How Communities Evolve: From the Dawn of Humanity to Web 3.
Communities have always been an important part of human life. Throughout history, communities have evolved to meet the needs of their members. In this article, we will explore how communities have evolved from the dawn of humanity to the digital age. We will look at how they work in the digital age and how people connect directly with each other to form communities.
This History of Communities
Humans have always been social animals. For most of our history, we have lived in small groups of family and friends. The first communities were hunter-gatherer societies. These societies were small and consisted of a few families who lived together. They hunted and gathered food together and shared it among the group.
It was necessary to form communities in hunter-gatherer societies because of the elements, wild animals, and many other dangers. There was safety in numbers. Community members also looked out for each other and helped with tasks that needed to be done.
Over time, communities have grown larger and more complex. The next step in the evolution of communities was the formation of tribes. Tribes were made up of a few hundred people who lived in the same area. They had a common culture and language.
The dawn of culture within communities changed everything about how communities existed in the larger world. Tribes began to form alliances and trade with each other. They also began to compete for resources. This led to the need for leadership and governance within communities.
As time went on, communities grew even larger. The next step in their evolution was the formation of towns and, later, cities. In these larger communities, people began to specialize in different tasks. Some became farmers, while others became craftsmen or traders.
The specialization of communities then started to create communities within these communities. There were guilds, organizations, and alliances that were not made up of government or religious figures, but of regular people. Community members with common interests began to form groups to pursue their passions.
The growth of cities has brought with it a whole new set of challenges for communities. They now have to deal with things like crime, pollution, and disease. To meet these challenges, they needed new forms of government and law enforcement.
All of this concentrated brain power led to an explosion of technology. This technology has transformed the way we live and work. It has also had a huge impact on communities.
The Digital Age of Communities
Even though the rise of the internet led to a new type of community, one could say that the community itself spurred the adoption of the internet. From the very beginning of the internet, people have been using it to connect with others who share their interests.
On October 29, 1969, two computers at Stanford and UCLA connected for the first time via satellite communication. Thus, these higher education institutions became the first hosts of what would eventually become known as the Internet.
It was the college professors and students themselves that built the internet for them to connect, share resources, and create a community for those with common interests. Community members were the ones who developed the first browsers and created the first websites.
The early internet was made up of small, tight-knit communities. These communities were always based on shared interests. You never saw communities seek out anyone and everyone, like you do today. There was no Facebook or Twitter back then.
In the early days of the internet, people had to go out of their way to find others with similar interests. They did this by subscribing to mailing lists and participating in newsgroups. These were digital equivalents of the physical communities that people formed in real life.
Just like in real life, these digital communities had their own rules, etiquette, and culture. Community members who didn’t follow the rules were often banned from the group. This made these communities very exclusive and tight-knit.
The most well-known example of a community in the early days of the internet is The WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link). The WELL was founded in 1985 and is considered one of the first virtual communities. It was an early example of a social network, long before the days of Facebook or Twitter.
The WELL was invite-only and exclusive. Community members had to go through a rigorous application process just to be considered for membership. Once they were accepted, they had to pay a monthly fee to participate in the community.
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The WELL was based on the idea of “the global village." The founders wanted to create a place where people from all over the world could come together and connect. They believed that the internet would eventually connect everyone on the planet and that communities would form naturally as a result.
In the early days of the internet, most people still didn’t have access. This meant that the people who did have access were mostly white, middle-class, Westerners. This made the WELL and other early communities very homogenous. Community members had a lot in common with each other, which made it easier for them to connect.
But as more and more people started to get online, the demographics of the internet began to change. And as the internet became more diverse, so did the communities that formed on it.
Web 2.0 was born out of this diversity. It was a response to the fact that the internet was no longer just made up of small, tight-knit communities. It was a recognition that the internet had become a more open and inclusive place.
Web 2 Communities
Web 2 was all about user-generated content. It was about giving people the power to create and share their content online. This new wave of the internet was led by social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
These platforms have changed the way we think about community. They made it possible for anyone and everyone to connect, regardless of location or background. The community no longer had to be something that you actively sought out. It could come to you.
The rise of social media also coincided with the rise of mobile devices. This meant that people could take their communities with them wherever they went. The community was no longer something that you had to be physically present for. You could participate in it from anywhere in the world.
Communities became global in scale and started to reach people who would never have been able to connect in the pre-internet era. This was a paradigm shift in how people started to communicate. And it’s had a profound impact on the way communities have evolved.
But with the rise of blockchain technology, we’ve now moved into the age of Web 3.0.
Web 3 Communities
Web 3 is all about decentralization. It’s about taking the power away from centralized platforms like Facebook and Twitter and giving it back to the people. With Web 3, communities are no longer limited by platform. They’re not controlled by a single company or organization. Instead, they’re distributed across the entire internet.
This new decentralized web is powered by blockchain technology. A blockchain is a distributed database that allows for secure, transparent, and tamper-proof transactions. This makes it the perfect technology for powering communities.
What we've seen so far with Web 3 communities is a continuation of what communities have always been about. People come together for a shared interest, participate in common goals, and share resources. But what's different now is the scale and reach of these communities.
With blockchain, communities can be global from day one. They don’t have to be limited by geography or platform. And they can be open to anyone in the world with an internet connection. This is a huge shift in how communities are formed and how they operate.
The rise of Web 3 comes at a time when the rest of the world is coming online. This will lead to even more diversity in the communities that are formed. We’re already seeing this with the rise of crypto communities. These communities are made up of people from all over the world, with a wide range of backgrounds and interests.
They are openly coming together, crowdsourced brainpower with no centralized entity to tell them what to do or how to congregate. The communities of the future will be more open, inclusive, and decentralized than ever before. And they will have the potential to change the world.
How have communities evolved since the dawn of humanity?
Communities have evolved in a variety of ways since the dawn of humanity. One of the most significant changes has been the rise of social media and mobile devices. This has made it possible for people to connect from anywhere in the world. Another significant change is the move from web 2 to web 3. This shift has been powered by blockchain technology and has decentralized communities, making them even less limited by platform or geography.
DAO communities are only the beginning of what blockchain technology will offer. This new community paradigm is something we haven't seen since the dawn of the internet. Individuals all over the world will be empowered in ways they have never had access to before—but this time, on a global scale.
Utst?llningsproducent, ?rebro l?nsmuseum
9 个月Exciting!
Freelance artist and teacher
11 个月Great article, thanks for that! Community is so important. I'm doing some research into how brands can harbour, create and reflect community!
Building your affordable remote offshore team in just 1 week! ???? Connecting ??US and European companies/startups with top offshore affordable talent.??
1 年James, thanks for sharing!
??♂? Acronym Manager @ Underdog.shop (CRO, CRM, SEO)
2 年Great article!
AI & AI Agents | Blockchain & Smart Contract Expert | Web & Mobile App Developer (React, React Native) | I help companies and agencies to build their product and tech teams
2 年I read in saphianes too Humans are lived with community and support of each others thats reason they grow faster than any species