New construction and building community

A little over two years ago my wife and I realized we had outgrown our small rancher and needed to find something bigger to accomadate our growing family. Our second daughter had joined us rather unexpectedly and we needed more space.

We decided we would build a home in a growing but mostly rural community about 30 miles outside of Philadelphia. Our home was number twelve or so of seventy six, five of which are still under construction.

For the first year my wife struggled to find comfort in the new community. We moved in during winter and none of the neighbors spent much time outside. As winter gave way to spring we began to develop a network of friends and then, as if it happened overnight, our entire neighborhood discovered Facebook and the ability to create groups and engage in discussion after hours and beyond our front lawns.

Rather quickly our site was secure and our neighbors began discussing everything from defects in our homes to who needed a sitter. Social media revolutionized the way developments are developed, neighborhoods interact, and how communities are formed.

I've marvled at how these relationships that began online have grown stronger during our early evening walks and how quick those conversations on the front lawns of the neighborhood carry back over to group dicussions.

To this end I began to think about how this same concept, the concept of newness, experimentation, community solidification through social media, and the core value of trust and sharing could apply to non-profits and associations.

Let's imagine for a minute that an association is a suburban community and each house represents a member of the organization. Each homeowner, or member, has a vested interest in the success of the community, each member (for the most part) wants to be heard, and most importantly each member is truly interested in building relationships that are built on trust, friendship, and a common interest.

Organizations, like neighborhoods, will evolve by interacting, trusting, and experimenting. There is value in participating in online communities, particularly with those who you will see at an upcoming event, conference, or professional development opportunity. Social platforms help to fill in the gaps, build trust, and develop relationships between those front yard meetings.

Social Overload - tips for dipping in the Social Ocean

Is it possible that the mere influx of so many "social" options is actually doing more to drive people away from participating than it is enticing them to "tweet."

If you're like me it took me a while to dip my toe into the social ocean because I simply didn't know where to begin, what venue was best suited for my personality (very important), and what harm I would do by dabbling in any given space. So what did I do? I took it very slow and experimented for several weeks before deciding on where I liked to play.

I started with LinkedIn by joining few groups that appealed to me. I then created a Facebook account and spent several days WATCHING before doing anything. In both cases, I did nothing, meaning I did not write anything on either site, for the first two weeks. These platforms aren't going anywhere so there was no need to rush.

After watching for several days I was finally comfortable enough to engage and submit a few posts. Much to my surprise others began to comment on what I had to say, however uappealing I may have thought my posts were, and I found myself involved in several conversations.

Finally, I joined Twitter but I'm still struggling to find and create a voice for that particular platform so I'll keep you posted.