The Community Makes All the Difference

This week, I have decided to take a slightly different look at the Palm ecosystem: the Palm user community.  I’ve always have been intrigued by the user community that grows up around a particular product.  When Palm introduced the Pilot some ten years ago, no one could have imagined the multitude of communities that single product would create.

It Starts with a Vision…

Truly great products start with a great vision.  At Palm, that vision has always been centered on being the best mobile computing company possible.  The original design team was passionate about the Pilot.  That passion then spilled over into the people who would come to develop the first third-party applications.  As important as the designers and the developers were to the creation of the Pilot, it was the first customers who really helped create that sense of community around the product.  Soon after the Palm Pilot was launched, people started getting together to form local special interest groups so that they could talk about the product, how they were using it, and to help others learn how to use their Palm more effectively.

The rise in popularity of the Internet gave birth to a new wave of globally accessible virtual communities that lead to the creation of a wide spectrum of Palm enthusiast websites.  The best part about participating in this new community is that you didn’t have to a “computer nerd” to benefit from it.  A desire to learn and a willingness to share information with the group is all that is required to be involved.  People like you, dear reader, help to create, sustain, and grow great communities like the one found here at 1SRC.

I asked 1SRC co-founder Joel Suplido what his thoughts are about the Palm community and he shared the following with me:

“Any forum site's soul is the group of members. You can actually tell what the "personality" of the site is based on the quality of posts and behavior of its members. For 1SRC, we're proud to say that we've got an awesome group of members that make 1SRC a great place to visit for Palm info. We're helpful and we see to it that people have a great time within the forums – be it participating or just reading about our favorite PDA's. I'd like to thank those members (and guests) who regularly report spam, bad posts, and other things that do not help anyone. Most of all, I'd like to thank the members who continue to post Palm info, ask questions, and help others –

without you 1src will not exist.”

…And Continues with the Community

I have to agree with Joel’s assertion that a website is driven by its members.  Members of the Palm community are very welcoming to new members and have a culture of true information exchange which makes using your Palm more enjoyable.  These early and positive experiences often lead to more people contributing their thoughts, ideas, and tips to others.

For a long time, I had been a member of a local Apple user’s group here in Connecticut.  Once I had left high school, I stopped attending, but that feeling of belonging never really went away.  Once I had purchased my first Palm, the IIIx, I quickly found that there were thriving digital communities at wonderful Palm enthusiast sites like 1SRC and Brighthand.  For me, however, the Palm community was so cool, that I wanted to give something back, and like so many of you, I became very active in the community discussions.

In a recent conversation with Tyler Faux, Ludus Technologies lead software developer and host of the Palm Addict Podcast, I asked what his impression of the Palm community was.  Tyler enthusiastically responded by saying, “I can say without hesitation that [the Palm user community] is a fantastic group of people who enjoy their devices and are looking to get the most out of them. From the user thoughts on PalmAddict to the numerous posts and threads at 1SRC, I find the Palm community just as generous and helpful today as I did three years ago when I got my first device, and I love being a part of it!”

In Conclusion

For me, being a member of the Palm community continues to be a rewarding experience.  Not because of the handheld computers that we all chose to use.  It has more to do with the friendships that are made because of it.  Over the last eight years, I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of people, friends, which I would have not otherwise met.  Some of these people I’ve met in person at local user groups and others from across the Internet.  I get to work and collaborate with many of these people on a weekly and sometimes daily basis.  To me, developing these friendships is the most rewarding aspects of being part of the Palm community.

What have your experiences of being a member of the Palm community been?  I invite you to share them with us in our discussion forums.