Critical Community Sites and Enclaves
Also identified in the Fairlawn data were local brand community collectives (e.g., local users’ groups, clubs) and communal gathering sites. Two brand communities encountered in Fairlawn—Saab cars and Macintosh computers—were further explored at four area sites and collectives (see Fig. 1). These two brand communities were chosen as they appeared to be particularly robust examples. Brand community members were interviewed individually and in groups.
Beyond individual brand community members identified by Fairlawn residents, members of the Apple Macintosh brand community were approached via two local users’ groups devoted to Macintoshes: the MacUsers’ Group and MacWarriors. The first author attended meetings of both of these groups to secure interviews with individual members, to ask questions in a group setting, and to observe group dynamics. Researcher notes were taken at the meetings.