I've taken the time, at last, to put in slides my theory about social media. It's not about technology, it's about a deeper change in our world, one that makes communities, online or not, rise. In a nutshell, I think we've been evolving for the past 250 years from a society of individuals to a society of communities, a motion led by the US, and with 1620, the Mayflower and the Pilgrim Fathers as a starting point. In this set of slides, I go through the American and French revolution, and the way they help to understand how identities are on the rise everywhere, and how they fit into communities. Internet is more an output of this trend, and a catalyzer, as it gives so many possible channels and interactions possible for any identity (gender, sexuality, race, religion, hobby, work…) to express. You can also read the summary of my article on my blog martinpasquier.com M

1. Origins
of
online
communi/es
An
American
influence
for
the
21st
century

2. Intro
Online
communi6es.
Wait
–
what??
Rise
of
the
communi/es,
even
more
with
Internet,
even
more
with
social
media
Back
to
the
Future,
and
to
the
French
and
American
revolu/ons

3. USA
Community
as
a
poli/cal
engine
1620:
Pilgrim
Fathers
flee
England
to
live
freely
their
religion
1700-­‐2000:
waves
of
immigrants
(German,
Poles,
Italian,
La/nos…)
=>
“E
Pluribus
Unum”:
community
+
pluralism
mayflower

4. USA
1960s:
communi/es
strike
back
Revolu/on
of
the
iden/ty:
from
the
“mel/ng
pot”
to
the
“Salad
bowl”
Blacks,
queers,
women,
hippies,
veteran
soldiers…
Public
space
as
a
patchwork
of
specific
rights
linked
to
iden//es

5. USA
Even
capitalism
can’t
compete
Capitalism
=
homo
economicus
=
neutral
moral
strategy
in
a
society
of
individuals
Community
=
people
with
a
meaning
and
a
choice
in
their
ac/ons

6. France
Rousseau
and
the
Republic:
equality
rules
1789:
Revolu/on.
1792:
End
of
the
monarchy,
enters
1st
Republic
(now
5th)
Republican
moao:
“One
and
unspliaable”
(no
more
local,
religious,
country-­‐based
iden//es
Theory:
a
federa/on
is
the
siege
of
chaos.
Let’s
do
“one
na/on”

7. France
Na/on
vs.
the
rest
of
the
world(s)
No
recogni/on
of
anything
that
can
be
an
alterna/ve
power
or
culture
Body
poli/c
as
“unanimous”,
speaking
for
the
“general
interest”
Individuals,
to
enter
public
space,
leave
behind
their
iden//es.

8. France
Building
a
na/onal
community
Napoleon:
state
law,
state
schools
“Centrale”,
“Normale”
Religion
always
wrong
(s/ll
true
in
2000s:
riots,
veil,
gheao)
One
fear:
an
atomized
public
space
with
enclosed
communi/es
&
rules

9. Internet
A
community
for
research
Recogni/on
of
rights
fits
into
technology
(which
allows
scaaered
iden//es
to
voice,
gather,
work
together)
First
“internet”
by
DARPA
for
Universi/es:
free,
collabora/ve,
community-­‐based
FR:
state-­‐owned,
protected
telegraph.
US:
given
to
companies,
open
for
stock
exchange
(Reuters)

10. Internet
The
WELL,
the
first
“online
community”
(1985)
Whole
Earth
‘Lectronic
Link:
a
bulle/ng
board
becoming
a
“online
community”
An
online
community
is
a
community
that
forms
on
the
internet.
A
community
is
a
group
of
people
interac6ng,
sharing,
and
working
toward
a
common
goal
=>
The
embodiment
of
the
poli/cal
and
cultural
matrix
of
the
US

11. Internet
When
users
take
to
the
power
Starbucks,
Gap,
Malabar
(France)
can’t
change
their
logos
mayflower

12. Internet
When
users
take
to
the
power
Poli/cal
par/es
can’t
live
without
(Obama,
“No”
to
European
Cons/tu/on
in
2005,
Cons/tu/on
of
Island)
mayflower

13. Internet
When
users
take
to
the
power
And
causes
manage
to
leverage
huge
user
base
through
social
media
(Nestlé
v.
Kit-­‐Kat,
Kony
2012)

14. The
community
So
what
is
a
community
Shared
interest
(beyond
digital)
Network
of
presence
(not
a
single
site)
A
will
for
poli/cal
or
commercial
recogni/on
Ability
to
produce
collec/vely
goods
(content,
opinion…)

15. The
community
Who
is
part
of
the
community
Not
everyone
is
equal
(lurkers
vs.
“ac/ve
minority”
or
1-­‐9-­‐90)
Rewards
for
the
best
(moderator,
admin,
perks)
People
with
different
levels
of
par/cipa/on
(like,
star,
rate,
comment,
post,
manage…)

16. The
community
What
is
the
community
doing?
Crowdfunding,
from
Kickstarter
top
projects
to
poli/cal
project
(JOBS
Act)

17. The
community
What
is
the
community
doing?
Research
&
Development:
Dell
Ideastorm
(18K
projects,
700K
votes,
500
products),
Starbucks
myIdeas

18. The
community
What
is
the
community
doing?
Human
resources
management:
We
are
Sephora
on
Facebook
(32k
fans),
BNP
Paribas
backstage
(FR:
2
800
members,
2
500
comments)…

19. The
community
What
is
the
community
doing?
CRM/Social
CRM:
from
Numericable
(FR)
savings
to
Nestlé’s
“social
media
room”
(to
ease
shareholders?)

20. The
community
What
is
the
community
doing?
Going
from
the
industrial
age:
hierarchy,
produc/vity,
mono-­‐tasking…
To
the
the
network
economy:
flexibility,
project-­‐based,
horizontal…

21. Coming
next
A
world
without
states,
replaced
by
communi/es
Individual
empowerment:
• No
more
borders,
rise
of
immigra/on
(Costa
Rica
10%,
Ireland
14%,
Botswana
4%,
Singapore
30%)
• No
more
families
(single
household
5-­‐10%
in
Africa,
APAC,
Middle-­‐East
and
Lat.
Am,
30+%
in
Europe,
US
• No
more
(almost)
religion:
rise
of
atheism
• No
more
trade
unions
(-­‐20pts
in
the
US
and
France
between
1950
and
1989)

22. Coming
next
A
world
without
states,
replaced
by
communi/es
End
of
the
big
guys
• Travel,
musique,
commerce
all
disrupted
by
new
internet
ventures
(AirBNB,
Uber…)
with
a
community-­‐
based
approach
• States
are
failing:
too
big,
too
debt-­‐burdened.
Alterna/ve?
Say
hi
to
Blueseed!

23. Thanks!
Mar/n
Pasquier,
Agence
Tesla
Mar/n.pasquier@agencetesla.com
Follow
us
on
Twiaer
@agencetesla