In the mid-90s, I sat at a Compaq Presario in a tiny room inside my childhood home. This tiny space had once been a playroom where my brother, sister, and I raised hamsters and battled each other for the podium on Mario Kart.
In that now transformed room, I dialed into the internet. That chaotic, high-pitched screech followed by digital garble that meant I was about to go online, if no one picked up the phone – was the sweetest sound.
After waiting for it to connect, coupled with much anticipation of reaching out to “the world” – I launched mIRC and joined many (many) chat rooms.
I wasn’t thinking about “audience growth” or “engagement metrics.”
I was thinking:
- Who’s out there?
- Where are they from?
- Can we talk?
- Can we connect?
That’s where it all began.
Not just for me, but for online community itself.
And today, as we navigate Slack channels, subscription-based platforms, and algorithm-heavy social media, I still go back to that original spark: real-time, real-feeling connection.
Let’s talk about what those early digital spaces got right and what they can teach us about building thriving communities right now.
1. Community Starts with Listening, Not Broadcasting
On mIRC, you couldn’t just post and disappear. You had to be present.
Conversations happened in real-time, and value came from listening as much as speaking. Interaction!
→ What we can do today:
Create community spaces where members aren’t just consuming, they’re contributing. Use prompts, live sessions, and active moderation to foster real dialogue. Build features that reward participation, not just presence.
2. Low-Tech Doesn’t Mean Low-Impact
My first website was on Angelfire. No fancy CMS. No analytics. Just raw HTML, a guestbook, and maybe a webring if I got ambitious. But it worked. Because it felt personal. (Which is also why blogs worked – but that’s a post for another day.)
→ What we can do today:
Don’t over-engineer. Fancy tech doesn’t replace emotional connection. Whether it’s a Notion page, a newsletter, or a pop-up Facebook group – if people feel seen and heard, they’ll stick around.
3. Shared Purpose Is Stronger Than Shared Interests
In those early days, we gathered not just because we liked the same things, but because we wanted the same things: to connect, to belong, to be part of something.
→ What we can do today:
Define the why of your community clearly. What are you helping people become? What are you doing together that they can’t do alone?
4. Offline Can Strengthen Online (and Vice Versa)
When I launched Bloggy Conference, it wasn’t just about adding a live event. It was about giving depth to the relationships we’d already built online.
That in-person energy created long-term loyalty. I can barely believe that we are closer to our 20th annual conference event than we are to the first in 2011.
→ What we can do today:
Even if your community is digital, look for ways to create “real” touchpoints – virtual co-working, live Q&As, meetups, or even, yes… mailers. Give people something they can feel.
5. Small and Intentional Beats Big and Noisy
Early communities didn’t aim for scale, they aimed for connection. And ironically, that’s what made them grow.
→ What we can do today:
You don’t need 10,000 people in a group. You need 10 who care. Build for intimacy. Scale with intention.
The Tech Changed. The Heartbeat Didn’t.
From a blinking chat window on a Compaq Presario to thriving digital ecosystems – we’ve come a long way. But the essence of community hasn’t changed.
People want connection.
They want meaning.
They want to belong.
Whether you’re building on LinkedIn, inside a private platform, or launching a movement from scratch, tap into those early principles.
They worked then.
They still work now.
Let’s Build What Lasts
If you’re building a community that’s meant to last, not just go viral, I’d love to be part of it.
→ Contact me or learn more about working together here.
PS: All these decades later, I still randomly search these new platforms for the old usernames I used to know. If you’re out there, say hi!
Featured image graciously provided by *gasp* ChatGPT
2 Comments
You are so right when mentioning the early days and making connections; I go back to the really early days of using a Commodore 64 and connecting to QuantumLink to satiate these same desires.
The fact that it actually cost .08c per minute to participate in those chats did not stop most of us at the time, and I have no regrets about that to this day. Being able to connect with people from all over the globe made that experience a worthwhile investment with my own personal development.
Though my participation, in those early days, was on my parents’ dime — I have no regrets. (chuckling, a bit). It entirely shaped not only my career, but my future and what my everyday life would look like.