|
Which statement is more true? Connection creates Community Community facilitates Connection  Photo by itsPortAdelaide on Unsplash When I was initially choosing my Core Values for Eclectic. Solitary. Gemini.™ I had a giant list of possible values to choose from. I took those and grouped them by similarities. For Example) Friends, Family, Team, Connection, Community, Tribe Next, I would look at a group of values and choose the word that best represented that group. As I worked through the group in the example above, I felt most called to the value Connection and that's the one I chose. Every month I work on a new Core Value, and I explore it in some way that helps me to better understand and define it for myself and my brand. October was Authenticity and you saw me sharing blogs and videos exploring that value. Throughout the month of November I have been working on Connection. I have found this to be a much more active and external exploration than the previous month’s Core Value. I’ve asked myself: Why not Community? I joined countless online communities in an effort to expand my readership and find people I can connect with, get advice from, or be inspired by. I explored communities on Facebook Groups, YouTube, and Medium. On Facebook I joined writing groups, publishing and marketing groups, groups for Medium and YouTube creators, and so many more. Honestly, I couldn’t keep track of them and didn’t want to keep track of most of them. When I was in the groups it felt like I was in a loud overcrowded bar where everyone was shouting - Look at me! Look at my things! Over here! I want answers! - right along with several others in the bar. I was trying to find a person or two to have a conversation with and, in the end, it was like a perpetually bad speed dating marathon--in the worst possible setting ever. Some groups were better than others, and I did come across useful information from time to time. Most of the groups were not what I was looking for. In the YouTube community I discovered that they have hashtags instead of groups. I could search #AuthorTube, #Writer, or #WritingTips in order to find channels that were similar to what I was creating--or trying to create. This community felt more like a convention--a really big convention--where all of the plebeians were moving from one channel to the next to submit questions and comments to the various successful YouTube Channel panels. We would leave them in the comments box while looking up at the panel of already-established-creators and hope they might see one of us or deem one of us worthy of attention. Some commentators would try to get their attention by shouting insults while others were quietly raising--or eagerly waving--their hands. I do find useful information here, but the community has different values than ESG. They want to keep their people on YouTube; I want my people to go elsewhere and read my stories. Last but not least, Medium’s community. Admittedly, I’m still figuring this community out, but it feels like a large open well-lit press house to me. You’ve got all the reporters and journalists vying for the best spot in the room trying everything to get your attention--Read all about it! Breaking News! Read here to find out how…--and pull you into their personal page or publication. Meanwhile the storytellers and poets are at the perimeter passing out pamphlets with samples of their stories and ideas. Some have lines of people waiting for the latest pamphlet; others are hoping to catch a passer-by’s attention long enough to get the pamphlet into their hand. I am strangely drawn to this community and will continue exploring it as I take advantage of the benefits this platform provides me. After all this, are you still wondering why I chose Connection over Community? I joined a virtual ton of virtual Communities and the only ones I felt were useful to me were the ones that provided some sort of Connection. It’s the Connection that is most important, especially when building a small business (Connecting with Peers) and looking for an audience (Connecting with Readers). I’ll ask again, which statement is more true? Connection creates Community Community facilitates Connection I actually asked several people on my Facebook about this and I got several different answers that mostly led to the same answer. They are both equally true as long as there is true Connection and true Community.
Look for a Community that facilitates a Connection for you, that feeds you and can be fed by you. When you can’t find the Community you need then create one through the Connections you already have. What does all of this mean for Eclectic. Solitary. Gemini.™? It means December will bring some changes as I streamline how I Connect with my audience and peers. I’ll be getting rid of some things, transferring others, and starting something new. I’m really looking forward to it and hope ya’ll like the changes!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |