From Community Building to Community Weaving
From Community Building to Community Weaving
Why the metaphors for how we bring people together matter
Is it possible to have a career as a network weaver in the social impact space?
Is it possible to have a career as a network weaver in the social impact space?
I sometimes get approached by university students and recent graduates about our work at Together Institute. They are attracted to the work…
We can’t force collaborations in social impact networks
We can’t force collaborations in social impact networks
But we can create the conditions for them to emerge organically
Paying attention to Critical Mass in Communities & Networks
Paying attention to Critical Mass in Communities & Networks
How big do groups and sub-groups need to be for them to thrive?
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?
Who got time for deep community?
Who got time for deep community?
Or: How do we weave thriving communities when everyone is stretched thin?
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
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…
Communities and nation states
Communities and nation states
A thought experiment: What if nation states remembered that they are simply very big communities?
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.
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…
The enticing illusion of clarity in community
The enticing illusion of clarity in community
Or: Clarity in community is an ongoing, always temporary conversation
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
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…
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…
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”.
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.
“Networks connect; communities care”
“Networks connect; communities care”
What’s the distinction between a network and a community?
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:
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…
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?
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?
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?