An Introduction to Common Threads

Common Threads will attempt to bring a new experience to Steemit. The title “Common Threads” alludes to both the commonalities we share as part of the human experience as well as the idea of a threaded discussion with a central theme.

Every Common Thread will start with a question and some context. I will answer the question to get the conversation started and then I will encourage you the reader to add your own story to the thread. The hope is that the Thread attracts enough quality responses that it evolves into a very interesting, personal and entertaining read.

Aside from being what I hope is an interesting discussion, I want to do my part to support members of the community who are actively involved and working to make this a better social network. With that in mind, I will be looking in the comments sections for quality contributors that I can highlight in subsequent Common Threads and encourage others to follow.

A few years ago, I realized I was drowning in a stagnant pool of superficial fluff. Social media had either created or exposed a paradox where the more “connected” we became, the more isolated we felt. I wanted more. I wanted to have meaningful conversations, face-to-face with real people. So I motivated myself to start a “Dinner and Discussion” meetup. The idea was simple: find an interesting topic that was widely relevant and discuss it over a good dinner. It turns out that a lot of people were “hungry” for the same thing and the group quickly grew to almost 400 people with 25-30 people showing up at each discussion.

I think what made these discussions so popular was that 1) our attention was focused on a specific relatable topic, and 2) people felt safe to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas without fear of being judged. As a result, not only were the conversations endlessly fascinating, but they fostered deep connections among the participants with many feeling they had better friends through this group than outside of it.

What’s more, was that I loved doing it! I loved facilitating and moderating the discussions and seeing the effect it had on others as they opened up. I always looked forward to our next meetup… our next chance to dive into another interesting topic… our next opportunity to connect with each other… our next chance to explore of the “Common Threads” that unite us.

Fast-forward to a couple of weeks ago when I joined this community. There’s something special about Steemit that makes it really stand out to me. There is a culture here of building others up that seems to be in stark contrast to just about any other social media platform I’ve participated in. I’ve seen so much positivity, humility and sincere desire to help others and that gives me hope for humanity…

Yet, as positive and good-natured as this community is, I feel there’s this unspoken distance between us… I feel like there’s a lot of “sharing” but not a lot of “connecting”… Not that I think that it’s necessarily a problem—a lot of people probably prefer that distance. I just think that there could be something more for those who are looking for it and I’m hopeful that Common Threads can take us, at least partially, in that direction.

My hope with the Common Thread series is that is not only interesting to read, but that it’s something that you can genuinely get excited about—and something that you really want to participate in. I hope people will be excited to check in regularly on their favorite threads to see which stories people have added.

If you read Common Threads for my comments alone, then I’m afraid you’re missing the point. It’s not about me. Sure, I’d like to think that some of my personal stories will resonate with you, but it’s the COMMENTS SECTION that I hope proves to be the most informative, entertaining and engaging. I see my role as simply sparking a conversation that, if we’re all lucky, goes deep inside the comments section.

One of my main goals for Common Threads is to find the people who are actually engaging with, and contributing to, the community—and to then follow and support them. (I would LOVE to have a home page that was filled with high quality original content!) To accomplish this, I will read your stores, look into your contributions to the Steemit community, and I will follow, support and promote those who I think are bringing real value. In addition, each Common Thread will highlight a few authors that I’ve discovered that I believe deserve to have their voices heard by a wider audience.

Some people are really good at this whole blogging thing—but I’m assuming most of us struggle. We WANT to contribute and we believe we have some valuable things to share, but it’s difficult to get started. It’s a real challenge to constantly have to think up new things to share and new stories to tell. With Common Threads, I hope it can be a boost to anyone who needs it. Have writer’s block? Just come to Common Threads and answer one of the questions and you’re suddenly contributing!

Common Threads, like the Steemit community itself, feels a bit like sailing into uncharted waters. It’s exciting and there’s a lot to look forward to… and at the same time, this voyage could fail miserably and sink into the dark abyss of well meaning but long-forgotten Steemit blogs.

But I am optimistic. I think there’s a lot of good that can come from this. So I will enthusiastically keep this ship sailing even if I’m the only one on board. However, I would certainly love some company so if this idea appeals to you then I warmly invite you to join me. Let’s come together and explore the Common Threads that unite us all.