Building Community Is Not Easy

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - When you decided to form a community, what did you have in mind? Whatever it is, definitely never get out of the grip set by the standard goals of the community itself. Namely, helping each other in producing something according to predetermined goals.

The benefits of a community as a medium for disseminating information and supporting fellow members, as well as a forum for building relationships must also serve as a guide so that the community that is run does not deviate from its true principles. However, in practice it is not that easy.

Forming and building a community is tricky. It's easy, if we can find people who have passion and interest in the same field without other intentions behind them. It's hard, because when the community runs there are always undermines both from inside and outside the community. Okay, we don't have to think about rongrongan from the outside, because from the inside, there must be many who are looking for opportunities. Yes, why join a community if you just want to show that you are superior to others or you often make fun of it to look for material gain?

We take an illustration. A musical community in an area whose members have an interest and love for one musical instrument is formed. Initially, the response and enthusiasm of the musical audience in the area where this community was formed was massive. They flocked to become members, especially when this community has regular monthly events that showcase their actions in turn. It is certain that the long queue of potential performers for this event is snaking like the queue for BPJS participants.

Surprisingly, there are those who feel that their time is wasted just on something they think is not important. What they termed, 'There's no money'. Lah! Right from the start there was no compulsion to join this community. If you really want to earn money, don't join the community. But working, selling, doing business and doing other things that make money. Because a community would be much better off standing on a non-profit spirit. If the goal is commercial, don't expect it to last long.

However, even though the mission and vision of this community has been clearly explained to its members, there are still some who do not understand. Or rather, don't want to understand. Because there are also those who are desperate to seek personal gain from behind. Say, a member volunteered to become an intermediary or negotiator with one of the guest stars who will appear at this regular community event. When granted permission, he instead tries to undercut the guest star or even tries to take it off for free with the aim of taking advantage of the budget that the sponsor has prepared. Ridiculous, right?

The quality of a community event must also be maintained. If you can't raise the level of the event, you don't have to lower it just because you want to maintain its existence. Hey, man! Consistency is indeed the key to existence. However, it is not only consistent in terms of the frequency of holding events. It is also very important to be consistent in terms of maintaining the weight of the program. In essence, return to the definition of community that stands on the foundation of the spirit of kinship. Never make a competition themed event that ends up dividing the members.

Even though a competition will shape the character of a musician, because their mentality will be tested when they navigate the vast ocean of the Indonesian music industry, it is not appropriate for the size of the community. This is not the place. Because in the end, the good ones don't give knowledge to those who are still learning. But even more so I feel good because I can beat the others. Then, what is the mission to unite musicians who have the same interests in one forum if what is done is to present competition and division?

A community will usually be destroyed when one of its members feels they have a lot of money or are fond of showing off expensive gear. In addition to often comparing, it is not uncommon to make his gear collection a magnet to attract other members to gather at his residence. Unconsciously, he and his friends had formed a new communion that was even more segmented. Or rather, exclusive! Eventually, the community that had been painstakingly built began to split again. The camp, whose initial intention was to find new friends and share experiences, was in fact inferior to the resurrection of the wealthy camp that worshiped the idols of expensive gear.

Another illustration, a community that is no less ridiculous. With the intention of uniting old musicians in an area, this community has even lasted for the rest of its life because some people have hijacked the concept of how this community is run, including organizing its events. This concept of community stands on the spirit of bringing together old musicians - both above and below the stage - where some of them had been involved in fierce competition in their youth.

Initially it went well. About 15 musicians joined and were successfully broken into several formations to bring dozens of songs on stage. At first glance, the concept is adopting Rockstarr Conspiracy in this country or Kings Of Chaos abroad. Yes, it's imitating it. The difference is, this regional community does not have their own songs so they choose to present a series of songs that they have played in their youth. Only halfway through, one of the band formations of this project was hijacked by parties who felt they were not invited to join. The funny thing is, the members who were hijacked didn't really mind. Weird bin magic!

Say, a soccer coach has the ambition to build a good team with a minimal budget. The choice, of course, is to choose players who have passed the golden age but still have good quality. Selection is carried out until finally getting the desired players. Even though at first it seemed that it was not yet solid, but the composition of the scheme and the dismantling of pairs of players carried out by the coach in each training session made this team find its best playing pattern and line-up.

Slowly, a number of young players who were at the peak of their achievements were even determined to join. However, some are successful and some are not. In several trial matches, their action managed to steal the attention of the audience. A new team with old players still able to show their fangs. There are even some players who in their youth clashed, such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, now work hand in hand to defend the same team. Previously, which team could bring these players together? There is no!

The competition has not yet started, another team has hijacked some of the 'old team' mainstay players. This is the origin of the division and at the same time it kills the survival of this community. Even long before the event that was being worked on took place. In fact, the concept of the event for the following year has been made with a wider audience coverage and more attractive packaging.

Does this article then make you afraid to form and build a community? Please do not do it. However, you have to keep trying and have the confidence that all the hard work - even if you fail repeatedly - will pay off. Anyway, this story might be inspired by the author's personal experience.

"Madness is doing things the same way over and over and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein