Changing the World
During BlogOrlando I mentioned to a fellow attendee that I was trying to change the world with the work I do. She looked at me with a half-hidden eye roll.
I really do believe that social media & community development can and does change the world. I’ve seen online communities who were made up of people who’ve never met support each other in times of utter chaos. I’ve seen colleagues rethink the way they treat their customers. I’ve seen long-term relationships start via blog comments.
I’m proud to be part of an industry, a movement that not only honors honesty, goodwill, and paying it forward but demands it. Anything less is completely unacceptable.
For my entire career, I’ve struggled to maintain my wide-eyed optimism and the belief that one person can change the world, can have an impact. I’ve been fortunate that the work I’ve done has allowed me to maintain that belief after more than a decade.
Of course, it’s easy when you join an industry community that counts people like Josh Hallett in its ranks. I could try to explain, but Geoff already did:
But great leaders do more than talk, they act and set an example. Enter Josh Hallett.This weekend one of the most respected, soft-spoken minds in our business did just that. Josh Hallett led several social media greats to Orlando for an unconference at Rollins College. There more than 125-175 blogging and social media types gathered. Knowledge was transferred, friends were made, and relationships were strengthened.
The conversation moved offline into good old-fashioned relationship development. And it happened because a man - who has nothing to prove in the social media realm –wants to give to his community. Sure Josh quips that it’s because he doesn’t want to fly west. But he does that all the time. No, this unconference is labor of love.
[..] It’s obvious that he is a man of the community, both online and offline. Nationally and locally. And it’s really great to see someone carry the social media principles we hold dear to our hearts into his daily life and actions. It’s easy to talk a good game, it’s much harder to play one.
Change the world. You know you want to.
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8 Responses to “Changing the World”
I’ve always loved this quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead:
“Never underestimate the power of a small but committed group of people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Seems to fit nicely with this entry. 
In her defense, had you said the same thing to me I’m pretty sure I would have initially rolled my eyes too. But your ensuing explanation would certainly be enough for me to not only chastise myself for initialing blowing you off, but also inspire me to adopt a more optimistic attitude about the scope of my influence. Keep on changing the world!
Thanks Jake. We need inspirational reminders like these. So easy to lose sight of these things in the midst of our daily travails. Thanks for sharing your passion and vision with us at BlogOrlando.
AMEN, JAKE! I say about the same thing about communities & kids– and I get that amused smile in return. But that never gets me down… why? Because they’re clearly not going to stop me or slow me down– that amused smile means they have NO idea whats coming their way, lol 
Enthusiasm, passion, and determination are the best building blocks of leaders.
Jake, I cannot agree with you more. The world is changing. If I look back at simply the last decade I see amazing change in the way people relate to one another, in the information that’s available to us on a constant basis, and in a genuine desire for people to build relationships regardless of geographic separation. I don’t think we’re just dreamers when people like you or I see the potential in social media. We are seeing a democratizing force on a day-to-day basis that is historically unprecedented, and still in its infancy. Where we are is great, but the best is yet to come.
[...] What’s next is what’s past - I want to change the world. I wrote about this on my blog last week, but I truly believe that we can do so much more to enrich the lives of both ourselves and our [...]
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BlogOrlando Notes…
What a great event. I can’t say enough good things about it. With more than double the attendees from last year, it still managed to work remarkably well as an unconference — in many ways even better than last year’s. Josh Hallett did…