I spent the weekend participating in the conference events that comprised Phoenix Design Week (PHXDW). It was NOT what I expected. I am not a designer, but part of running my own business includes doing things I’ve never done before, and web/print design is one of those things. I attended in order to learn some new things and (hopefully) make some new friends who might be helpful, friendly, and just plain cool. What I found was an amazing group of people who are so passionate about their community that they’re willing to go all out in order to further that community. Through controversy and many conflicting views, I left the conference with one feeling, most appropriately voiced by my friend Kim – “Designers of phx! You want community? You got community:#phxdw. Keep it up.”

This plagued me all day, especially the last part – “Keep it up.” So, after sitting here following an evening of working and hanging with Gary Vaynerchuk at his book signing, I realized something that I believe is fairly profound. The quantity and quality of our interactions online as a community is directly related to the time since our last large-scale social gathering. In fact, the size and scope of the gathering could even dictate the scale of this correlation.

Essentially, the more time since our last gathering, the lower the quality of the community discussion. This can be applied on a large scale (something like PHXDW) or on a smaller scale (something like East/North/West Valley Friday Night or Ignite Phoenix). Either way, there is an initial influx of discussion followed by a quick drop off that then returns community discussion to levels previously seen as normal.

The point at which an event is necessary can be demonstrated with a simple supply and demand curve. To skip the econ lesson, it seems as if there is a tipping point where the necessity (demand) to have an event meets the ability (supply) to create such an event. Mark Dudlik hit this equilibrium when he decided that the Phoenix design community was in need of an event.

Part of PHXDW was a sometimes-heated debate over whether or not we should look to other communities and cities throughout the country and world for guidance on making Phoenix the established community it is itching to be. From these discussions, it occurred to me that maybe instead of focusing on creating the culture, it’s the actual gatherings themselves that spur the community. More importantly, even though we are geographically discouraged from gathering en masse on a regular basis, it’s not so much the fact that we can all attend but the fact that the event is happening. Think about how many times you’ve seen an event’s hashtag on Twitter that is occurring in San Francisco or Chicago or New York and you’ve commented and put that hashtag in your tweet – you were a part of the conference. You added to the community, became a part of the community, and furthered that community through participation. Many people who were unable to attend PHXDW still participated and benefited from the panels, discussion, and interaction that was happening miles away from their location.

All of this drives a question about what we can do as a community to keep the quality of our interactions at the highest level possible. At the end of the day, I don’t really have a point yet. I have no answer. I have observations that might inspire someone else to find an answer or two about some of the discussion.

I’m interested in what others think, and would love to hear your thoughts. If you want to talk more about the basic economics behind social networks, ask me.  I’m happy to talk about my thoughts, and would love to hear how absolutely wrong I am.