“If you build it he will come.”
Hearing those words, the fictional Ray Kinsella (as opposed to the author of the same name) decided to build a baseball diamond in his corn field. His baseball heroes did indeed come, and Kinsella found himself losing control of the situation. Some years later, after Field of Dreams had been made into a movie, the farmer who allowed his corn field to be used for the filming was overrun with tourists and movie fans.
As we begin the holiday season it’s easy to see how communities establish traditions. Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, cranberries… the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade… football games. Followed by Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Red kettles and bell ringers on street corners collecting donations for charity. Trees, decorated windows, menorahs, carols, Scrooge and the Grinch… Leading to “Auld Lang Syne” and popping corks at the stroke of midnight. In my family the rule was that if we did something once and people liked it, it became a “tradition.”
Apple Computer is an example of a company that has built a strong community of enthusiastic product users. To those of us who don’t own a Macintosh computer, Apple’s most loyal fans can seem a bit too evangelical. (Just ask a question in an online forum about anti-virus software and the Apple disciples will tell you to buy a Mac and not worry.)
