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Questions - to myself and to the community
On July 15, 2009 in Community building, DailyJ Mission, Future of the J-web, Helping Japan Bloggers, Suggestions Please
Reformulating.
Rethinking.
Lurking.
It seems to me that a sustained and useful Japan-related web community requires soul searching.
I know that for myself, for me to be a useful and long-term contributor, I have to do soul searching. I have to know what really drives and motivates me; what will really sustain my enthusiasm for this activity.
For me it is about Japan and it is about the web. But it is also bigger/more than just Japan and more than just the web.
It is about people, passion, mission.
So I have been rethinking and reformulating in the shadows. It’s not quite time yet; the ideas aren’t solid yet.
But the questions are firm and universal.
Why Japan?
Why are we interested in Japan? What exactly is the nature of our interest in Japan? (ex: living there, want to live there, etc.) How can we satisfy that interest?
Why the web?
Why do we blog? Why do we build websites? Why do we write, podcast, videocast?
and perhaps even…
Why a community?
Why the need to organise? Why the need/desire to connect with others? How does the community benefit the whole?
Please allow me to offer an answer.
Why Japan?
Well, Japan is my home. I will most likely live here for the majority of my life. It is only natural that I am interested in Japan.
Why Blog?
Blogging is a way for me to share my unique experiences living in Japan. It helps to in the respect that I can share my life experiences and see how others react to it. I learn about people all the time though blogging.
Why a community?
Well, building a community help people who also have an interest in Japan to network and connect with each other. New blogs can be more easily discovered. Events and places of interest can be shared. Also, there is the fact that a working community could increase the web interest in Japan as a whole. That turns into more hits for blogs and maybe more money for a few folks. Yet, it all depends on how a community would be used. It has got to be something real, not a see though ploy to increase hits for profit.
Hi freedomwv,
sorry for my very late reply to your comment. I think your comment is just perfect.
It touches on many of the thoughts I have had recently about the community and things I will be talking about hopefully very soon.
And I doubt that I have heard a better explanation of “why a j-web community” than yours.
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