I was recently talking with some people (mostly developers) who had a very narrow idea of the concept of "community" (in relation to a software product) and who is in it. They thought it only referred to people who shared their opinions on social media.
Whether "community" is the right, or best, term is also much debated.
Some feel "ecosystem" is better.
I've seen "community" used much more, so I'll go with that.
Either way, my list is much larger, and there are lots of different types of people on it:
People online:
- "Keyboard warriors"
- "Fan boys" (and girls)
- FOSS purists
- Influencers
- Press
People who build with the product:
- People who write code using the product
- Hobbyists
- Students
- Start ups
- Small businesses
- Large businesses
- Enterprises
People who choose the product:
- Trial users
- People "evaluating" software
- Those researching the company/software
People affected by the product:
- People who work with people who write code
- The people who pay for the products used to write the code
- The people who use the software created with code written with your tools/products
People with an external interest in the product:
- People building the product
- External contributors
- Partners
- Resellers
- Those providing integrations
Others:
- Bots?
- Competitors?
Who have I missed?
Thinking about ALL the people who are affected by and interested in your software can be much more helpful than placing undue attention and effort on a vocal minority....
