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Why I keep building communities

I didn’t start in tech. I spent eleven years in healthcare, talking with patients and their families, working alongside doctors and nurses, and learning something that has shaped everything I’ve done since: people need to feel heard before they can move forward.

That sounds simple, but it’s the kind of simple that can easily be forgotten.

In healthcare I learned to meet people where they were. A patient’s family wants to feel cared about, a surgeon doesn’t need to understand computer file systems, they need to know how to save lives. I have always seen my job as figuring out what people need and help them get it. The setting may have changed, but the work didn’t.

When I moved into tech and started building communities, I found a lot of communities were being built backwards. People were building for themselves, making decisions based on what they wanted rather than focusing on serving their users. Simple things like getting too clever with naming, calling forums “conversations”and blogs “stories” and then wondering why nobody could find anything.

A community isn’t a marketing channel. It’s not a funnel. It’s not an engagement metric on a dashboard. A community is an enablement resource. It exists to help people do their best work and live their best lives. When the goal shifts from helping people to extracting value from them, the community stops being a community. I don’t even call it lurking when people visit my community and don’t post. I call it gleaning. They came, they found what they needed, and they left. That’s a win. Not everyone needs to raise their hand. Some people get value by reading a knowledge base article at 2 AM, others get value by finding how others solve problems similar to theirs. Everyone has their own reasons to be part of a community, and they are all valid..

I think the reason this matters so much to me is personal. I’m the father of special needs children, and I have ADHD. I’ve worked in a variety of places and industries, from being elbow-deep in dish soap at a remote fishing lodge in Alaska to removing viruses from a grandmas computer so she could see the pictures of her grandkids again. Every one of my experiences taught me the same thing: we do better when we’re not alone. Not for someone to tell us what to do, but because we all need someone to be there for us. Listening. Sharing a bit of themselves, and offering a hand without assuming we need to be pulled.

There’s a metaphor I keep coming back to. Rope. A single strand of string is useful, and can completely fulfill a multitude of functions, but multiple strands together become stronger than the sum of its parts. That’s what a community does. It takes individual people, each with their own experiences and perspectives and skills, and weaves them into something stronger.

That’s why I keep building them. Not because I have all the answers, but because I’ve seen what happens when people have a place to show up, be heard, and help each other.

That’s a community. It’s worth the effort, every time.

Building a community that people want to come back to.

What makes people come back to an online community?

I’ve been building and managing communities for a while now, and the biggest mistake I see is people building a community that works for them, not for the people who will actually use it. They name things cleverly instead of clearly. They optimize for engagement metrics instead of asking whether anyone is actually getting value.

So here are a few foundational principles I keep coming back to.

Listen before you build. The fastest way to build something nobody wants is to skip the part where you find out what people need. Ask questions. Sit with the answers. Resist the urge to assume your experience is universal.

Call things what they are. If it’s a forum, call it a forum. If it’s a blog, call it a blog. Clever naming might feel creative, but it puts a barrier between your members and the thing they came to find. Communication is a two way street, and that starts with making sure people know where to go.

Community is enablement, not marketing. A community exists to enable people to do their best work, not to funnel them into a pipeline. When the goal shifts from “how do we help people” to “how do we extract value from people,” the community stops being a community.

Respect every type of participation. Not everyone is going to post. Some people read a knowledge base article and leave. Others get help with a problem and move on. I don’t call that lurking, I call it gleaning. They got what they needed, and that’s a win.

Measure what matters. The metric I care about most is whether people come back. If they do, they’re finding value. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter how many registered users you have on paper.

Building a community is a lot like braiding rope. Individual strands are useful on their own, but woven together they’re stronger than the sum of their parts. The goal isn’t to get people in a room. It’s to give them a reason to stay, and a reason to return.

What kind of communities have you built, and how did you build them? I’d love to hear what principles you’ve found to be foundational. I would also love to hear about communities you have been a part of, and what worked for you and what didn’t in those communities.

The importance of Communities.

Communities give us something AI never can.

AI is popping up in more and more places these days. Like a toddler not sure how to function in the world, it’s wandering around and bumping into things. Like children, we are equally likely to feel fear and concern or pin hopes and dreams on AIs future.

No matter how you feel about it, the fact remains that we are in the toddler stage, and AI is far from graceful and mature. Talking with AI often feels impersonal and cold, or doesn’t make sense at all. AI “art” lacks the spark that gives human art its voice, the cry of a soul seeking to understand or be understood. For all the data AI has, it lacks perspective. A way of seeing the world filtered through experiences and personality. AI has no unique story to tell.

The real benefit of an online Community is not the text on the screen, it’s the stories that are created by the human interactions within it.

It is recognizing the names of other members and being excited to see what they have to say.
It is being at a conference and meeting the people behind the screen-name, and already having a common-ground and a relationship to build on.
It is shaking the hand of the person who has helped you so many times and being able to say “Thank you”. Or maybe you were the one answering questions, and you’re meeting people you have seen learn and grow and succeed.

Communities are a place to talk, share, learn and grow with others. Like rope braided together is stronger than the sum of the individual strands, we become better, stronger, faster, and capable of greater things.

That is Community, and it’s something that computers can never replace.

Happy Techsgiving!

It’s November, and November means Thanksgiving.

In that spirit, I would like to take this time to focus on a few standout pieces of technology that have provided substantial improvements in our lives this year.

The internet. I have become even more grateful for the availability of information and connection that the internet provides. This year we have moved across the country, started new jobs, made new friends, and kept in touch with old ones. All these transitions have been made easier, and in some cases possible at all, by using the internet.
Social Networks. No matter where you are or what interests you have, you can find people that you have things in common with. Communities like FEATT offer advice, friendship, guidance, counsel, and a feeling of belonging.
Apps. As a tech worker with ADHD, I use my phone and computer as tools to help me organize my thoughts and focus my attention. Everything from taking notes and setting reminders, to putting on music and connecting to my customers and colleagues, is done with my phone and computer.

Sometimes it’s hard to see how far we have come. Let’s pause for a few minutes, look back, and appreciate some things that have gotten better.

What tools have you used this year that you are thankful for?

Virtual tools, literal healing.

The world we live in these days is full of virtual meetings and video chats. While there are definitely negatives to the absence of real world contact, there may be situations where it’s actually beneficial.

A recent study at Edith Cowan University in Australia suggests that VR therapy with realistic avatars may be more effective for some people than traditional in-person therapy.

Shane Rogers, PhD and lead author of the study, stated that fifty-two undergraduate psychology students from 18 to 53 years old rated their experiences communicating with an avatar driven by another person wearing motion capture technology.

They engaged in casual getting-to-know-you conversations and were interviewed about positive and negative experiences.

The researchers compared the avatar conversations to face-to-face conversations and found that about 30% of participants felt more comfortable disclosing negative experiences in virtual reality compared to face-to-face.

“This indicates that for a substantial proportion of people, this mode of communication might be quite useful for psychological therapy,” Rogers said. “We are currently doing more research to further investigate that.”

What do you think? Would it be easier for you to express yourself in a virtual environment?

For more information check out this story from PsychCentral, https://psychcentral.com/news/virtual-reality-could-help-make-therapy-easier#How-does-virtual-reality-therapy-work?

Link to the full study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2021.750729/full

Keeping up with disability news and research

We don’t know what we don’t know, and when it comes to different physical and mental abilities, there are new breakthroughs in research every day. Where can we go to hear about the latest and greatest news and research?

I want to introduce you to two resources that will you keep up to date on the latest educational research, less and regulations, and assistive technology breakthroughs.

IRIS Center

Iris is at the forefront of special education research. They also have many free educational courses, such as Assistive Technology: An Overview.

Also check out their resources page. It’s an extensive compilation of modules, case study units, activities, and Web-based tools. IRIS | Resources

GAATES Global Accessibility News

GAATES gathers relevant news about accessibility from around the world. Everything from regulations aimed at providing access and opportunities to disabled people, to new technologies and research. If you’re interested in what’s happening in the world of accessibility, this is the place to go.

I hope this helps some of you on your journey of learning about the progress being made toward a more inclusive world.

P.S.

Our family had the opportunity to see the Grand Canyon in person this summer. While pictures can never capture the majesty of that place, seeing it through Google Earth may be the next best thing. Visit Grand Canyon National Park

See the world, stay at home. VR experiences for the traveling challenged.

VR has been around for a long time. We have heard the promises, listened to the dreams, and in the end, it hasn’t been all it was cracked up to be.

Yet.

With a worldwide pandemic where travel is limited and many destinations are closed, has VRs time finally come? What about those of us who are limited in the amount of travel we can do, or have other issues that prevent us from physically going to the natural and cultural landmarks that make our planet such a rich place?

The first thing you will need is a VR headset. For a decent viewing experience, it’s actually quite affordable. A simple device like the Google Cardboard headset will do just fine, pairs with a cell phone you already have, and costs as little as $15. There are other, more expensive, headsets that work better for gaming or other, richer, VR experiences, but for simply viewing famous landmarks and other cell phone based VR, Cardboard works just fine.

So what is out there to look at?

Google Earth is a great place to start. Here is a short list of places to check out:

Ducie Island
Your home
New York/Statue of Liberty
Meteor Crater
Sedan Crater (the aftermath of the Sedan nuclear test)
Theme Parks
Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (you can go to the ground on a 1:1 scale and stand on this statue)
Mt. Fuji
The Great Barrier Reef
Rome / The Colosseum
Palace of the Sun King in Versailles
Shibuya in Tokyo

This should be a good start. I’ll be back with more VR experiences in the future. Remember, just because we are at home doesn’t mean we can’t explore!

https://vrborg.com/apps-experiences/top-places-to-visit-in-google-earth-vr

https://www.vrheads.com/google-earth-vr

Black History Month IS American History

Not gonna get super political around here, but I frequently see comments like “Why do we celebrate Black History Month and not Japanese or (insert country here) month? Doesn’t this stuff divide our country even more?”

It’s not something I’m proud of, but I used to be one of them.

First of all, May is Asian/Pacific Heritage Month. Irish-American Heritage is in March. So false premise already, but let’s continue.

Start by asking, “Why don’t we have Ethiopian History Month or Congo History month, or celebrate holidays and events from African cultures? People from those countries helped build America as much (if not more) as any other.”

Because the Black/African peoples were stripped of their national heritage, identity, culture, and traditions, even their humanity, when they arrived. We (meaning American slavers and slave owners) took everything from them. When they were freed, they had nothing, we gave them nothing back. No families, no culture or community to gain strength and fellowship from. They could only belong to one group, based on the one thing that slavery’s couldn’t take away, and was even the thing we used to define and denigrate them, their skin color.

We can’t just say “Be Americans, isn’t that enough?” No, it’s not. This country was built on and with people and cultures from all over the world. Except African. Except Black people.

Black History Month is part of an effort to give that culture and history and belonging back. Their holidays and accomplishments and culture deserve to be celebrated and incorporated into our own American culture just as much as everyone else’s, probably more because so much was taken from them. If you don’t want other cultures celebrated, don’t recognize St. Patrick’s Day, or Halloween, or Cinco de Mayo, do anything that recognizes Japanese or Chinese New Year, anything that involved Fireworks, or any other events that came to us from other cultures. If you do celebrate those and continue to complain about recognizing Black Culture, then you need to take a look inward and figure out why. Spend some time learning about Black history, join in the celebrations, and try and move yourself closer to the people who had everything taken from them, not make them move toward you.

We cut them out in the past. Unless we make black culture and history as much a part of America as everyone else’s, they will continue to be separated. Black culture is already in America, it’s up to us to educate ourselves about it. If we don’t, we (white people) are the ones creating separation and division by not being educated about our countries past. Slavery isn’t our fault, but it is our responsibility.

Thank you for making it though this. Typed on mobile, so please forgive any typos.

Change starts with me. I am ignorant in a lot of areas. It’s something I can improve on. I WILL improve on.

Bringing everyone to the table.

For families with a mixture of motor and communications abilities, the classic tradition of gathering around a table and playing games can be difficult. Here are some games that are fun for everyone and accessible across a wide range of abilities.

ThinkFun Roll & Play:

This game is designed to encourage creativity, active play and gross motor skills. Roll the large soft cube, and perform the activity that’s on the card with the matching color. A great opportunity to all be silly together! You can even create your own actions, just make your own cards!

https://www.thinkfun.com/products/roll-play/

Bananagrams:

Practice spelling without having to hold a writing utensil. It’s like Scrabble, but with fewer rules! Plus, it comes in a fun zip up banana bag, so bonus!

https://bananagrams.com/products/bananagrams

You can also find a braille version of bananagrams and other games and game pieces at MaxiAids.com
https://www.maxiaids.com/board-games

Trouble: Dice games can be difficult for folks with limited fine motor skills. Trouble solves this by having the dice inside a dome that you push down. It pops us and rolls the dice for you! Also, no losing the dice! Hooray!

Rory’s Story Cubes:

These little cubes help introduce kids to storytelling without the hurdle of pen and paper. Roll the dice, and create a story around what comes up! Fun for adults also!

https://www.storycubes.com/en/

Jenga:

While this classic game is known and loved around the world, it can be hard to grab and manipulate those little blocks! Fortunately there are sets with larger blocks, which are much easier to get a hold of.

https://www.amazon.com/Jenga-Giant-Family-Hardwood-Stack/dp/B017J3G46O

Hopefully this list helps bring everyone to the table for some fun!

For a master list of games and their grades on different accessibility scales, check out Meeple Like Us.https://www.meeplelikeus.co.uk/meeple-like-us-masterlist/

Sounds can improve health and concentration.

For people with sensory and attention issues, focusing on tasks is a major problem. We are frequently sidetracked by intrusive thoughts and “shiny” objects as our brain desperately seeks out stimulation. It’s not laziness or as simple as being easily distracted, our bodies do not reward our brains for getting things done like other people do. Most peoples focus is based on what is important, our brains focus based on how interesting something is.

One thing that can help is providing supplemental stimulation. Something that can fill in the stimulation gap between what we are doing and what our brains need. Here are some tools that I have found success with, and I think will help others.

Background music.

I find that music that doesn’t have lyrics works best. The genre is up to personal preference. For me Electronica, Instrumental Metal, and Lo-Fi House music works great. Others may prefer Classical or Jazz. For me, that doesn’t provide enough stimulation, but everyone’s brain is different, so find something that works for you.

Nature sounds/White Noise.

There are lots of options out there, but one I particularly like is https://mynoise.net/. It provides highly customizable soundscapes, and you can even save them once you get them just the way you want. You can also load soundscapes that others have made. They have apps for Android and iOS, so you can take your happy place anywhere! Studies have shown that nature sounds can even improve health outcomes, so there are benefits beyond additional focus. Others, like Calm.com, also provide mindfulness features. I was sceptical of mindfulness for a long time, but I have found it highly beneficial over the last few years.

Hopefully this helps you live a more peaceful and successful life! Please let us know if any of these tips helps you, I love to hear that something I suggested has helped someone. If you have your own tools that help you focus, please let me know. I like to try new things, and am happy to share tools that help people succeed!