I’ve been the organizer of Vancouver’s Net Tuesday for over three years, but last week (for the first time ever!) I had the chance to visit another city’s NetSquared event. It was awesome! I’ve been privileged to host two other NetSquared organizers in Vancouver (Tierney and Mel) but this was the first time I got to experience another city’s NetSquared magic in person.
The newly re-energized Seattle organizing team put together a kick-ass review of their big digital wins of 2012.
A HUGE thanks to the Seattle team for being so welcoming. Chris, Cornelia, Elena, Joel, Maureen, Michael and Sean – you can created a powerful, sustainable group.
It was totally worth the three hour drive from Vancouver, BC to Seattle to attend the relaunch of #Net2Seattle. Check out those handsome kids!
Make Meaningful Connections
It’s uncomfortable being the outsider. We’ve all been there: walking into a room where everybody else seems to know each other and nobody gives you…
I’m gonna host a #commbuild chat on December 11. You should join us!
Belt AND suspenders
TOPIC: Why your community needs to go offline
DATE: Tuesday, December 11. TIME: 1-2 PM EST/ 10-11 AM PST
Are you really trying to create a community? Then you’d better seriously consider starting up regular face-to-face meetings for your members. Join the #commbuild community for a discussion about the value of recurring offline group meetings, and share your stories of how offline community has inspired change. When and how should you create a meetup group? How are offline and online communities connected? And what’s in it for the organizer?
You should come. You wouldn’t want me to quote Margaret Mead at you, would you?
Follow the magic hashtag #commbuild
YOUR FACILITATOR Elijah van der Giessen must be 100 years old, because he started doing Community Building back when “online social networks” consisted of email. Currently he’s the NetSquared Local Community Curator supporting a global volunteer network of 50 groups that each year hold over 450 events for the nonprofit technology sector. He’s also been the volunteer coordinator for outdoor festivals, environmental NGOs and Canadian Idol.
And yes, he wears a belt AND suspenders. That’s what old men do.
ABOUT #COMMBUILD
These conversations are focused on issues and topics relevant to those working on community building or in community management roles. They are open to anyone interested in learning and sharing about building community, on and offline, with the use of social media or other technology tools.
Anyone interested in community building, whether you are formally in a Community Management job or not, is welcome to join the group and participate in the weekly chats. You do not need to be a member of NTEN to participate, but you can join us online at http://my.nten.org/group/commbuild
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Go to http://tweetchat.com/room/commbuild (or use your preferred twitter chat client), login to your twitter account, and join the conversation! Just be sure to tag your tweets with #commbuild so your tweets are threaded into the conversation.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
What offline communities are you a part of? Which ones do you value the most?
WHY did you join your offline community? Why do you think others join?
Do you lead an offline community right now?
If you have peer offline organizers elsewhere do you interact with them? How is the * network managed and sustained?
Are your offline and online communities connected? How?
What online tools do you use to manage your offline community?
What’s your #1 tip for a community organizer that wants to organize an offline meeting?
How do you recruit offline community members? Online? Offline?
If you have both online and offline communities how are they different? Demographics. Engagement. Activation. What’s the crossover?
What’s in it for the community organizer?
What’s your favorite online community right now?
People can be shy face-to-face. What’s a good icebreaker?
What’s your most transformative community experience? Was it online or offline?
Elijah van der Giessen 
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