Last Thursday’s #OMHG chat featured the wonderful Rena Tom about the importance of cultivating offline communities + barriers/solutions to taking the online offscreen.
We didn’t stick to any specific questions this go round + true to #OMHG chats, the hour flew by, so here are some of the highlights:
- Party time, excellent! We’re chatting with co-host @Rena_Tom about cultivating community on & offline, hooray! #omhg ohmyhandmade
- rena_tom I’m just going to jump in here. Let’s talk about how to find the people who will prop you up and not bring you down. #omhg
- TrashN2Tees @rena_tom i like aligning myself with innovative, open minded, nice folks #omhg
- Bibo_Designs I’d love to discuss finding better support systems, outside of friends and family. Especially for introverts like me! #omhg
- anile @rena_tom For me, connecting with a true community is a slow grow op. Just like Twitter, etc. Takes time, but worth the wait. #omhg
- tiffanycmoore DITTO RT @maggiesayswhat Online communities are great & inspiring. Pulling that offline: necessary & difficult. Emphasis on necessary! #omhg
- embergrass @rena_tom I love meeting people I’ve met online face-to-face! It’s definitely a different experience #omhg
- Caroline_ID @rena_tom #omhg. You can start by clearing away people who have a negative outlook – this makes space in your schedule for positive friends
- rena_tom I’ve taken time to explore outside of my usual areas of interest which yields more (and more complex) connections. It helps! #omhg
- thelanguidlion So true 😉 RT @TrashN2Tees: niches offer valuable space for connections, whether its skills, services, leisure, belief etc #omhg
- rena_tom Offline communities might serve a purpose (like business) or be just for fun (go to lunch, get out of the house), both valuable. #omhg
- blah_cubed @rena_tom Offline communities definitely give me the much needed ‘shut the laptop and get out of the house’ time! #omhg
- rena_tom Of course finding a group with a great moderator helps smooth things 100%! The role of community manager is so important. #omhg
- InkandDirt So true!! RT @seolsearchkaty: Perhaps anonymity is to online, what alcohol is to offline. Both make us feel more relaxed. #omhg
- smidgeboxdesign @abbyglassenberg oh that’s a great idea to look on etsy. i just moved to a new city and am anxious to meet some local creatives #omhg
- blah_cubed @seolsearchkaty Same here with the private FB groups. They’ve been extremely helpful and supportive. #omhg
- ohmyhandmade People want to love you, I promise. The more you reach out & are genuinely interested the easier ‘getting out there’ becomes #omhg
- embergrass @rena_tom 3 years as a teacher has got me over the fear of talking to groups but 1-on-1 meetings still scare me #omhg
- @tickleandsmash went to a HelloEtsy event a year later Im on the leadership for local etsy street team/Enthusiasm is catchy #omhg
- rena_tom Even if that means talking about what you are working on to one or two people over dinner, do it. Practice. #omhg
- justShauntelle All week I’ve been listening to @Catherine_Just‘s Soulfull Summit about being Fearless & the main pt was feel it & do.it. anyway! #omhg
- rena_tom Practicing your elevator pitch before meeting new people helps. Think about your Twitter desc. Is that you? Can you say it out loud? #omhg
- InkandDirt Introvert tip: when scared, I imagine my daughter is with me and I need to set a good example so she can be more extroverted. Works! #omhg
- stephdouglas Public speaking does get easier-my tricks, wear long skirt to cover knocking knees, go slow, pause often, ppl think you’re confident #omhg
- ThreeBySea You think there’s something to that ex-teacher/creative type? #omhg
- embergrass Yes!! RT @anile: could be a great tactic for anyone. Find the person whos worse off than you, help them, help yourself. #omhg
- rena_tom A thought: Both online and offline communities are great, and may have entirely different sets of people, and that’s okay too. #omhg
We also spent some time sharing where we were from & the offline communities we are a part of. Tania of Rocaja Studio had a great idea for a collaborative Google map. Add your marker to the map below and let’s chart our community!
View Oh My! Community Map in a larger map
You may have noticed that there wasn’t a recap of the previous Thursday’s chat (21Jun)… Twitter decided to have a hissy-fit and went down mid-chat, but here’s the link to what was covered… enjoy. You can also read this post’s entire transcript here.
Wondering what is #OMHG anyway & how you can join in? Visit our chat schedule to find out what we’re chatting about this month + what our community is all about by clicking right here.
Be sure to check out July’s chats – we’re focusing on OH MY! AWESOME 😉
