A few months ago, I taught three hours of webinars for NTEN on “Building Community through Twitter Chats.” And a funny thing happened during the first session: It wasn’t about twitter chats at all. That’s because building community is not about the technology, but about building community! The same things that will make for a … Read more
Social change advocates talk a lot about engaging conversation, about bringing people together. And yet, attend just one parent-teacher or chamber of commerce meeting where a contentious issue is being addressed, and you’ll know it’s not that easy. Bringing together groups with different opinions may mean only that they have the opportunity to yell at … Read more
Way back in the late 90’s, I was part of a thriving online community that felt like home to those of us who “lived” there. Then, after almost a decade, without consulting any of the community members, the organization that housed that community changed some critical parameters. And within a year, a community that had … Read more