Mission Statement: Building a Community
March 15, 2008 · Print This Article
I am no Jerry McGuire, but I have a mission statement in mind. Not one that a company is based on, rather one to base a community.
Our little community is really starting to gather some momentum here in the DC area. There has been much talk recently, on this blog and others, as to the state of affairs with regards to the growing tech community. Even though everyone has somewhat differing opinions, one things is clear, the common thread is that the community here in DC is on the cusp of special things, it may just take a little time.
We are a community in our infancy here in the DC area. We try to compare ourselves to the likes of Silicon Valley, Boston, and Seattle, but there is really no comparison. However, that should not make us upset or jealous, we should accept what we have and move to make it grow and mold it into our own special. The DC area is unique, as are all of you and we should embrace that, embrace our culture and learn to thrive from it.
And as an infant, so to speak, we depend on each other as we did our parents for support and guidance. There are many among us who are bringing their ideas to fruition and working hard to bring their thoughts to reality. It is a hard process along a bumpy road and everyone can use a little help. Our mission right now should be to all pitch in and help. Help to place more and more stones on the foundation we quickly see forming around us. We are not competitors, rather complimentors.
Here is my proposition to all of you within reading distance of this statement. If we hope for this area to one day grow into the community I know we all envision, we have to stick together. I keep going back in my head to a statement I have read a thousand times over at WashingtonVC:
grows companies through the exchange of complementary technologies and marketing services.
The exchange of complimentary services … We all have talents that we can share and exchange. Maybe we are not all web designers or php developers or marketing mavens, but we all have something we can offer. So go out and share them. Maybe its testing a new feature, maybe its help with a bug someone just cant figure out or a social media/pr question. We all have something we can offer I am sure. Offer them. We are the ones who will build it. Nobody else. We can't expect VC/angel $$ to just come our way, so let's show them why it should. If we build it, they will come.
Now I know there are some out there who may be saying, "Why should I give my time and may not receive anything in return?" I can only tell you that you will receive satisfaction of helping good people succeed and you will be helping to continue to build the foundation. I saw this update on twitter from our friend Keith Casey of WhyGoSolo just yesterday, and it fit so well with the thoughts I have been pulling together:
I love kicking around good ideas with good people.. especially when I can help make the idea better. The success of friends is always good
In the end, it will benefit us all. It is kind of like that "Pay It Forward" movie I once saw, or the karma in "My Name is Earl". Kind of cliche, I know, nonetheless most likely true. If you help one person "make it", do you not think that you have ally that may come in handy one day. Someone you will be able to reach out to and say "Heh I need some help".
There are those out there doing this already I know, and this is not groundbreaking stuff. I just wanted to put it in black and white, in simple terms. Not so long ago our friend Aaron Brazell (Technosailor) took his time and worked to make a group, @dctwits, that the community here could use to get the word out to the community at large. Now as we all know, there are no groups within Twitter as of yet, but Aaron took his time and made it work. What did he get out of it ? He got our thanks and the knowledge that should he need help, we stand ready for him. It are these types of acts and people that will make us stand apart from the noise and the crowd.
My door is open. If I can help any of you, please let me know. Need the word put out, I will write about it. Need a new facebook app you are working on tested late one Friday night, I will test it. Need some help with a technical issue, I will work it. Have an ad, I will place it on the site. I trust many of you would do the same. And in doing so we will only work to make the community grow cohesive and stronger and make people from those "other places" take notice. Soon it no longer will be "Why did you start your business in DC?", it will be "Look at that community there in DC, thats the place to be".
So these are my thoughts and I hope you find something of value here, I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions. In addition, I am also going to make this a wiki page that we can all add our thoughts and ideas to as we move forward. You can access it here.
Jimmy - YES! I buy into this philosophy 100%. And really, isn’t this what being a part of a community is all about?
I’ve operated in this give-and-take, karma, what goes around comes around, whatever you want to call it mode pretty much my whole life. Probably because my parents were the type to take anyone in for any length of time and share their home, time, love, & everything with that person. What I saw grow from those actions were long term relationships and a community itself.
I’ve been doing a lot of things for friends in the music industry for free for years (marketing, photography, web dev, etc.). Many people people have told me I’m a fool for giving away my services, but I do it for the love of what I’m doing, the knowledge that I’m helping out friends, and also the reality that even though I don’t get a check at the end of the day, I certainly do get something in return.
Being a part of a community is not about what you can get out of it, but what you can contribute to it to make it grow and make it better for everyone in it - now and in the future.
I’m with you. I’m in.
Looks like there’s a lot to watch in DC now. I wish you the best. It looks like the willingness to form a group around shared interests is already there. Seems like you’re threading your networks. What comes next is working in unison, and that seems like the next move after this post.
Good on you. : )
You are 100% right about this. Many people make the mistake that networking is about themselves, when it is actually about the other guy. You give, give, give, give…and eventually you get. The challenge is, it’s a long-term thing (usually). Many people want the quick hit.
Your post reminded me of 2 books I’ve read/reviewed.
Love is the killer app, see
http://jer979.blogspot.com/2004/04/at-this-point-in-our-careers-we-are.html
and “Never Eat Alone”
http://jer979.blogspot.com/2007/10/book-review-never-eat-alone.html
Jimmy’s ideas here got me thinking about how to make the local tech community rock … even more. I’m a proselytizer for a system called “time banking.” Rather than barter, it’s a bank system among members. Just this week I created a website for the Columbia, Md., system. http://www.time-banking-in-columbia-md.com.
It’s easy and cheap to set these systems up and be legally sanctioned under a national umbrella org. Having a T-B system would then allow us to help each other, while getting value for helping. Plus T-B helps people map out and know each other’s capabilities even more. E.g. I may brand myself as offering X, Y, Z in the marketplace, but — truth be told — I can also do E, F, G and H pretty well. Timebanking allows people to get to know each other better because we work together on micro projects and there is meaning and value in the exchange.
I could go on. Check out the site. Contact me if you’re curious about taking the DC Tech community in this direction. I can’t - and don’t want to — do it alone. Really, Why Go Solo?
Oh, and look at how I’m using T-B for tech help already. http://tinyurl.com/2nylxx
Thanks for the hat tip… and oddly enough, “Love is the Killer App” is one of the things that put the same idea in my head years ago. I wrote on it a while back - http://caseysoftware.com/blog/the-art-of-the-introduction
But I agree with it all wholeheartedly, but I think it goes beyond having a potential ally down the way. I think it sets a good example and as your friends and contacts benefit, hopefully others choose to do the same also.
And then the less altruistic side of things… I realize that by investing in friends and contacts that when new things come down the pipe or hit their radar, they’re more likely to share them with me or pass my name along. After all, who are you going to refer… the guy you see at groups once in a while or the guy you see and gave you a hand a couple times?
But despite all of that… I have *zero* expectations when I give someone a hand. I figure benefits - if they come - will come when I’m not expecting it.
Great post, Jimmy. Glad to see you keeping eastcoastblogging.com around too.
@Jessie - there you go with those hyphenated domain names. What did I tell you about those?
To quote my bro Gary Vayernchuk (http://winelibrarytv.com), “Give give give until your face falls off.”
I started up for a few different reasons .. but an important one was to have the opportunity to work around other tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. My previous jobs were customer service for communication companies. Nice easy jobs, but not very fulfilling!
Im happy to be apart of this community and help it grow in anyway I can! Just as Jimmy stated, “If you need your app tested,” send it my way too! If you’d like to share something your working on with me… “Awesome,” i might provide additional idea you may like?
It’s great to see this community evolving!
@technosailor — I know, I know. You told me about the hyphens in the domains being a bad idea, but I’m tellin’ ya, I’ve had incredible luck with them. As have some of my clients.
@ Mr Why Go Solo
- Re the timebanking idea, I just offer my own (decades of) experience in being a helper and giver, particularly from the perspective of being a creative generalist and not a tech person with a product to sell. It can be exhausting to be able to help just about anyone without something coming back. Maybe it’s early mid-life speaking to me. Also, I want to *acknowledge* value. I don’t have great tech skills. I need CSS work done. I need help transferring domains. I need help figuring out about analytics and all kinds of things. I’d like to feel comfortable asking for help. And I personally would feel more comfortable knowing that I can give something other than just money back to the person helping me.
The real thing is that time banking offers a way to increase connectivity among people with weak social ties. It’s just an idea to consider as the tech community in DC-ish grows.
I like the timebanking idea on some levels, but I think it’s going to be hard to enact virtually. For those of us who have met each other and have regularly ongoing interactions, we’re likely to jump in. People who want to get a piece of that are likely to jump in. But what about the opportunity to meet/help complete strangers? To be honest, my friends and allies *always* come first.
I think you guys in Columbia are off to a good start. Having regular coworking time/space will help build some of those ties and grow things in useful ways. I’d love to do the same on this side of the Beltway, but I haven’t found the space yet… unless you count Murky.
This is a great lead Jim - thanks for taking the time to post this!
My thoughts, it’s all about the awareness. Awareness is key to a successful community.
[…] at East Coast Blogging, Jimmy Gardner has taken off on this idea about cementing the community. I point you to a telling comment by my friend Keith Casey where he […]
I’ve really never met a more generous group of people and I applaud you. And though you all know I’m not the techiest among you by a longshot. . . But I’m always willing to lend a hand, give you some feedback, introduce your idea to someone else - do a little marketing - I’m here, and behind you all the way even tough you don’t see my face around a lot. Yell when you need me.