligation to share knowledge and experience here when someone is looking for it.

If it’s more subjective – such as picking a new digital television, deciding which new audio book to download, or figuring out which pizza place is the best — then I want advice and opinion from people I trust.  Of course, I might also have opinions or advise to share here too.

So those are my requirements for a good community.  What about you?  What do you look for?

Technorati tags: community, connection