Rosieland Roundup 141 — Start community small but with scale in mind

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Start community small but with scale in mind

I see a lot of advice (from myself included) about starting community super small and with 1:1 conversations.

Anything we do in community we should think about effectiveness, ROI and the reach we want to achieve. It's so easy for our days to be full of distraction, with little proof of any value created.

The reality is that 1:1 conversations are hugely time consuming and if not done well they can be a total waste of time. The more I contemplate this, the more I feel that the best conversations I've had resulted from other community activities that led to the natural desire to connect or talk.

We should view the 1:1 conversations as a starting point that lead to something bigger. The businesses we serve usually need to see more reach and scale. The key here is to do small activities but with a view to creating something else that scales better. Look for opportunities in the small to amplify it to more people.

Here are a couple of examples:

• have a 1:1 conversation with the goal of starting a forum post based on one idea from that conversation
• listen to what people talk about and create a podcast on a topic that gets people excited

💬 Let's talk about this on The Village

🌈 This week in Rosieland

• Reframing community introductions [paid]
• Could Facebook really get banned? (Also, privacy in communities)
• What does your community strategy look like now within a recession?
• [Job] Community Specialist

📰 Rosieland Roundup

• Why is it so hard to do nice things, that make a difference, with other people? — Dr Kim Foale
• Build it and they will come - or will they? — Emilie Kormienko
• Building community capacity — Ian Vanagas
• Designing Communities with Intention — Strange Birds
• What is a community, thoroughly explained —  Marta Mainieri

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