The Inevitable Demise of Untended Communities
Whether it’s an online community, a workforce, or a democracy, communities need attention

“This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.” — T.S. Eliot, 1925
It’s tempting to think that entities we’ve created will simply go on forever, like perpetual motion machines that require neither maintenance nor intervention.
But the stark reality is quite the opposite. Nothing is permanent.
Humans are natural tinkerers, and we need to pay attention to the things we build to improve upon them.
As an engineer, Henry Ford knew this. He tinkered in his shed at 58 Bagley Avenue in Detroit until he created the Quadricycle in 1896.
He created Ford Motor Company in 1903 (after two false starts with other companies), introduced the Model T in 1908, and kept tinkering with the assembly process until he introduced the moving assembly line to the auto industry in 1913.
“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all but goes on making his own business better all the time.” — Hen…
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