Lisa Notes: 10 tips for making the most of online community

Maybe we’re in our pajamas. Maybe it’s 3 a.m. Maybe we’re not even in town.

But in our new world, these are no longer limitations.

For example, in this little corner we gather any time, from many different countries, to memorize scripture together. We come to encourage or share a photo or ask a question (what does “portent” mean in Psalm 71:7?).

It’s online community. It’s relatively new to us all. And it’s quite an opportunity.

With only a keyboard and screen, we can type out love for God and others from wherever we are to any person with internet connectivity. While online encounters should never replace in-person ones, they are legitimately useful in our modern lives, a positive addition to our global neighborhood.

Here are ten tips to make the most of your online community.

Read them here

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I’m writing at Do Not Depart today for our Created for Community series. Please join me there.

What social media do you use for community?

Have you met online friends in person?

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teresa · 634 weeks ago

Your blog is so beautiful ,,,,,Love the borders and the simplicity of it....and love the tips

1 reply · active 634 weeks ago

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Lisa notes 103p · 634 weeks ago

Thanks, Teresa. I appreciate you stopping by.
My recent post 10 tips for making the most of online community

Debbie · 634 weeks ago

Lisa, I've tried adding comments on your blog and for the last few days I've been unable to do so. I'm going to try again. I thought that post was very good. I love social media but I do believe it's important to be real and I have to say it takes time to visit many blogs and comment thoughtfully. But I find the ones I keep returning to and that includes yours. I've met about a dozen bloggers or maybe even more over the seven years I've been blogging. I've never been disappointed as I felt like I already knew them.

You're exactly right, Debbie. It is important to be real, and that actually takes more time than just casually leaving a generic comment. I have to limit how many blogs I visit, too. I try to go where others might need encouragement, and where I can be encouraged, and I am always encouraged by visiting you because of your focus on the Lord and your sweet disposition!

It's wonderful that you've met so many bloggers in person. I've met a handful and have been SO grateful for each one. Love how God works!
My recent post Love at Table # 12, please

fancyhorse 20p · 634 weeks ago

Thank you for those tips. I should copy them and put them where I'll see them often.____You asked: What social media do you use for community? __I started with a list serve adoption group more than 15 years ago, then moved to a local adoption group and met many of them in person as we organized to open access to birth records for adult adoptees. About 10 years ago I joined Bookcrossing.com which is a book sharing site. There are not very many Christians on the forums there, and anti-Christian sentiment is very strong among many. One thing led to another

Oops, the internet swallowed my comment. I'll try again: There are not very many Christians on the forums there, and anti-Christian sentiment is very strong among many. One thing led to another; I was introduced to LiveJournal through some Bookcrossing friends, and read a blog on Blogspot and decided to make my own. My son introduced me to Flickr when my husband gave me my first digital camera, and I joined Facebook four years ago when my granddaughter began walking and my son (her uncle) told me he had seen it on FB. I had to join, didn't I??? Well, I now find myself spending way too much time on my computer, and will use your tip of setting a timer!

Have you met online friends in person?
Besides the adoption group, I have met a few Bookcrossing friends and Flickr friends in person, and many Facebook friends are people I already knew from family, church, and school.

Thanks for sharing such great information. It's interesting to hear how others have been successful (or not) in social media; we're all still on a learning curve!

I joined Facebook a few years ago when my daughter was begging to join. :-) I felt more comfortable with her being on if I was on, too. But then I fell in love with it myself. ha. Haven't looked back since. I have a friend who has not gotten in Facebook so she doesn't get to see all the sweet pictures of her grandbabies; it seems unfair that I get to see her grandchildren far more than she does.

For a few years I used Shelfari for book sharing, but this year joined Goodreads, which includes a group from my local public library. Haven't really had any interaction with them yet though; maybe still to come.

Blogging has definitely been one of my favorite mediums though. I've enjoyed becoming acquainted with you through our blogs.
My recent post Love at Table # 12, please