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The Day(s) the Community Died

April 27, 2020 By Rachel Happe

After six weeks of self-isolation, even those of us who are introverts are realizing we may not be as introverted as we think.

Like the phases of grief, this crisis has sent me through stages of emotion. At first, it was novel and even a bit fun – our morning routine was calmer, our daughter was released from normal school obligations, and we got to see more of each other and do more together. After a few weeks, we settled into acceptance with a new routine that included new experiences like FaceTime playdates, midweek movie and game nights, distance learning, and sleeping in on a regular basis.

Recently, however, many of us are feeling unsettled – not about anyone one specific thing but by the swirl of competing emotions. Sadness, worry, gratitude, boredom, and anger all mixed together suspending our ability to make sense of things and move forward. Nothing is normal even if nothing is specifically wrong.

The other day, driving through my bucolic New England town, it hit me. It’s the loss of community – the myriad interactions we have every day that we don’t even notice but play a huge role in giving us a sense of predictability, optimism, and security. It’s the other regulars at the coffee shop, the neighbors and their dogs, watching people greet each other as they cross the street, and seeing the town personalities in their predictable spots.

What’s interesting is it’s not my local friends or even people I know that give my days their predictable comfort.

It’s the older man, who walks the same loop every day, always wearing a Yankees shirt in the heart of Red Sox Nation who prompts me to smile at his bold defiance. It’s the staff at my daughter’s school who help ensure that drop-off and pick-up go smoothly. It’s my daughter and her friends who run to catch up with each other as they walk into school. For a while, it was the young man who rode his bike up and down the street, always riding only on his back tire. It’s the groups of kids from the neighborhood middle school and high school who have no sense of other people’s space. It’s the cashiers and shop owners at the local stores. It is all the people that give your days shape, routine, and color – and help you focus on something outside of yourself.

Often community is something you don’t know you’ve got until it’s gone.

The global COVID crisis has ripped it all away, leaving us unmoored but not quite rationally understanding why. The loss of loose ties seems insignificant until the compounding isolation creates an emotional shadow where unexpected joy, serendipity, and light connection once lived.

While digital spaces will never replace our physical communities, it is one reason to join and participate in more online communities – they are the places I bump into and interact with people I don’t know but share similar interests, where I sometimes see and chat with friends, and where I find things that make me smile or give me ideas.

And hopefully, when the self-isolation is over, we will go back to finding serendipity in the smile of a bartender, the helpfulness of a salesperson, or the greeting of a neighbor.

Creating Safe Spaces for Online Learning with C.C. Chapman

April 3, 2020 By Jim Storer

Creating Safe Spaces for Online Learning with C.C. Chapman

In episode #2 Rachel is joined by C.C. Chapman, to discuss the implications and challenges of the sudden shift to distance learning.

Every week Rachel Happe chats for 30 minutes with a new guest – no script, no rules.

Some people have been working online and remotely for years. Others, not so much. Rachel and C.C. chat about the COVID-19 crisis and the effect on learning. How do you move courses online and create a safe space for learning in an already stressful environment?

Watch the chat:

In the conversation, C.C. mentions checking out https://montagueworkshop.com/bookclub as the one cool thing he’s into this week. Check it out!

About C.C. Chapman:

Helping others learn and inspiring them to achieve their goals is the most fulfilling thing I do.

Currently, I’m a Visiting Instructor of Business and Management at Wheaton College where I am also the Program & Partnership Director for Wheaton Innovates with MassChallenge.

I’ve been an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Communications at Bentley University and have also developed and taught courses for LinkedIn Learning, Lynda.com, CreativeLive, and Treehouse.

View All Episodes.

Group Coaching: Digital Engagement and Community Management

March 16, 2020 By Rachel Happe

With the Covid-19 crisis growing, in-person events and activities are moving online. For some, this is an easy transition because they’ve been engaging remotely for years. For many others, this is an abrupt and challenging change because digital channels have been used primarily for outbound communications but not for discussing, learning, and collaborating.

Community professionals have decades of experience in orchestrating digital engagement and collaboration. We KNOW how to do this and have lots of ideas. If you have an online community professional in your organization, now is the time to reach out to them for assistance and support.

Here at The Community Roundtable, we are hosting one-hour group coaching sessions for anyone who has questions, needs ideas, or just wants validation. This is an opportunity to get feedback from me, your peers in the same situation, and from other community professionals who will join us.

Our open virtual coaching sessions have ended. If you’d like to learn more about coaching opportunities with Rachel, or The Community Roundtable advisory team please contact us.

We are also hosting a series of webinars to support those of you who are suddenly remote. You can find the recording of last week’s webinar, Using Digital Channels in a Crisis, here.

Using Digital Channels in a Crisis: Community Best Practices for Connecting and Collaborating

March 12, 2020 By Jim Storer

Using Digital Channels in a Crisis_ Community Best Practices for Connecting and Collaborating

The coronavirus, and its impact on travel and events, has organizations scrambling to adapt.

Digital channels will take up much of the slack by providing alternative ways to connect. Online community professionals are experts in helping organizations engage online, whether with customers or internally with employees.

Today, most organizations have the digital infrastructure that supports engagement but without professional community management, those spaces and channels are often poorly used and sub-optimized.

Join Rachel Happe, Alex Blanton, and Erica Kuhl, as they offer tips and recommendations on how to create programming that connects and engages in creative ways.

They discussed:

  • How to build trust in online spaces so that engagement thrives
  • Ideas for creative engagement programs to prompt participation
  • Best practices for effectively engaging an online workforce

Access the Archive:

Community best practices

Resources for the people who build online communities.

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