Communitizing

Good points in Clay Shirky's musings on online communities. Community is organic. I live next door to a restaurant called Joe Allen. It is owned by Joe Allen. It is a bistro of sorts that serves the theater community here in NYC. It has become quite famous over the last 50 years with no advertising. Joe created a place for theater folk to hang out after shows and let it build quietly. It is now filled with celebrities and theater people and tourists every night. He has Joe Allen restaurants in London, Miami and Ogunquit, Maine. He opened Orso restaurant next door to Joe Allen in 1983, with the same m.o. There are Orso restaurants in London and Los Angeles. Last year, Joe opened Bar Centrale, upstairs from the New York Orso. Again, he let it build solely on word-of-mouth. We just got word this week, about one year later, that Orso and Joe Allen staff members are not allowed to mention Bar Centrale to customers anymore. The Bar has too many regulars already who expect to be seated after theater. No more new people. In one year.

That is how a community is built. Let it generate on its own. If you build it, they will come.