Tim Bursch

Since the dawn of time we have formed groups of people. Today we have the ability to build online and offline community around ideas that we care about.

So, why do we form community? What motivates us to connect?
I asked people here and on Twitter and heard some themes:
-Support
-Protection
-Sharing ideas
-Belonging
-Acceptance
-We don’t want to be alone
-Significance
-Shared purpose or cause

Sounds pretty core to being human. If you’re building community online, keep these in mind. People are people. Not fans or followers. They want to belong, share, and feel significant.

What would you add?

Image credit: Szift

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Want to change the world? Kevin Hendricks does and his new book might give you some ideas. I had the opportunity to connect with Kevin about his book Addition by Adoption. He uses social media and everyday life to tell a hilarious and moving story. Read on:

Kevin, tell me about yourself:

I live in St. Paul, Minn., with my wife, two kids and two dogs. Of course that equation is changing—we’re starting the process to adopt again. I’m a writer, editor and web geek. By day I hang out with my kids (Lexi is 4, Milo is 1.5) and by night (and naptime) I do work through my freelance company Monkey Outta Nowhere. I do writing for all kinds of clients, the most well known of which is probably the church communications blog, Church Marketing Sucks.

So, what is Addition by Adoption about?

It’s a collection of Twitter posts about my kids, the causes we care about and our adoption journey. It runs the gamut from silly things a three-year-old says to challenging observations about the needs in the world. It sounds odd to think of a story being told in 140-character chunks, but it actually comes together in a fairly natural way. You get a pretty good glimpse of what it’s like to raise little kids and go through the adoption process.

What made you decide to write this book?

It didn’t start as a book. It started as a bunch of Twitter posts. As a work-at-home dad trying to find the balance between productivity and parental neglect, I found posting comments and observations on Twitter to be cathartic. It gave me a way to connect with the outside world. Then lots of people started commenting on those nuggets of silliness and telling me I needed to collect them into a book. The idea grew on me and I thought it’d be the kind of thing my family would enjoy. But as I pulled together tweets on potty training triumphs, I kept coming across tweets about our adoption story. I realized this wasn’t about funny things kids say and parenting and all that, it was a much wider story. Even beyond adoption, it was a story of how Milo widened our worldview and helped us to see and embrace other causes. Even though it’s about the day to day and our specific family, it became bigger than ourselves.

Can you talk about the writing and publishing process?

The writing process was already done because the tweets had already been written. The bigger task was editing and curating the thousands of tweets I’ve posted since 2007 into a cohesive book. In the end something like 500 tweets made it into the book. That’s probably what sets it part most from anything else out there—this isn’t just an archive of my Twitter feed. I cut out all the fluff and irrelevant stuff and got right to the heart of the story. The self-publishing experience has been pretty easy. Print-on-demand publishing makes the act of getting a printed book in your hands relatively simple. Anyone can do it. Of course you also need a manuscript, editing, proofing, layout and cover design. Thankfully I do a few of those things for a living (though my wife told me she did spot a few typos—I told her not to tell me things like that). I also had incredible help from Ronald Cox on the layout and Brian White of TriLion Studios on the cover. They really made the book look good, which is something I couldn’t do myself. Of course then you need to spread the word—books don’t sell themselves. So except for all that hard work, it’s easy.

What do you want readers to walk away with?

I want readers to walk away from this book knowing that we can change the world. That sounds so hokey and idealistic, and admittedly I’m a pretty idealistic person. But I think it’s true. Just like we face day-to-day challenges, we also have day-to-day opportunities to make a difference. You don’t change the world overnight, but you also don’t have to change the world with some grand gesture. You change the world in everyday actions. Maybe it’s bringing awareness to clean water issues or helping a homeless person or showing some love to your next-door neighbor. Shaving my head for my 30th birthday didn’t change the world, but I bet it changed the worlds of the 130 people who now have clean water. The story of this book is told 140 characters at a time. That’s one tiny story—and all those little pieces add up to a complete story of the book. That’s how we change the world—one tiny step at a time.

How can we help?

You can change the world by buying my book. Wow, that sounds awful. I hate saying it like that, but in a tiny way it’s true. A portion of the proceeds from the book will go to charity: water to build a well in Ethiopia. Clean water can be the difference between life and death, so in a very real sense you’re changing the world for people. You can also tell your friends about my book and spread the word. This thing is self-published, so I don’t have any marketing machine or publishing empire behind it. It’s just me. I need your help. But let’s move beyond my little book. There are causes championed in the book that are so important—adoption, water, homelessness. Adoption is a big one. Do what you can to support adoption. Consider it yourself. Support those involved in it—whether it’s kids, birth parents, adoptive parents, etc. Above all you need to find your own cause and fight for it. If we cared as much about a single cause as we do about our favorite sports team or our current hobby the world would be a different place. I don’t mean that to shame anyone, just to give a comparison. How cool would it be if people rallied around their favorite cause, whether it’s adoption or water or domestic violence or whatever? You don’t need to do full on body paint, but a tailgate party for good? Sign me up.

Make sure to check out the book here.

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If you are like me you have joined a handful of social networks. Think about how much time you really spend on each of them. Yeah, probably not much except for a few favorites?

In my experience, I get an invite to a new network, usually from a friend. I might join, set up a profile, add some friends, follow some people, make a few connections, and then bookmark for later. The challenge is the later part. I’m finding that I don’t go back very often if at all.

It’s not the topics or the user experience. Those are all pretty good. I think it’s the activity.

I end up going where the action is and where I’m connecting most with people. We tend to invest time in relationships (and networks) where we are noticed.

What do you think?

Tags: networks, time.

How do you know when you see great work? Is it an emotional response. A connection. Joy. Maybe all of these.

I just want to take a moment to notice some of the great work I’ve seen lately. These people are making a maximum contribution to this world:

• Maikel van de Mortel- I see him bringing people together in conversation daily and challenging status quo (take a look at this amazing stuff)
• Rick Mahn- Building community and pioneering social media behind the firewall
• Two newer bloggers that I’m following and seeing great content- Nicole Harrison and Lisa Grimm

If someone’s work moves you, notice. And thank them. 

Image by: ishrona

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Building your own engaged community is important. Maybe essential for business today.

I would add: So is building up your surrounding community. Giving back and being socially responsible is becoming less of an afterthought. It is not only about being sustainable, but it’s the right thing to do.

How can you invest in the bigger community?

• Invest time or money in a local social venture
• Look for a way to mentor someone. See through obstacles together.
• Share your knowledge. Help someone get online and build connections. 
• Be aware. Pay attention to your surroundings. What can you learn? Or make better?

What would you add?

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I read this post by Jen Kane and have been thinking about it ever since. She brings up some great points and as usual challenges us to action.

So, here’s my idea: start small mastermind groups of people that are interested in going deeper.

Let’s talk about metrics and ROI. Let’s figure out action steps too. And let’s support each other and share ideas.

A few challenges with starting mastermind groups:

- Trust is needed in order to let a small group of people give you feedback and learn together.

- Time is needed. Who has time for another meeting? There’s work to do, but this would be a commitment to going pro.

- Logistics need to be figured out. Where, when, and what if people don’t show? All good questions.

There’s not an institution to go learn social media from, yet. If we want 201 learning, we will have to make it happen.

So, who’s interested in a mastermind group?

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I was invited to coffee today with Jared Roy. We’d met online and had some conversation, but not face-to-face. Jared invites me and mentions a few other people will be there.

I have to admit my first response was okay, why do we need other people there? Then I thought more and realized this is genius. He just expanded all of our connections. I met 3 new people in one meeting, learned about their work, and started valuable new relationships. Jared added to THE network.

There is no question, we all need connections. Want more? Bring more people to the table. Literally.

Thank you Jared for your generosity and for challenging me.

What could you do for your next meeting?

Want to connect, just contact me. (I’ll be bringing more people.)

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I had the privilege to be part of KaneCo’s first monthly business book club. The book: Linchpin by Seth Godin. The group: all rockstars.

We had a lively discussion about work, being remarkable, and bucking the system. The book was good, but I think what Jen is building is even more interesting. She wanted to read more, connect with business leaders, and learn. I think she’s building community. Taking things deeper. Bringing others into learning together.

Okay, why not just have coffee with your friends and talk about a book you read last month? That works. You could just read great books in isolation too. You might miss a piece that someone different caught.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a good book I want to talk about it. I share pieces with friends and my patient wife. And it’s more than just being about a book. It is being open and transformed and learning. I think we all want more community. We are wired for connection as Seth says.

So, here’s my question for you: What is something you are practicing (reading, writing, blogging) that you could invite others into?

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This is a guest post by Josh Becerra. Josh is a social entrepreneur and internet start-up guy. He is the co-founder of localtweeps.com and buythechange.com. Josh is also part of a Minneapolis Co-working space called The 3rd Place. Check it out. You can follow him on Twitter @joshbecerra.

Today I was sitting in my neighborhood coffee shop as my neighbors filed in to get their cup of Joe before heading into the office. What amazed me is how everyone standing around waiting for their order was glued to their phone. They were probably checking email, reading the morning news, updating their status on Facebook or Twitter, or becoming “Mayor of Lori’s Coffeehouse” on Foursquare.  Nobody was actually talking on their phone…they were just mesmerized by the glow.

This got me thinking about how these days my Twitter stream and Google Reader is filled with research, reports and studies where analysts identify the top trends for 2010. Buzz words like “Hyperlocal”, “Interactive Local Media”, “Mobile Local Media” seem to be on everyone’s top trends list – and rightly so.  Location and geo-targeted advertising has been an elusive revenue stream. But the mix of technology, usage and advertiser trends is pushing the pace of change. Today I can walk down the street with my smart phone in hand and know what businesses are around me, who has something on sale and who is offering coupons.  Using the same technology I have the ability to geo-target my friends so I can always keep track of the people I know.  So what about the people I don’t know – but might want to get to know better – my neighbors?

It seems most people think about hyperlocal in the context of “an individual’s relationship to the people, places, and things that are located around them at any given time via geo-targeting.” So here are my questions:

Is there room for a second definition of hyperlocal as “an individual’s relationship to their neighbors and neighborhood?

And does anyone else care besides me?

Update: Correction- The 3rd Place is in St. Paul, MN

Tags: hyperlocal.

It is that time of year when a lot of us make resolutions and goals for the new year. I know I do.

Here’s a thought: Why do we focus mostly on personal goals?

What about community based goals or resolutions? Have you ever thought of creating a goal with your community? Yeah, me neither.

Here’s the deal. I think there might be some power in collective resolutions. Let’s say you are part of a industry community. You share ideas, network, help each other get better at your business. What could your group (community) impact this year? If you were spending some of your goal-energy working with other people on a bigger goal, don’t you think you would grow…and everyone in the group.

So, what communities are you part of? Why not start a group resolution this year?

Image by: urban_data

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