Tribalism

Although the days of people mostly living in small hunter-gatherer groups are behind us, humans still crave a connected experience with other people.

Of course, there are literal and obvious tribes (e.g., religion, gangs, families), but consider that people who identify, and bond, over a specific thing can create a pseudo-tribe.

For example, a group of people who all love World of Warcraft, could be considered a tribe.

Tribalism affects product design in many subtle ways, for instance:

• Sharing in-jokes and references.
• All competing for a common goal.
• A level of understanding about each other's motives.

A simple way to think about tribalism, is that any reference, joke, content or feature that makes the user feel really understood, can mimic the connectedness of a tribe.

Sharing & referrals

• You're more likely to share something with a friend, if you believe that they'd be well-suited for the "tribe".
• e.g., if your friend also likes dogs, you'd be more likely to share a dog meme with them.