How to Build Community.

Currently, I am living in the middle of the bible belt in Southern California. There isn’t really any place to go to meet people – as alternative/counterculture doesn’t really exist out here. I’ve been trying to change that. I’ve been working on organizing a handful of groups to find like-minded people. I started a veggie group, a queer group, and am also working on trying to form a chapter of Amnesty International.

How do you organize without having a central place to organize? The answer is the internet. The internet is a great tool for connecting with people. One of my favorite websites to network is meetup.com. I’ve had mix results with meetup.com – I’ve had some groups that no one showed up and had other groups that people did. I think my biggest problem was trying to organize in New York City. There is so much going on there, that it’s hard to connect. I’ve had more success out here just because there isn’t anything else around.

Another way to connect with people on the internet is forums. Forums are a great way to find people who share a common interest with you. I go to a couple of forums and have made some great internet pals. Some I am hoping to meet in person eventually.

I had a meetup on Saturday for the LGBT group and about five people came. It was a good first meeting. Everyone was a little nervous. Or at least I was, I was shaking a little bit. I am hoping the people will come to another meeting so we can get a core group going. It was nice to meet some other queers!

I am trying to get active again after a few months of inactivity. I still have no idea where to move to that would be a place I’d like. So, for now, I’ll try to make the best out of what I go. We’ll see what happens.