It’s getting harder and harder for communicators (and TV networks) to deliver true communal experiences.

In the entertainment world, it used to be that most North Americans would watch Ed Sullivan on Sunday nights, and the next day everyone would talk about whatever had been on. And in the old days of employee communications, when an edition of your corporate magazine or newsletter went out, you could pretty much rest assured that almost every single employee would have at least held it in their hands and given it a quick browse.

Sunday’s Academy Awards managed to deliver the kind of mass event that does more than give us water cooler fodder – it helps to focus and define our culture, creating a sense of community that otherwise might otherwise not exist. Every Oscar night has at least one or two moments that bring us global villagers together. George Clooney’s acceptance speech did that on Sunday night, when he paid tribute to Hollywood for often being on the leading edge of social issues.

In today’s digitally networked corporate world, we assume that being so wired and easily connected to our peers automatically makes us a community. Sadly, the opposite is true. With so many communication options, and with such diverse and far-flung workforces, it’s harder than ever to create a real community in a large company.

What are you doing to build a sense of community in your organization? What’s the closest thing we employee communicators can do today to create the sense of belonging that we all crave, but seldom get, from a common experience?