Thanks for signing up to all the new readers! Here are some nuggets about how networks shape your wellbeing, relationships and community to help you actively cultivate yours.
Wellbeing
“Online meetings are transactional. They are also top-down, i.e. they are owned by the organizer and leave little room for interaction between participants.
This means that the human side of getting together gets lost: spontaneous chats, random encounters or unexpected conversations. We believe that's at the core of 'Zoom fatigue' - not poor video connection or audio issues.”
I completely agree with this sentiment from the team at Wonder. As someone who loves to host, I derive a lot of energy and satisfaction from bringing people together. Unfortunately, none of the existing group video platforms (e.g. Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom) allow the same sort of fluidity of interaction that a cocktail party or dinner offered. It’s one thing I’ve really missed over these last 8 months. That’s why I’m really excited to give Wonder a try!
Relationships
Conversations are a key component to building and cultivating relationships. Amazingly, we have dozens of conversations every day but few of us could explain what elements help us connect better with others. Recently I teamed up with Georgie Nightingall from Trigger Conversations to produce a mini-series around how to have conversations, with a particular focus on first time conversations. You can check out the first two episodes here:
M1E1: Introducing The Reliants Project X Trigger Conversations
M1E2: How to Have First Time Conversations Without Much Context
Community
Even though I only lived in Georgia for 4 years, it holds a special place in my heart. Right now, it’s also one of the shiny examples of collective action. Stacey Abrams and the organisation she founded, The New Georgia Project, are credited with registering hundreds of thousands of new voters in the last 2 years. In this interview with Nse Ufot, the CEO, she talks about the cultural aspect of voting:
“…one of the things that we've noticed is that, you know, voting is a cultural sort of event, activity - how we learn about it, how we talk about it, right?…And so there are tons of, you know, older Black voters who have - who remember - you know, I get up, I get dressed, I go vote in person. Like, this is how I vote. This is what I do. I say hi to my neighbors. I bring my grandkids. And so vote by mail represents a shift in culture, a shift in how people participate. And so, you know, we acknowledge that and lean into that.”
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About The Reliants Project
Reliant is my word for a person that someone depends on, an essential component of our social networks. With each edition, I’ll share useful nuggets about how networks shape your wellbeing, relationships and community to help you actively cultivate yours. Whether you want to cultivate your relationships, make better introductions, or activate networks to make an impact in the world, let me help you reach your goals.
You can find more about The Reliants Project here.