Futurist David Zach recently spoke to a group of business people and told them to drink more..! What he meant was to go out and drink more coffee at places where you can meet people who can help your business.

He is a clear advocate of the fact that business is based on people - and that your future success therefore depends on meeting as many people as possible. He emphasised the need for community in the future.

So what does this mean online? Community comes in all shapes and sizes. Take, for instance, the growing "virtual worlds" like Second Life. These thrive on community. But as the recent Virtual Worlds Forum discovered big audiences and therefore lots of money is being made by virtual communities coming together to play virtual games in a virtual world...! The only thing that is real is the cash.

Who would have predicted just five years ago that people would be making money out of made up "people" dong fictional things in a non-existent world? However, at the core of this is community. David Zach is right - your business needs a thriving community to succeed in the future. Create a community out of your customers and you will do well.