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“Networks connect; communities care”
“Networks connect; communities care”
What’s the distinction between a network and a community?
Fabian Pfortmüller
Dec 16, 2022
The rise of Relational Design
The rise of Relational Design
What if we designed anything with relationships in mind?
Fabian Pfortmüller
Apr 26, 2022
Why we stopped trying to engage passive community members — the 3 circles model.
Why we stopped trying to engage passive community members — the 3 circles model.
So many community weavers struggle with trying to activate the passive parts of their community. That can be a frustrating and exhausting…
Fabian Pfortmüller
Dec 15, 2021
How do we resist the urge to create THE network?
How do we resist the urge to create THE network?
And how can we learn to instead uplift the whole ecosystem around us?
Fabian Pfortmüller
Nov 9
Who got time for deep community?
Who got time for deep community?
Or: How do we weave thriving communities when everyone is stretched thin?
Fabian Pfortmüller
Nov 8
Is a community’s purpose best communicated as a question?
Is a community’s purpose best communicated as a question?
Community = Living the questions together
Fabian Pfortmüller
Sep 19
Show me the goods: Why organizations love investing $ into custom-made community tech
Show me the goods: Why organizations love investing $ into custom-made community tech
And why it’s often not a good investment…
Fabian Pfortmüller
Sep 15
Communities and nation states
Communities and nation states
A thought experiment: What if nation states remembered that they are simply very big communities?
Fabian Pfortmüller
Sep 14
Don’t create your own community platform or social network.
Don’t create your own community platform or social network.
Instead, integrate into your members’ existing tech behavior.
Fabian Pfortmüller
Aug 1
3 thought experiments about the value of relationships within groups
3 thought experiments about the value of relationships within groups
And a reflection on how we define collective success…
Fabian Pfortmüller
Jul 13
Community = relationships
Community = relationships
Easy to forget. And yet the essence of all community weaving work.
Fabian Pfortmüller
Jun 27
The enticing illusion of clarity in community
The enticing illusion of clarity in community
Or: Clarity in community is an ongoing, always temporary conversation
Fabian Pfortmüller
Jun 20
How do we make large gatherings more relational?
How do we make large gatherings more relational?
5 ideas: smaller sessions lead by participants, fractals, rhythm, roles and expanding the audience definition
Fabian Pfortmüller
Jun 9
The (subtle) power of relationships: the story of a photographer
The (subtle) power of relationships: the story of a photographer
A few weeks ago I was fortunate to spend three days with an amazing group of network weavers from the BMW Foundation. I walked away with…
Fabian Pfortmüller
Apr 20
Community weaving is about creating (safe) excuses for people to connect
Community weaving is about creating (safe) excuses for people to connect
I have been living in Amsterdam for 2.5 years now and found it surprisingly hard to make friends and build my own local community. In New…
Fabian Pfortmüller
Jan 20
The brutality of the word “Social Impact” — and why metaphors matter
The brutality of the word “Social Impact” — and why metaphors matter
This image is what I think of when I hear the word “impact”.
Fabian Pfortmüller
Jan 4
The magic of finding my peers of relationship-centred practitioners
The magic of finding my peers of relationship-centred practitioners
Reflections & impressions from the Relationships Project gathering.
Fabian Pfortmüller
Dec 19, 2022
Beyond the noise of crypto: 4 amazing community technologies
Beyond the noise of crypto: 4 amazing community technologies
Blockchain has a lot of promise for community, but most of it is still largely unusable. Here are 4 powerful non-crypto community tools:
Fabian Pfortmüller
Dec 1, 2022
Relationships before structure — an obvious lesson we keep forgetting?
Relationships before structure — an obvious lesson we keep forgetting?
Have you ever participated in a meeting to debrief a collaborative project, where the ultimate conclusion is that we should have invested…
Fabian Pfortmüller
Nov 21, 2022
How can we make co-creation in community less exhausting?
How can we make co-creation in community less exhausting?
I don’t know about you, but I find co-design of community awesome and often absolutely exhausting. What can we do to make it better?
Fabian Pfortmüller
Nov 16, 2022
We’re all talented at community, but so out of practice. What if we became good at community again?
We’re all talented at community, but so out of practice. What if we became good at community again?
What if we — collectively — became good at community again?
Fabian Pfortmüller
Nov 9, 2022
Community as a place to practice a better future
Community as a place to practice a better future
What if our communities are an ideal place to model and embody - today - the future we’re hoping to create?
Fabian Pfortmüller
Aug 16, 2022
Paying attention to the community cross-pollinators
Paying attention to the community cross-pollinators
Who are the people helping to weave local chapters into a bigger whole?
Fabian Pfortmüller
Aug 2, 2022
The unique motivation of outsiders to run local chapters
The unique motivation of outsiders to run local chapters
At Sandbox, our local chapters are run by volunteers from the community that we call “ambassadors”. At some point I started to notice a…
Fabian Pfortmüller
Jul 20, 2022
Community leadership through role modeling?
Community leadership through role modeling?
In the 1950s, social psychologist Solomon Asch developed a series of foundational experiments around social conformity. One of the famous…
Fabian Pfortmüller
Jun 22, 2022
Gratitude: the most powerful & overlooked energy source in community
Gratitude: the most powerful & overlooked energy source in community
A few years ago, in my role as IIR for the Kauffman Foundation, I went to Cincinnati, Ohio, to experience the graduation ceremony of…
Fabian Pfortmüller
Jun 16, 2022
The personal growth dimension of community leadership
The personal growth dimension of community leadership
Can I weave transformative communities without transforming myself?
Fabian Pfortmüller
May 18, 2022
“Community is like a muscle that grows when you practice together”
“Community is like a muscle that grows when you practice together”
Whenever we start working with a new group, we usually introduce the practice of a “check-in” at the beginning of each call and a…
Fabian Pfortmüller
May 12, 2022
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