Apparently most people pick the poo. Having recently stepped into the parenting world, means that I have also become that lady with a pram. ‘Sorry’, ‘excuse me’, ‘could you please just move your chair over a little bit so I … Continue reading
Earlier in the week I wrote about the power of community and how it had the impact to change a girl’s life. The strength of an active and engaged community is invaluable. Whether it is for serious life changing impact, or small trivial problem solving. The other day I was once again reminded of how much I have come to rely on the advice and opinions of my twitter pals.
I had a problem. I needed to find a marathon friendly school dress. After a fruitless weekend searching Dimmies, Target and numerous op-shops I felt deflated.
So I posted it on twitter.
Within about 5 minutes this is what I got…
So many genuine offers of advice and assistance. It was amazing.
An engaged community, ready and willing to share their knowledge. So why doesn’t everyone see this value?
Everyday I still have the same conversation with people about the value of social media and in particular twitter. Why would I want to know what everyone had for lunch? As many of us know, this does not define twitter or the reason that the majority of people on there now use it as their number one news, information and knowledge source. You have direct access to politicians, journalists, athletes, chefs, specialists of all and any fields. It is real and real-time. And as I experience every day it is a valuable and wise community. One that is even willing to help me locate my perfect marathon dress. Awesome.
Without twitter to connect us this level of open communication and knowledge sharing would not be possible. Many minds are always better than one.
I did end up finding my school dress. The lovely guys over at One Girl actually sell Action Kits this year – which Chantelle shared with me… on twitter.
The dress still needs to go through my sewing machine and hopefully come out the other side fitting perfectly with no ability to chafe. But I am almost all set. Thanks to the responsiveness of my valuable online community.
My Do It In A Dress Action Kit arrived in the mail today too. Woohoo! Check it out…
I like to get stuff done and I like to achieve things. So I would say that I am a doer. But doing things is always better when there is someone to share them with. We can learn from each other and create a memory and an output which is better than if we attempted it solo. I also alluded to this in a post the other day, but whether it be a communal garden or a Korean BBQ – sharing it with someone else always enhances the experience. A pot of thyme that is for the block or some raw pork that gets fried on the middle of your table. People are great. And shared experiences are even better.
It seems these days the sharers are the rarity. There are more people who are afraid of their lemons getting stolen off their tree than those who leave their wifi unlocked. We seem to encourage a closed and protective society, both at home and at work. Tomorrow afternoon I will be hanging out with 500 other people who want to share and collaborate. Cool hey. I am sure they are all into communal gardens too.
Sarah Försterling 