Creating Communities

2016

It’s the summer of 2016 and I had a mission. I was running the So Do It! Salons for Making Sh!t Happen… and we needed a place to connect and share wins and whines in between our meetings.  It couldn’t be “social media” – too frenetic, too intrusive. Honestly, it was really beginning to feel a bit “icky” to me even then.

My “have to have” list was:

• Had to have “heart” and a “soul”
• A place where we could teach courses
• Where we could host events
• House our group conversations
• Where we could share our wins and our whines
• I also wanted a place that didn’t ignore the Real World, that would help my clients connect IRL if they wanted to
• And I wanted a space created by women (a core value for me!)

And, reaching for the moon, I wanted it all in one place.

What I found was Gina Bianchini and Mighty Networks.

I’ve never found a tech company so responsive to it’s hosts (that us!) or it’s members… and I’ve been an evangelist ever since.

I found EVERYTHING on my list:

• It’s a Women Founded/Women Led Company
• The team behind Mighty Networks mirrors my own values.
• The creator, Gina Bianchini, is someone who I can honestly point to as a female leader (in tech!!) to admire and to follow.
• The platform doesn’t ignore the possibility and importance of connecting IRL with the “members near you” feature
• We can combine the SPACES that are courses, groups, “libraries” in community
• Mighty Networks LISTENS to the community hosts and is in constant creator mode adding and changing features to serve us.
• And of course, they are always figuring out creative ways to engage with members.

I’m committed to the energy, the synergy and the magic that can happen when we come together in a well designed online community. [read about where my love of community began here]

And I’ve helped several community creators build their communities. 

If you would like help with your community, I would love to have a conversation.