Why most companies struggle with community—and how to fix it

Best practices for developers leading open source and tech communities.

Jono Bacon has spent more than two decades building open source communities, leading developer relations, and advising tech companies, from Canonical to GitHub to the World Health Organization. He sat down with the All Things Open team to share how his path from journalism to community consulting led to the creation of a new model for building communities that actually work.

Jono’s passion is helping people share what they know, and he believes we are still in the early days of figuring out how to do that well. His latest venture, Stateshift, is a response to the biggest challenge he sees in consulting: Knowing what to do is only part of the equation. What really matters is building a system that helps people follow through. His goal is to offer a hands-on, personalized experience that meets companies where they are, whether they’re early stage startups or global organizations.

He emphasizes that many developers and community leaders rely too much on intuition. Teams often default to starting a Discord server, blog, or YouTube channel without first clarifying their goal or measuring outcomes. Jono recommends starting with a clear objective, such as adoption, awareness, or engagement, and then identifying which channels best support that goal. By tracking the impact of each effort, teams can focus on what works and drop what doesn’t.

Read more: Measuring open source community health with Savannah

Jono’s core advice: Don’t cling to platforms or tactics just because they feel right. Be ready to let go of what’s not effective and “kill your darlings.” Instead, build systems that prioritize data over instinct. When developers and tech companies operate with focus and clarity, community efforts become more rewarding for everyone involved.

Key takeaways

• Start with clear goals – Know whether you’re optimizing for adoption, sales, brand, or efficiency before building a community strategy.
• Track the outcomes – Always connect your community-building efforts to a measurable goal, such as adoption or engagement.
• Kill your darlings – Just because a channel or tactic is familiar doesn’t mean it’s helping your community. Let the data guide you.

Conclusion

Jono’s experience shows that strong communities don’t grow by accident, they’re built with clear goals, consistent measurement, and a willingness to adapt. For developers leading open source or tech-focused groups, his message is simple: Build smarter, not just harder. And remember, the best community leaders never stop learning.

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