---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Designing Online Communities is a…"
description: "\"Designing Online Communities is a must-have for anyone designing or researching online communities, particularly for learning. Owens' work is both comp..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/kurt-squire-86011_ambitious_designing-online-communities-is-a-must-h_910231.jpg"
---

#  Designing Online Communities is a must-have for anyone…

![“Designing Online Communities is a must-have for anyone designing or researching online communities, particularly for learning. Owens' work is both comprehensive and eminently readable, a sweeping look at the technologies, design patterns, and cultural forms they produce that is both theoretically…” quote by Kurt Squire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/kurt-squire-86011_ambitious_designing-online-communities-is-a-must-h_910231.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/kurt-squire-86011_ambitious_designing-online-communities-is-a-must-h_910231.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/176/kurt-squire-86011_ambitious_designing-online-communities-is-a-must-h_910231.jpg)

> “Designing Online Communities is a must-have for anyone designing or researching online communities, particularly for learning. Owens' work is both comprehensive and eminently readable, a sweeping look at the technologies, design patterns, and cultural forms they produce that is both theoretically ambitious and grounded in examples and tools that will help you develop, research, and manage online communities.”

[Kurt Squire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-squire/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Effective community design blends theory, tools, and real examples to foster learning and engagement online.

**In simple terms:** Combine theory and practice for better online groups.

Key Takeaway

Use research‑backed patterns when building digital communities.

Themes

education design technology community

Mood

practical analytical

Type

guide instructional

When to use this quote

- online courses
- forums
- social platforms
- virtual classrooms

Key Concepts

learning theory human‑centered design

Questions to Reflect On

- Which design pattern best fits your community’s goal?
- How can you keep tools current?

A Different Perspective

Resources may become outdated quickly, limiting relevance.

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[Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Communities Designing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communities-designing-1327881/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Comprehensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comprehensive/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Designing Online](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designing-online-1327882/) [Designing Researching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designing-researching-1327884/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Grounded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grounded/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Learning Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-owens-1327883/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Manage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manage/) [Online](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/online/) [Online Communities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/online-communities-630053/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Sweeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweeping/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/)

## Related quotes

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> [I want to be clear: not all patient communities are great, any more than online communities of any sort. But when a good one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-debronkart/i-want-to-be-clear-not-all-patient-communities-are-great-any-more/)

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> [I learned most of what I knew about online communities on The Well, and it was a good place to learn. The group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/i-learned-most-of-what-i-knew-about-online-communities-on-the-well/)

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> [Online communities are an expression of loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/online-communities-are-an-expression-of-loneliness/)

[Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/)

> [I'm a big believer in online communities and in user-generated content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dell/i-m-a-big-believer-in-online-communities-and-in-user-generated-content/)

[Michael Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dell/)

> [There is much more immediate access to creative music through online communities and blogs which have touched all corners of the music world including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-dessner/there-is-much-more-immediate-access-to-creative-music-through-online/)

[Bryce Dessner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-dessner/)

> [Philip Greenspun had a huge impact on me. He was the first person I knew of that embraced online communities, created a real business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg/philip-greenspun-had-a-huge-impact-on-me-he-was-the-first-person-i/)

[Matt Mullenweg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mullenweg/)

> [“Many faith communities have become little more than gatherings of isolated individuals, while the number of online communities continues to grow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-breen/many-faith-communities-have-become-little-more-than-gatherings-of/)

[Mike Breen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-breen/)

> [The biggest communities in which young people now reside are online communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/the-biggest-communities-in-which-young-people-now-reside-are-online/)

[Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/)

> [“That’s a bit sweeping. Sometimes it takes a while to find out how good or bad something has been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-page/that-s-a-bit-sweeping-sometimes-it-takes-a-while-to-find-out-how-good/)

[Sophie Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-page/)

> [“for a split second before sweeping”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-james-krebs/for-a-split-second-before-sweeping/)

[Harry James Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-james-krebs/)

> [What business needs now is exactly what women are able to provide, and at the very time when women are surging into the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-helgesen/what-business-needs-now-is-exactly-what-women-are-able-to-provide-and/)

[Sally Helgesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-helgesen/)

> [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/)

[Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/)

> [My mind shrank from the menace sweeping down on us, as children's do from belief in death and misfortune, vainly clinging to the fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-pankhurst/my-mind-shrank-from-the-menace-sweeping-down-on-us-as-children-s-do/)

[Sylvia Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-pankhurst/)

## More by Kurt Squire

> [There is a well known saying among designers in the educational games business: 'If you want to take all of the fun out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-squire/there-is-a-well-known-saying-among-designers-in-the-educational-games/)

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> [Players enjoy complexity – especially the power that comes with powerful tools. What they do not like is “uninteresting decisions,” or games that leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-squire/players-enjoy-complexity-especially-the-power-that-comes-with/)

[Kurt Squire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-squire/)

[Explore all 3 Kurt Squire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-squire/)

## More Ambitious quotes

> [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/)

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[Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/)

> [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/)

[Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/)

> [“Getting rich is easy, staying rich is impressive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-trip/getting-rich-is-easy-staying-rich-is-impressive/)

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> [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/)

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> [There are four varieties in society — the lovers, the ambitious, observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippolyte-taine/there-are-four-varieties-in-society-the-lovers-the-ambitious/)

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[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [To talk only about national security, national defense, means to be selfish, ambitious. It is discrimination, isolation. "It is just me. What do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/to-talk-only-about-national-security-national-defense-means-to-be/)

[Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/)

[Browse all 1,269 Ambitious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/)

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