Week 9: A Community Beyond the Screen!

Hello everyone, and welcome back from our lovely Week 8 reprieve! I hope everyone is well rested and ready to continue nerding out together this semester. As we jump back into our readings and begin exploring social media as a tool for building communities, I immediately thought of one of the biggest gaming events happening this weekend: Pokémon GO Fest.

Now, if you've never played Pokémon GO, it probably looks like a simple mobile game about wandering around your neighborhood and catching digital monsters. And to be fair... that's not entirely wrong. But after nearly a decade, it has become clear that catching Pokémon is only half the experience. The real game is the community that forms around it.

One of this week's readings by Young and Rossmann argues that social media is most effective when it builds relationships rather than simply broadcasting information. Their research followed Montana State University's library as it shifted away from using Twitter like a digital bulletin board and instead focused on creating conversations, showing personality, and actively engaging with students. Rather than posting announcement after announcement, the library became part of the discussion. As a result, its community grew significantly, student engagement increased, and interactions more than doubled.

As I reflected on their findings, I realized that Pokémon GO has been following this exact philosophy for years.

On paper, GO Fest is all about exclusive Pokémon, rare shinies, and special research tasks. However, ask anyone who has attended one of the in-person events in New York, Osaka, or Paris, and they'll probably spend less time talking about the Pokémon they caught than the people they met. Players coordinate groups with complete strangers, connect with friends they've only known online, and celebrate each other's biggest catches. The event gives everyone a reason to gather, but the community is what creates the lasting memories.

What I find even more fascinating is that none of this would happen without social media. Long before GO Fest begins, players are already organizing through platforms such as Campfire, Discord, Facebook groups, Reddit, and other online communities. In many ways, social media does not simply advertise GO Fest. It makes GO Fest possible. Just like the library in this week's reading, the technology itself is not what creates value. The value comes from the conversations and relationships it helps facilitate.

Interestingly, this idea appeared in another one of this week's readings as well. Newton and Williams described how thousands of educators have transformed Instagram into "Teachergram," an online professional learning community where teachers share resources, ask questions, reflect on their practice, and support one another. They distinguish social media from social networking by arguing that social media is simply a way to share information, while social networking is what happens when people with common interests begin building relationships around that information. That distinction perfectly describes Pokémon GO Fest. Niantic can post event details all day long, but GO Fest does not become special until Trainers begin networking through Campfire, Discord, Facebook, Reddit, and local communities. The event begins with information, but it thrives because of relationships.

I also find it a little ironic that Pokémon GO was designed to encourage people to get off their phones and explore the real world, yet much of that experience depends on people connecting online first. Players use social media to organize events, make friends, and coordinate their adventures before ever stepping outside. Instead of replacing face-to-face interaction, these platforms make it possible. They act as a bridge between online conversations and real-world experiences, which is exactly what Young and Rossmann argue social media should do.

Looking back, I do not think Pokémon GO became one of the most successful mobile games of all time simply because people enjoy collecting digital creatures. Plenty of games let us collect digital creatures or complete virtual objectives. What makes Pokémon GO different is that it gives people a reason to build communities that extend far beyond the game itself. Whether it is a university library using Twitter to connect with students or thousands of Trainers gathering for GO Fest, the lesson is the same. Technology may bring people together, but it is the conversations, relationships, and shared experiences that transform a platform into a true community.

I have not played Pokémon GO in years, but after reflecting on this week's readings, I have to admit I am tempted to dust off my account and see what has changed. Not because I miss catching Pokémon, but because I miss being part of the community.

References:

Newton, J. R., & Williams, M. C. (2022). Instagram as a special educator professional development tool: A guide to TeachergramDownload Instagram as a special educator professional development tool: A guide to Teachergram. Journal of Special Education Technology, 37(3), 447-452.

Young, S. W. H., & Rossmann, D. (2015). Building library community through social media. Information Technology and Libraries, 34(1), 20-37. https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v34i1.5625