The future is looking amazing. Connectivity everywhere. AR and VR are becoming bigger and bigger. Every major player in Silicon Valley is placing their bets on machine learning and deep learning. Artificial Intelligence is getting more intelligent then ever. But if we look at all these amazing developments, it's not hard to wonder: is there a role for online communities in the future?





Yes, there is. As Rogier van der Werf, Head of Consulting at InSided, concluded at the beginning of his presentation: “The digital experiences that get it right are those that allow us to be real humans.” The human experience is still at the center of all de best digital developments, and which platform is more human then your communities?

That being said, communities will not stay the way they are. Nowadays they are mostly being used for customer care. Even in the room at InSpired, a live poll showed that 73% of the attendees now use their communities mostly for support.





But with all these developments on the rise, and that the role of communities within organizations are growing and becoming more important, where do you see your community in 5 years time? What will it's main purpose be? And what will be the focus of communities in general?