A Sense of Community

About two weeks ago I ordered a ready-made picture frame from a website called Blick Art Materials. Before you could say "Pablo Picasso" I started receiving emails from that site, hawking every kind of art supply imaginable, and all at great "insider" savings! And the reason I qualify for such great savings was explained in another email I received just moments ago thanking me for becoming part of their "community."

I had no idea I had joined their community so looked up the word as maybe I had it wrong. Turns out it refers to "a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals."

To date I have never met anyone who works at Blick Art Materials, or even anyone else who orders from their website, so I assume this particular community is fairly low-profile, certainly not one I can turn to or count on in any sort of emergency. Still, it's always nice to be included.