Before we begin, if you signed up for email alerts and didn’t receive and respond to the confirmation email, it’s more than likely in your junk folder, just as any future emails will be without your immediate intervention. Go fix that now, so you don’t miss anything. We want you to be engaged, as that is the point of this little exercise. Now, let’s get to it.
Welcome! Welcome, you splendid menagerie of misfit toys, miscreants, and ne’er-do-wells. Welcome to the Nuthouse. We are your people, your community, your tribe, so we should get on with getting to know one another. We are the family you choose, not necessarily the one you were born to. Artists, writers, readers, thinkers, poets, sculptors, philosophers, designers, actors, directors, photographers, and various craftspeople. The one thing we all share, and maybe the only thing, is that we’re all a little off the mark, chipped and cracked, bent and bruised, but also unique, special, and passionate about something. It doesn’t really matter what. Joie de vivre.
Outside of intentional behavioral manipulation, community engagement can be difficult to inspire or facilitate. There is no algorithm here, no way to encourage likes and comments. It’s entirely self-assignment, so I encourage you to assign yourselves the task of commenting on posts and engaging with the comments of others. All in the spirit of curiosity, openness, compassion, and humility. No need to be a dick. None of us has a lock on the facts, let alone the truth, so feel free to debate, but try not to hold onto your ideas too tightly. Offer alternatives without resorting to dogma.
Down the road, I might attempt to create a community magazine at my old brand, Ellemeno.us, which I’ve already set up as a placeholder. Let me know if this is something you’d be interested in. In the meantime, enjoy the ride. Leave me a message so I know that people are engaged. It helps keep me going.