|
Hello Everybody!
Hope your various holidays were marvelous, and welcome to a fantastic 2011! There hasn't been a newsletter in quite awhile, and this one has big news!
MOVING YET FURTHER INTO GAIA COMMUNITY 5.0
OH THE ROLES WE PLAY Co-creating a Vibrant, Alive Community !!!
In the Important Announcement of September 22, 2010, this community stated its intention to co-create itself, by members sharing responsibility for management, operation, governance – for the survival, thriving, and growth of A New Gaia community. That intention continues to manifest in awesome steps, through contributions by members and the morphing of community structures. This newsletter announces major important changes.
TA DA!! Announcing three additional members have committed to filling roles they have already been engaged with, in their consistent active interest in the welfare of our whole community.
FloatingOnSmiles will be "Team Administrative Assistant," available for various tasks and projects to facilitate Team functioning for community surviving, thriving, and growth. Among her past and current projects are:
--co-creating (with OM) a system around the Featuring of Groups
--reiterating Team invitations for Friendship to various Group Creators, via comments on their profile commentwalls
Akira Dawn will continue to facilitate communication with the “Spirit of Our Community." This is 2-way, to help us all resonate fully with our community in a uniquely intimate fashion so we can be in alignment to help Our Community more fully realize its potential. You can catch up with the origin of this unique relationship by reading Akira Dawn’s contributions in the Team blog “Spirit of Our Community”.
Kathy is lending her considerable techno-artistic talents as our "Consultant on Arts and Graphics." She will help create artwork for our unique community expression and will advise us on art and graphic technical matters. Kathy has already created and given us an icon for the Our Community Interface with Ning Group and has generously offered her assistance to the community from its beginnings here on Ning and in all its versions/incarnations.
Deb and OM are mindful that naming people is a ticklish matter. It does not imply that no one else is making contributions, importantly co-creating and serving the community. Some are serving in ways relevant to "Team-ishness" and some in OTHER ways every day. The problem with acknowledging ANYONE for their contributions is the myriad others who might have been acknowledged but weren't, because that -- happily -- is a task impossible to ever do completely. We – Deb and OM – are trying to cope with this wonderful challenge!! If you think you are not being properly acknowledged, let us know!
Naming people also does not imply that all community "leadership" is located within the Team!!!!! This community is fortunate that many more co-creative leaders will emerge throughout the life of our community as members quietly taking action and responsibility.
Some current examples include Sharmelle "Shar" who for months now has been active daily as Administrator in keeping Question of the Day Group operating. And Gillian who has made substantial suggestions for improving that Group.
And Mike Dineen who in addition to keeping us all laughing, is truly fostering our global community via his Multi-lingual Group, started on Gaia, as a resource for the quarter of our membership who are not native English-speakers.
As further examples, among those who often leave Birthday well-wishes and/or welcome comments for new members, are Desafinada, Shar, Tai, Torch, Anima, and InspireAction (and others we apologize for forgetting right now.)
Tai, Torch, and Alluvja are examples of members who consistently “do” much more on a community-wide basis, than their Team "role" suggests. Co-creating and self-governing go beyond roles, tasks, and labels.
In fact, anyone who is an active Group Creator or Group Administrator already is a "community leader." And so is everyone who participates and contributes regularly or substantially to the richness of experiences available here!! We are each and all important to the overall quality and Spirit of the community.
Eventually the concept of "Team members" might dissolve into a collection of roles and responsibilities, as many more of us become active in co-creating this community. Yet, for now, particular people, by their obvious activity and interactions, carry out the various needs and tasks that keep the community running. A “Team” might be defined as a group of like-minded people co-creating a community bringing diverse elements together into a larger social group of caring, active and concerned individuals who are somehow vibrating in alignment with one another toward a shared purpose.
THREE NEW STRUCTURES FOR COMMUNITY CO-CREATION
The intention to co-create this community is manifesting in the morphing of structures.
First: Members who are currently active in roles such as those just described are starting to function in a coordinated communication venue, called the Gaia's Gardeners Group. You can request membership in, or be invited to be a member of it. Only members can post, but the discussions will be transparent to, readable by, everyone in the network.
Members of GG will be those who have committed to particular roles/responsibilities in the co-creating, co-operating of the community.
A second new structure for community co-creation is a new Category of discussions in the Forum section, accessible via the sub-tab under Forum top-tab, labelled Talking with Gaia's Gardeners. This is for those who want to be in dialogue/communication on matters GG is discussing or should discuss.
Third, a fourth open-membership group for community co-creative discussion and decision-making has been added to the three already existing which are focused on Ning Terms of Service, our Finances, and our Interface with Ning. We now have one focused on Internal Affairs, including the various sections of the site, our interface with new members, various community functions such as birthday recognitions, the "decor" of our site, our Help function, etc.
Anyone can join those four groups, which carry responsibility for actually making decisions on those matters for the community.
So, as you can see, our community is in flux. Comments and suggestions about anything are greatly appreciated! Let's discuss this newsletter as usual here in the Forum.
In awe,
OM and Deb
|
