What does the word community mean to you?
There are many definitions out there…some of them referring to geographical location, some common values or goals, a common identity, intent, or belief. There used to be a strong focus on geographical location but with the internet came some change. We now have Facebook communities, Twitter communities, LinkedIn communities, and Google + communities (and many more), so I’ll ask you again….
What does the word community mean to you?
There are two reasons that I’ve been pondering it and it has stemmed out of one event: The 140 Characters Conference
1. I’ve been asked to moderate a panel at the #140ConfONT with some amazing organizers/active people within the Waterloo Region on that panel; James Howe (Social Media Breakfast), David Yoon (Ignite Waterloo), Hilary Abel (RQ Magazine), Ramy Nassar (TedX Waterloo). On this panel we are going to be talking about community, how these organizers have built their community, and what is community to them.
2. I have been witnessing the amazingness that is community around all of the various events that I have been attending to promote the #140confONT, but also the online community that has come together. It really is what this conference is all about – people connecting with each other online and supporting and conversing with one another in person as well. There have been an incredible amount of people that I have met online, carried on the conversation offline, and then continued that conversation back online.
I once had a teacher who said (paraphrased), “Community doesn’t exist within groups of people…we all carry community within us and every time we meet with another person we connect our internal communities to form a larger, stronger community.”
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