Man, stay off the page for a day and look what happens! So heres the deal and I PROMISE this will be the last time I write an essay - Im as sick of writing them as Im sure you are of reading them. I created this page and this organization so that we could leverage the ability of social media to create a community in a way that had never been done before and because of you, the incredible people of Liberty Village...it worked! We are now the largest Residents Association in the city (in only 2 1/2 years). This is a stunning accomplishment and its because people want to interact. We all live a semi-communal lifestyle already because we have condos - we share elevators, lobbies, pools, gyms, sidewalks and parks far more than most people and we all benefit when we know each other. It keeps our community safe, vibrant, engaging and valuable from both a quality of life perspective and an investment perspective. That being said, tools like Facebook can be a double edged sword and what weve witnessed over the past couple of weeks in several different posts were that other edge...and its sharp and can be hurtful and can do real damage. Real damage not only to the people on the receiving end of trolling, name calling and threats (and I apologize that this has happened), but as you can see, real damage to the community itself because people will stop engaging, stop joining, stop participating and then start talking about what a bad group this is...then what a bad condo such and such is...then what a bad community. This is not the goal here and so much good that has been done - as I mentioned in my other post about the shooting - can be undone in an instant if we dont think before we post. Word of mouth moves faster than you can imagine and the great leaps and bounds weve made in the past 4 months can come to a screeching halt unless we stand up for the value of this page, this group and this community. 99% of the posts on this page are of value to someone and the VAST majority are super useful and sometimes even downright hilarious (last weeks thunder net line absolutely had me in tears)...BUT this group page is not a forum to just go off on. Its not a forum to belittle people, harass neighbours or bully. If someone says something that is genuinely offensive, fine, engage and have a meaningful discussion about it, but if you just think theyre unduly complaining, then ignore it...just like you do the posts that dont involve a certain activity that you dont like. Part of the beauty of Facebook is its potential for chaos. One of the reasons the LVRA loves using FB vs setting up a more traditional webpage is because on a webpage you can choose your content and that means you dont hear about the stuff you might be interested in but dont yet know youre interested in. Its too curated. On this page, its a bit of the Wild Wild West...and its kinda cool that way. So please, read the rules that describe what is allowed and not allowed on this page, respect them and your neighbours, stop using vulgarities and remember to try to engage in a positive way. We have never removed a person from this page and I hope, with some reflection, we can keep it that way as a diverse set of respectful opinions makes for a richer community. Todd PS BACK TO THE FUTURE WINS!!!!!!!!!! Movie Night in 2 weeks!!!
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 14:31:51 +0000
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