Yesterday evening I met up with a talented Toronto-based technology entrepreneur who also happens to be passionate about cities. The conversation meandered between both worlds, but we ended up coming back to one central theme: It’s all about people.
Facebook didn’t just buy WhatsApp for the technology. It spent $19 billion on almost half a billion active users . That’s what matters. Do people want to occupy your (real or virtual) space? Have you created a community? Whether it’s an app, a building or a neighborhood, you’re useless without engaged participants.
And to be perfectly honest with you, that’s my ultimate goal for this blog. Ideally I’d like each and every post to inspire conversation and debate ( just like this one did on gentrification ). A one-sided conversation can only take you so far. The real value happens within communities.