This resonates strongly with Nassim Taleb’s “via negativa” principle and the friction-reduction framework in "The Human Element" by Nordgren and Schonthal.
Your infrastructure thesis aligns with via negativa. That is, robust communities emerge through strategic subtraction (removing cognitive overhead, context switching, maintenance drama) rather than additive engagement tactics.
The four psychological frictions (inertia, effort, emotion, and reactance) outlined by Nordgren and Schonthal explain why destination communities struggle: they require breaking habits, demand mental energy, create performance anxiety, and feel like obligations. In contrast, infrastructure communities, as you've described, succeed by reducing these frictions. They work within existing workflows, reduce cognitive load, remove performance pressure, and preserve user autonomy.
All three concepts share a counterintuitive insight: success comes through strategic removal rather than enthusiastic addition. The best community infrastructure becomes invisible through reliability.
I appreciate how you’re pointing out an uncomfortable truth for community builders. The most successful communities may be the least visible ones.
For example, my friends at PIE (https://profitableideas.com) facilitate communities of senior executives for large consulting and professional services firms. Every year, one of PIE’s clients hosts a rolling series of in-person events around the globe. A team from PIE goes to each event. Their primary role is simply to make introductions. The value they add is reducing the social anxiety of saying hello.
Hmmm...you've got me thinking.
Then I have succeeded. WOOO!
This resonates strongly with Nassim Taleb’s “via negativa” principle and the friction-reduction framework in "The Human Element" by Nordgren and Schonthal.
Your infrastructure thesis aligns with via negativa. That is, robust communities emerge through strategic subtraction (removing cognitive overhead, context switching, maintenance drama) rather than additive engagement tactics.
The four psychological frictions (inertia, effort, emotion, and reactance) outlined by Nordgren and Schonthal explain why destination communities struggle: they require breaking habits, demand mental energy, create performance anxiety, and feel like obligations. In contrast, infrastructure communities, as you've described, succeed by reducing these frictions. They work within existing workflows, reduce cognitive load, remove performance pressure, and preserve user autonomy.
All three concepts share a counterintuitive insight: success comes through strategic removal rather than enthusiastic addition. The best community infrastructure becomes invisible through reliability.
I appreciate how you’re pointing out an uncomfortable truth for community builders. The most successful communities may be the least visible ones.
For example, my friends at PIE (https://profitableideas.com) facilitate communities of senior executives for large consulting and professional services firms. Every year, one of PIE’s clients hosts a rolling series of in-person events around the globe. A team from PIE goes to each event. Their primary role is simply to make introductions. The value they add is reducing the social anxiety of saying hello.