Game On

The recent Resident University was an opportunity to speak to community activists about the ideas behind Connect for Good (CFG), and test out some ways of thinking through the medium of games.Yes, games. I’ll return to this later.
The basis of CFG – assets (possibilities & positive contributions), networks (people & relationships)and technology (appropriate social media) – is something we wanted to get delegates to think about alongside other vital elements of community development like legislation and funding.
In a side room in the respectfully restored Victoriana of the Bordesley Centre, a handful of community activists came along for the hour’s session on CFG. We haven’t got the patent for mixing grassroots community development and technology, and I am sure there are other good pieces of work going on around the UK fusing these two areas.
So understandably, the delegates were a little wary at first of the mini introduction we gave trying to spell out CFG’s aims. But once we were on to the first game, about what makes people ‘sad, mad and glad’ about their community, the energy in the room changed, and the issues facing the splendidly diverse groups which these activists represented, bubbled up in the room. These were uncommon groups facing common problems: isolation, fear of crime, a fragmentation of people along lines of age, race, economics and background. There was something reassuring in that we are perhaps, at neighbourhood level, all feeling the same social pressures. But what was clear from this activity is that people rate very highly the diversity of the community in Birmingham and its resilience to the current social and economic problems.

The debate was strong and varied, and came with a respect for the different views expressed. The second game, planning a wedding for free, has been used in the learning disabilities field to get people to think about the strength of community outside what paid-for, centralised services can offer. The energy of frustration about the problems in our society changed to a palpable sense of surprise at being asked to plan something seemingly so trivial.
But what started to percolate through the thinking in the room is that people could see, with a little creativity, that their networks of friends, acquaintances, work colleagues and others, could provide support in finding a DJ, or a venue, or even a wedding car for the imaginary big day. When we put it to the activists that this same kind of thinking could be harnessed for the issues they highlighted in the ‘sad, mad or glad’ game earlier, people in the room began to consider just how powerful their networks could be in helping to solve our shared and common problems.
Social media could provide the ideal way to record the process of community development using these kinds of games, as well using networks that exist on Facebook or Twitter, for example, to get collaboration moving on a project. The record produced could be used for others looking to do the same kinds of things in their own neighbourhoods.

#goodnewsbrum

During our session with the Resident University (More of which in a blog post soon), one of the common concerns in the group was how the media portrays community. Some of the group expressed how difficult it was to get mainstream media to cover good news stories from their community of which there are many. But they are quick to focus on any negative stories.

So as a little action to attempt to show how using social media could support our efforts in raising awareness of the good stuff that happens in our communities, we all decided that some sort of web site or page that focussed on good news might help our efforts. We don’t know if something like this already exists, but we’ll find out.

We’ve set up a site that pulls in all the content from Twitter with the hashtag #goodnewsbrum. So if you want to contribute to the site, simply tweet your good news community story and add the hashtag. It will then get pulled into the goodnewsbrum.tumblr.com website. Of course, these things are only as good as the contributions that are made so please spread the word and maybe we can start to highlight the on going good news stories that happen in our communities.

Mapping Third Place: Next steps

I’ve been exploring mapping third places on a local level for a while now. It might work well as a resource and as a way to increase the profile of connecting. I’ve been playing around with a few mapping things on and off over the last month or so. I think now, I may have something that allows us to move the idea forward a little. It’s nothing big or fancy but it may allow us to work on idea that could be developed further if it works.
Using Foursquare, I ‘check in’ at places I think are third places. In the comments, I record some basic info about the venue (limited to 140 chars). These ‘check ins’ are then fed into a google map which can be embedded in a blog or web page. The map updates with each new check in I create and so I build a resource map of third places (or so the idea goes).
What makes third places relevant though is community and locality so maybe this experiment would work best on a more local level, maybe with the help of some hyperlocal blogs?
If there are any Birmingham based hyperlocal blogs willing to take part in providing a ‘third place map’ on their sites, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment on this post.

Example third place map based on B75 postcode

View Larger Map

The role of hyperlocal sites in connecting isolated people

When I worked to connect people with learning disabilities to the things that mattered to them, to other people who shared their passions, I would pay a lot of attention to getting to know the community I was working in. I certainly don’t have any definitive description of what exactly community is ,and this post isn’t about answering that question, but I do know that connecting depended on knowing how to find informal and formal levels of community activity. So newspapers, parish notice boards, conversations with community members would be ways I would build a picture of a neighbourhood.

What I find interesting about hyperlocal sites is that they are put together by people who seem to know about building a picture of the community, if you follow. Arguably they are the ones who you would go to find out about who, where, when, why and how. These people, in the language of connecting developed by John McKnight, are ‘community guides’. A community guide would know about the way into a community, but not necessarily be the person who would take the lead in connecting an isolated person. A community guide could be the old lady who has lived at the end of the street for years, or the lollipop lady, or anybody who has an in-depth knowledge of the aspect of the community you are looking to find out about. Community guides could help you understand the anatomy of hobbies, music scenes or political movements – whatever brings people together.

In terms of the digital world, the following blogs and hyperlocal sites have caught my eye as I would suggest that the people behind them could be ‘community guides’.

The Feral Cats of Longbridge on Getgood is a great story that shows a way of finding out about the richness in a community. As a connector, I would contact the person behind Getgood as this person may be able to tell the story of somebody who has never had their story told in a positive way.

In the same vein, the depth and variety of information on B31, especially the story about a ‘60s film about Hollymoor, the psychiatric hospital, tells me that its editor is also somebody I would go to if I was connecting in that part of South Birmingham. The editor of another site, about Birmingham’s No.11 Outer Circle, is someone else I may want to speak to as they may know about a community that cares about public transport.

If hyperlocal and other similar sites are about community, then I think the information they hold and the people behind them could play an important, if not direct role, in connecting isolated people to the community.

My next door neighbour is my friend on Facebook

I set up a Facebook group for Connect For Good primarily to promote the project but also in the back of my mind I’ve been thinking how we can tap into the rich network that exists there without being intrusive or preachy. I’ve since stepped up that thinking after reading how Carl Plant was exploring how Facebook might be used in terms of apps and games with a health angle.

The idea is a simple one and probably a silly one. But it’s about exploring what we can do with a platform, finding stuff out that we can learn from, moving forward with ideas or moving away and trying something else.

So, with Connect For Good, in particular the more light touch connecting stuff, could we try to encourage some connecting?

I set up another group, and the idea is that you go and knock on your next door neighbour’s door, ask them if they’re on Facebook. If they are, ask them to be your friend and join the group!

Why? I’m not sure yet. I think it’s about exploring existing connections and / or making new ones. It might take a bit of courage if you’re thinking of joining in, but if you’re curious, come and join the group. Obviously, this wont be for everyone. There’s going to be some good neighbours out there and some not so good. Like I said, only a silly little idea.

Mapping third places

An important piece to the connecting jigsaw is what is termed as ‘Third place’. Ray Oldenburg talks about them his book, ‘The Great Good Place’ and it describes those places in communities that are the focal point for locals to gather. They are the coffee shops, pubs, public spaces which we go to out of choice. Oldenburg describes ‘third places’ as:

They must be on neutral ground – places where individuals come and go as they please, none are required to act as the host, and in which all feel comfortable and at home.

They act as a leveller - a place that is inclusive, accessible to the public and does not set criteria for membership and exclusion.

Conversation is the main activity – a place where the “talk is good”, lively, colorful and engaging.   You can see it in the smiles of others, handshaking, back-slapping , and pleasurable, entertaining conversation.

There are regulars – a place where the customers are a source of attraction, giving the place its character and the assurance that on any given visit someone will see someone they know.

They have a low profile – the place is typically plain, sometimes looks unimpressive, and do not attract a high volume of strangers and transient customers.  This discourages pretense and people “come as they are”.

The mood is playful – there is laughter, which is the magical element that warms the insider. The urge to return is there, to recreate the good time and to recapture the experience.

They can feel like a home away from home – people feel rooted, see familiar faces, and may have special privileges because they are a regular.

In terms of our project, where we are trying to encourage everybody around us to be conscious of the connections we already make, is it again about being conscious of the ‘third places’ we know?, take for granted in some cases? If we can identify these, and maybe share them locally using online technology, could we build a useful resource of third places that others could tap into when connecting?

I know Darren is looking into the links between connecting and the thriving hyperlocal scene, more in terms of hyperlocal bloggers as community guides (blog post about this coming soon I reckon), but there are many instances where connecting and hyperlocal could provide mutual benefit. Definitely something that needs more exploration but for now, i’m going to have a think about some local ‘third place’ google map thing which could be used in terms of connecting and Connect For Good.

Update

We’re in the process of talking to a few groups about delivering some connecting workshops. Both me and Darren are working to ensure that with these workshops, we have a really good go at getting across the potential of connecting. We’ll post what we plan to deliver here and on the resources page as it will be something that can be used outside of this particular training.

We’ll know more about the direction of the project once we have delivered the workshops. We’re pretty confident we’ll come out the other end with some ongoing projects and some practical evidence of what we do and how it can be used in communities.

Connecting and the social web: Initial thoughts

Apologies if I go off at a tangent

The last time I met up with Darren, we chatted at length about finding the balance between formal and informal connections. Where a formal connection could involve connecting somebody to a particular service or institution where an informal connection would be between a person and other people within their community.

Now the whole reason we started Connect For Good was because we recognised the overlaps between connecting and the social web. Discovering the best way to merge the two was always the goal. With connecting, I think it’s fair to say, we primarily seek to pursue the informal connections as the goal is to strengthen the community from within and avoid getting caught in the trap of relying on (and in some cases, being defined by) services and institutions. So is the case that we should look to establish a similar pattern online? By this I mean when we take into account our online networks, are we primarily looking to engage with other people and not services and institutions?

It’s interesting, as many services and institutions are now looking to engage citizens using online methods, this approach seeks to engage with them only in a secondary manner. Empowering stuff, but I think the right approach would be to monitor how services and institutions are embracing social technology. Watch for any cultural change within the organisations, who’s evolving and who’s standing still.

The pace of online evolution requires a new approach, one that demands we become life long learners if we are to make the most out of what the digital future holds. The opportunity to improve civic & institution relationships is there, but it’s not for us to chase. I think we have our path to follow.

Beyond institutions to community

Undoubtedly, there is a place in society for institutions to provide services that help its people to live. We pay our taxes in the belief it is funding services such as hospitals, schools and libraries; towards the overall goals of providing better health, education and learning for its citizens.

But in the creation of institutions to meet the needs of people, we have created entities that arguably no longer serve that purpose.

Services, in some cases such as those aimed at people with learning disabilities, have historically been organised around business plans, workers’ shift patterns and budgetary needs. Therefore people, and their needs, become secondary.

Big services are increasingly about systems and managing resources, is there any wonder that community issues that are attempted to be solved by service-style solutions continually fail? Communities are made of people and we are intrinsically social creatures, dependent on each other through the relationships that we build. Relationships are what makes us safe, helps us grow and keeps us healthy.

I am not advocating using fewer resources and pursuing a policy of dismantling the institutions we have built, I put forward that we should direct more money into smaller, people-led organisations. I want to go to a doctor or a nurse when I am ill, but who will I go to if I am isolated? It is isolation from strong relationships that makes people reliant on services, as they do not have anyone else they can go to for support.

There needs to be a focus on how we live with each other, to maximise the natural bonds we can develop, that lead to solutions that are worked out and owned by the community. Our connections and networks can yield better, more people-led answers than what a service can provide.

There is a big focus on people having a greater say in how services are managed, and while this has obvious benefits in terms of transparency and accountability, when did people become locked into a dialogue about improving a service, rather than living a life rich with experience? Aren’t we more than the institutions we have built? If the main civic relationship we are discussing is that of people in the context of institutions, where have we gone wrong? Perhaps the biggest challenge in Birmingham is not only how we steward the future of statutory services, but how we build stronger relationships and networks in our communities.

Connect For Good ‘Launch’

Cake photo by Sifu Renka on Flickr

We’re stepping up a gear. Well, half a gear maybe, by announcing our next session as a mini launch event. We’re going to use the session to let people know what and why we’re doing this, the journey so far and the plans we have. We’re also planning a few fun activities which will be developed into connecting resources along the way.

Oh, just as an additional incentive, how about some free cake and sparklers?

The launch will be on 4th November 2010, at St Lukes church centre in Birmingham.

Come along and we’ll do our best to explain a little better, what we do!