The Power of Online Community
One of the words that gets used a lot on the Indy Web is community, in a good way. Whether it be people from your Mastodon instance, fellow customers of your particular blogging platform or just an ad hoc group of friendly Internet strangers bound together through a blogging challenge, common interests or any other criterion, a community is a place to call home on the Internet, to be yourself and a chance to be a part of something greater than the individual. The best part is you get to choose whether to participate or not. No one can force you to participate, but if you choose to do so, and if you follow whatever norms have formed, you get a built-in set of ears.
I enjoy knowing what people in my community are doing: that Cory built a Last.FM replacement, that Jamie and family went to Ireland, that Alexandra got a new passport or that Brandon has been laid low by back issues. I like following along with folks as they discuss the process, list challenges they've faced and then the steps they took to overcome them. Oft times it's free life advice for my own set of challenges and at other times it offers a chance to offer assistance and feel good about being able to do so.
I like seeing the different personality types and interests that people have. My favorite software friends are a guy from Germany and someone half my age from Dallas. I get TV show tips from a Canadian and book ideas from California. The most stridently politically outspoken person in my community is a developer who lives in the woods in Missouri of all places. I get an opportunity to practice compassion by following along one someones ongoing struggle with the black dog of depression, an animal not unfamiliar to me.
I've gotten more than one letter from men of a certain age who are closing in on retirement and who have had questions about my experiences when I left my career job. When I posted the other day about my increasing tendency to get teary-eyed these days, I got several 50-somethings joining the "me too" club. I spent years and years thinking I was unique and not wanting to be. Being part of an online community helps me remember that I'm just a regular guy with regular problems and not some enigma wrapped in a shroud of mystery.
So far, no one has crossed any boundaries with me. I occasionally get notes from software developers asking me to review their apps, but they have all been polite and no one has been pushy. I've even heard from a few developers after I've reviewed their work and that's been positive as well and pretty cool actually. I've had very good luck in the past turning online friends into real life friends and I hope to be able to do that again when my wife and I take a few trips. I have standing coffee invites in several states and countries and I've told several people to pleas look me up if they make it to the East Coast.
Enjoyed it? Please upvote 👇