Community with Rosie Sherry
Here are the show notes based on the transcript:
Show Notes: Building Community with Rosie Sherry
In this episode, Nola Simon interviews Rosie Sherry, a community expert and founder of Ministry of Testing and Rosieland.
Key Topics:
- Rosie's journey into community building, starting with local tech meetups in Brighton
- The growth of Ministry of Testing from a small project to a global community
- Challenges and opportunities in running in-person conferences post-pandemic
- Creating inclusive spaces for introverts and neurodivergent individuals at events
- The impact of AI on online communities and content moderation
- Building custom community platforms vs. relying on social media
- The importance of focusing on community transformation rather than just conversations
- Addressing the global loneliness epidemic through intentional, small-scale connections
- The benefits of homeschooling and building local support networks
Highlights:
- Ministry of Testing's approach to conferences, including the unique "99-second talks" feature
- The 80/20 rule of community: 20% conversations, 80% other valuable activities
- Creating custom-built community platforms to own data and foster genuine connections
- The challenges of quantifying community ROI and the importance of organic growth
- Rosie's perspective on work-from-home policies and the potential discrimination in forced return-to-office mandates
Notable Quotes:
"Why should all the social networks have all the fun?" - Rosie Sherry on building custom community platforms
"We have to find ways to properly connect one-to-one with people and have conversations and not rely on this spamming of groups or thinking like, you know, getting the attention or getting the virality is going to all of a sudden help our loneliness. It doesn't." - Rosie Sherry on addressing loneliness
Resources Mentioned:
- Ministry of Testing (website)
- Rosieland (website)
- TestBash conference
Rosie Sherry - Ministry of Testing | LinkedIn
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Nola Simon: Thank you
so much for joining me.
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I'm Nola Simon.
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I'm the host of Highway
Remote Center of Excellence.
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Say that three times fast.
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Today we have a guest from the UK.
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Where exactly are you from, Rosie?
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Rosie Sherry: I'm in Brighton
in the UK, the south coast.
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Nola Simon: Ah, I'm
familiar with the beaches.
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I haven't been there,
but I've heard of them.
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Anyways, our guest is Rosie Sherry, and
she is an expert in all things community.
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She started ministry and
testing, what, back in 2007?
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And so that has grown to its
community of thousands of users, and
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it brings in millions of dollars.
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And in addition, she also runs another
community called Rosyland, which is
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dedicated to all things community.
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So Rosie, when I was exploring
communities, and I keep continuing
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to explore communities because
I haven't figured it out myself.
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She was the expert that
I came across online.
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Literally, I think it was
more Twitter initially.
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And then more linked in now.
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But she has a way of explaining
community that nobody else does, I find.
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And I found her approach really relatable.
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You started ministry testing because
you had 2 kids at home and it was a way
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that you could start a business, right?
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Did I get that correct?
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
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Nola Simon: And it's grown since then.
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And recently you had to step back.
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You had initially headed it
off to a CEO and then recently
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you stepped back in as CEO.
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Is that correct?
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
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Nola Simon: So could you tell
us more about your journey with
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community and where that started?
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah, so I guess I've
been in tech since around 2000 the year
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2000, which is a bit scary to, to say
I started off as a software tester.
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I got like my first job as a software
tester, hence ministry testing that
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came along probably seven years later.
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But as I was working in tech I started
going to local meetups in Brighton it
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was quite an active geeky type scene and
I was just inspired about all the things
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that were happening, and I stumbled
across the idea of community, and I
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enjoyed the local community aspect and
as the web was grown, it was like web 2.
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0 era.
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For me there was like a lot of kind
of excitement around all of that.
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And yeah, mostly once I discovered
the idea of community, I could,
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I was like, that became my thing.
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I just couldn't forget.
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What community, the idea of community
to me, it just stuck with me and I've
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never been able to let it go since.
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So since I've discovered that and like
community has always been like how I start
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things and, or how I think about things.
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And I started a local meetup.
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It was a woman in tech.
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It was a meetup.
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called Brighton Girl Geek Dinners and
that was like my first step into like
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actually doing community things and that
kind of opened my eyes to how special
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community can be and like I ran it for
probably a couple of years, and it was
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like, always fully booked out, and I met
loads of people and, still in contact
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with many of them even like 20 years
on, and it's that was I guess as a
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introverted style person that I am, that
was like a real kind of eye opener for me.
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Yeah, after that I was looking for
an excuse to apply community to the
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ideas I had or the work I wanted to do.
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And at that time as well, there
were like no community jobs really.
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It just wasn't, I think.
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Nola Simon: Yeah, it was
like a job that came later.
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This is the type of job that,
when you were a kid, you didn't
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imagine it could be a real job.
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
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I remember seeing like job
ads at the time, like for
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Yelp and community managers.
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So there were a few startups that kind
of had started to adopt that role,
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that me and Brighton, those jobs in San
Francisco was like never going to happen.
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Nola Simon: I know how that feels.
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I'm from Canada.
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Nothing ever interesting
ever happens in Canada.
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah, so I just was
always looking for opportunities
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to do my own community thing.
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I ran a co working space for a while and
then I also decided to start ministry
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of testing because I felt like there
could, there should be a better community
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for software testers, which at the
time there wasn't really much at all.
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Nothing that I really approved of.
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So I used it as an excuse
just to start something.
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I had no real idea that it would turn
into something, but it was just something
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I wanted to try, play with, see where
it goes and yeah, I guess that's what,
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partly what I'm, I've discovered that
I'm good at is just I just do stuff
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and then figure stuff out and either
suffer the consequences or suffer with
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the success along the way as well.
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Nola Simon: Yeah, no,
that's very interesting.
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So in terms of administrative
testing that's the part of your
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work that I actually don't relate
to at all because I don't have that
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kind of software background at all.
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So what's the purpose of community?
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It's to share expertise and you
offer courses as well, right?
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah, so I would call
it like a community of practice.
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So it's essentially for software testing
professionals or quality assurance
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engineers, they go by a few names.
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And it's a space to gather and to
hopefully learn more and advance.
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People's careers and we do conferences.
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So at the moment we do one
conference a year in Brighton.
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Nola Simon: Yes, you just
did that though right?
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Yeah, because I've seen things online
people really complimenting, you know
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how engaging it was and just appreciating
the, like the in person touch.
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So that's an interesting aspect Of
community, because we got away from
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it, obviously, during the pandemic.
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So are people really
excited about in person?
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Do you think that's.
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And aspect of community
that's going to develop.
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Rosie Sherry: I think so.
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And I think so pre pandemic we, it was
a bit crazy to be honest, but we had
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as ministry of testing grew we had nine
conferences across the world in the, in
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2019 which feels like really crazy now.
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But post pandemic we've gone back down
to just one conference and the idea
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at the moment is just to have that one
conference a year and put much more
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effort into it and hopefully make it
bigger than what it's been before.
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Is there an appetite for it, like 100%?
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It's like people, yeah,
I think people need it.
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I don't think they're realising how
much they need it until they show up.
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And it's once they show up that they're
like, ah, this is exactly what I needed,
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this is like the break I needed from work,
or this is just like reconnecting with
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people, or getting to meet people in real
life that they've connected with online.
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And yeah, I think we've
just forgotten that.
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And, partly, a big part of that is the
pandemic, but when people go, they,
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they don't regret going in my opinion,
especially this past conference, which
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I think we've leveled up the experience
and got amazing feedback from it.
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And it was a product manager who attended
And she shared on LinkedIn, I can't
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remember her name off the top of my head,
but she was sharing on LinkedIn how, just
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like, how amazing it felt and how jealous
of FOMO she had that software testers had
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this space to gather and she didn't feel
like The product managers had that same
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kind of space with that community feel.
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Where everyone's literally
supporting each other.
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And the speakers have
grown up in the community.
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Nola Simon: Oh, so you bring in
people who are actually members of
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the community to actually speak.
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Rosie Sherry: That's cool.
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Yeah, like, all our effort is like,
all our kind of I guess you, you
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call it marketing effort, but all our
effort is focused on the community and
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uplifting the community and trying to
get them to publish their first article.
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Or do their first talk or, speak
at a conference or, all our
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effort is like community first.
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It's the people in the community.
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We don't go outside
seeking other speakers.
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Don't do keynote talks.
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We've never done keynote talks.
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For example, it was just like every
talk is a talk from the community.
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So you're really focusing on the
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Nola Simon: relationships that build
within the community themselves.
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
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And it really makes a difference
because people know these people and
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they can identify with them, right?
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And they can see, oh, I know that person.
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I've spoken to him or we've been in touch.
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He's never spoken and
now he's up on stage.
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And the vibe that gives as well is
that you have like people like cheering
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them on, or if they're struggling,
you can really see that the crowd
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is like supporting them rather
than criticizing them, for example.
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So the online
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Nola Simon: connection is
really fueling the in person.
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
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So I guess like some conferences
happen once a year for us.
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The conference is just
part of the community.
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So really we're like
planning all year round.
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We, we publish content all year round
and all year round, we're looking for new
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speakers and those sparks was, connections
that, or, information or trends that
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might be of value to the community.
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And we're trying to get better at
spotting it and then bringing it to the
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conference as like the icing on the cake,
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Nola Simon: so you mentioned
before we started recording
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that you're a deep introvert.
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So how does an introvert
plan a conference?
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Because I would assume that a
lot of people in that type of
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profession tend to be introverts.
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I could be completely wrong
there, but that's my perception.
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So how does a conference for introverts
in person differ from the standard
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conference that's planned by extroverts?
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah, I say introverted
these days I'd probably use
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neurodivergent, being neurodiverse.
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But, whatever it is, it's people
struggle in, In real life situations
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and say, how do you make it
feel more comfortable for them.
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And part of it again is going back
to community and feeling welcomed
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and supported and things like that.
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And another part is creating a variety
of activities or meetups or events
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that are happening so that, hopefully
there's something for everybody.
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But like a big part of it.
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I feel, sometimes I feel like I harp
on a lot about community, but it's so
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many of the people arrive and they're
like really nervous and but like the
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moment they step in, they're welcomed
by the community or there's there's
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this culture of everyone's checking
in on other people or people standing
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alone, and they might go up to them
and say hello or just checking on them.
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Nola Simon: I saw you write on
thread something about that.
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Somebody had mentioned the fact
that they were nervous that a
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community just standing around, or
they were at a conference and they
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were just standing around and just
having that awkward conversation.
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It was like the worst experience ever.
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And you're like, just.
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Being generous enough to go up to somebody
and say hi, that's the most generous thing
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that you could do to, for somebody at a
group, if you see them standing alone.
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah, and it's part of
the culture so it's like everyone is
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literally doing it because they experience
it and they see How great it can feel
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and how it brings that belonging.
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And it just like naturally
ends up extending.
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And it's not just oh, let's,
this is what we want to see.
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It's that's happened over the years.
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And like when, we try to communicate it.
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And then run up to it, we have the
host on stage who also communicates it.
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So it's like we're trying to really embed
this culture of we're all here to support
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each other, and we're all actually quite
friendly, or we're all struggling a bit.
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And, it's just yeah, for whatever
reason, it's just it's become
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a big part of what Ministry of
Testing and Test Bash is all about.
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And it's pretty, pretty amazing to
see that, to be honest, because I
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do go to other conferences and no
one ever comes up to me, other tech
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conferences and it's just sometimes I
just like wonder why am I even here?
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So it's yeah, I guess there's the,
there's a Pac Man model as well, which
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is one way they talk about it, so
it's it's like when you're having a
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conversation with other people, they
always leave a gap like Pac Man's mouth.
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So that others can come in, stand
in and listen, and maybe join in.
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So people have naturally
started doing that as well, as
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trying to welcome people in.
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Nola Simon: You want to leave windows
and doors open so that people can feel,
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see entrances into the conversation.
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I've been part of groups like that
before and it's you have no idea when
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these guys are going to stop talking.
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It's hey, I don't know how to do this.
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Yeah, I one of my first employee resource
group meetings that I ever went to, I,
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I remember walking in and I'd never done
one of those and it was a whole bunch of
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executives and I just, I didn't know who
to talk to, even though I'd worked for
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the company for over probably 15 years at
that point, the majority of people from
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my division weren't usually the ones who
attended those types of events, right?
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And I went in and I, I
didn't know what to do.
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So I went to my table.
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Because we were assigned tables and I just
sat thinking that, once dinner started,
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at least that way, it would be natural.
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I'd have somebody on either side of me.
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At least conversation would start
to float the table and I just.
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sat there by myself.
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And this woman that I used to actually
work for, she was my skip level.
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So my boss's boss, she saw me at the
table and she came over and gave me this
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big hug and introduced me to people.
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And then people started
rising at the table.
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So she started introducing me
to people around the table.
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And honestly, without her breaking
that ice, I was just, I was so
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grateful that it's like, Oh, okay.
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Now that I've been
introduced, I feel better.
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And she just made me feel
like I had a place there.
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
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Nola Simon: I can relate.
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I can relate.
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Rosie Sherry: We've also done things
like for quite a few years now,
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we do lean coffee in the morning.
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So there's like a few tables set aside.
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And lean coffee is basically like
people writing down in post it notes
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things that they want to talk about.
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And then people float on them around the
table and they just start talking about
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those things that they've written down.
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So it's like a small group thing.
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And so things like that really help to
give people, another option of meeting
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people and having conversations with
people, perhaps without the small
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talk, because a lot of people struggle.
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Nola Simon: So do you run
that around the world?
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So not just in Brighton, but because
your community is global, right?
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Do you have the
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Rosie Sherry: community is global?
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Yeah, the conference is just
in Brighton at the moment.
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But we do have localized meetups, like
kind of community volunteer led as well.
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I think it's about 40
of them at the moment.
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It was like 100 pre
pandemic, but obviously.
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Pandemic does that.
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Yeah, we do a lot of stuff online.
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We do monthly virtual events as well.
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Again, people who speak on those
all come from the community.
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So literally our source of voices
is 100 percent from the community.
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Nola Simon: Very cool.
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And one thing I like about the
way you position your work,
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especially for Rosalind is you
are the source for all community.
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You research so you do all the research
so that other people don't have to.
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So I think that's genius.
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What trends are you seeing right
now that you think are either
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helpful or hindering community?
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah, I guess
like AI is an obvious one.
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I think it's
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probably hindering more at the moment.
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Nola Simon: Yeah, I saw
a post you wrote on that.
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Rosie Sherry: It's a nightmare like
with content and if you have a community
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where anyone can submit content or
write something, a lot of communities
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are really like struggling with how
to deal with that because it's just so
285
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much, I guess I would call it AI spam.
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It's we had spam before, but now it's
100x like what we, what used to exist.
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And.
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It's, 100x harder to spot it or
to figure out how to deal with it.
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So are
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Nola Simon: people like using it
to post and comment or like both?
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Yeah.
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Really?
293
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
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So
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Nola Simon: what's the point of Using AI
to comment, because, personally for me,
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comments are how I express my opinion, how
I express my value, to share expertise.
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To filter that through AI, I don't
know that I would get value from
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that, for me personally, right?
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What's the point of even commenting?
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I don't get it.
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Rosie Sherry: I don't know.
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There's tools now that will auto
Also create comments for you,
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like on social, isn't there?
304
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So it's so you can leave so many
comments and they look genuine,
305
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but they're not really genuine.
306
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Or they read the posts that you're
commenting on to try to sound authentic.
307
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And it's just yeah, I just don't get it.
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It was like, what's the point?
309
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And, places like product
don't have a lot of AI spam.
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People always trying to play
the game, always trying to,
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ends up becoming not really bad.
312
00:17:43,306 --> 00:17:46,796
community it ends up becoming about
trying to get as many upvotes so that
313
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then that might somehow turn into
click throughs or more sales or more
314
00:17:52,566 --> 00:17:58,576
awareness of the product Right and like
sometimes comments can influence the
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algorithm Whether that's true or not,
that's, generally like what they say is
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00:18:02,941 --> 00:18:07,741
that the more comments, the more chance
it has of being featured and stuff.
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So people will play the game and
they'll use AI to support that.
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Yeah.
319
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And it's just Yes, it's just not great
and I did work at Indie Hackers I
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led the community there for a couple
of years and that was pre AI hype
321
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but like they suffered a ton from
spam in general And I saw as AI was
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becoming popular as like a lot of the
comments on the posts were AI generated
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And it's hard to deal with, right?
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It's just as a community person, you
don't want to have to deal with that.
325
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But and, yeah, it causes extra work
for anyone who's trying to run it.
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Probably work that they don't want to do.
327
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Nola Simon: How are you managing that?
328
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Are you deleting posts
that are obvious AI?
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I
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Rosie Sherry: don't
actually have that problem.
331
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It's just
332
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Nola Simon: it's a
333
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Rosie Sherry: problem like we see.
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Yeah.
335
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Okay.
336
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So we get minimal spam at
Ministry of Testing, but there
337
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is some, but not a huge amount.
338
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Nola Simon: Do you think that's
actually because of the connection?
339
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
340
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Nola Simon: Cool.
341
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I love that.
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Rosie Sherry: And because we don't
go out trying to create fake games.
343
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We don't go out trying to create fake
hype or there's no real motivation
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for people or reward for people who
do come in and comment on stuff.
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We use a discourse as a forum and they're
quite good at like auto fragging like
346
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suspicious behavior Okay, we make we
get that maybe a couple times a week.
347
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It's no big deal to manage right?
348
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and A lot of that is because
we don't really focus on
349
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that kind of external growth.
350
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We're not like stressed out about trying
to get new people in and participate in.
351
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It's just the forum is just like
one part of our community strategy.
352
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It's not the community.
353
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It's I call it like the 80 20 rule
of conversations and community.
354
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A lot of people think of
community as community.
355
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It's all about the conversation.
356
00:20:10,195 --> 00:20:13,095
It's let's talk and have
fun and blah, blah, blah.
357
00:20:13,275 --> 00:20:18,515
But actually, constant conversation
is like really tiring and exhausting
358
00:20:18,515 --> 00:20:19,825
and people don't have time for that.
359
00:20:19,855 --> 00:20:25,625
Idea of the 80 20 rule is 20 percent
of community should be conversations.
360
00:20:25,665 --> 00:20:28,715
And then the other 80% Is other stuff.
361
00:20:28,835 --> 00:20:33,655
So like our forum is maybe 20 percent
of our efforts and the other 80 percent
362
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are articles we publish, the conference
we run, courses we produce, there's
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a whole list of other things that we
do that counts up for the other 80%.
364
00:20:44,055 --> 00:20:46,485
Nola Simon: So there's actually
action in addition to conversation.
365
00:20:46,485 --> 00:20:46,995
Yeah.
366
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Action.
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And that, that, that combination,
like people often join community
368
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because they're looking for not just
support, but they're actually looking
369
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for transformation of some sort.
370
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Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
371
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Nola Simon: So if you're helping
people achieve goals that they
372
00:21:01,985 --> 00:21:08,525
have personally and professionally,
then that's, is that the key to,
373
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to really having community stick?
374
00:21:10,015 --> 00:21:10,455
Do you think?
375
00:21:11,915 --> 00:21:12,725
Rosie Sherry: I think so.
376
00:21:13,235 --> 00:21:14,105
I really do.
377
00:21:14,135 --> 00:21:16,075
And it's definitely easier
said than done, right?
378
00:21:16,085 --> 00:21:20,295
But at Ministry of Testing the goal
is perhaps they want to stay on top of
379
00:21:20,295 --> 00:21:24,335
trends that are happening, so that's
something we're giving more focus on,
380
00:21:25,015 --> 00:21:28,985
and making it easier for the community
to learn about trends that are happening.
381
00:21:29,475 --> 00:21:34,045
But another thing is, a lot of people
have a goal of being a speaker, right?
382
00:21:34,215 --> 00:21:35,735
Getting up on that stage.
383
00:21:36,155 --> 00:21:39,845
So we then design things
in to enable that.
384
00:21:40,340 --> 00:21:45,410
Whether it's a simple encouragement
of submitting to speak, that's
385
00:21:45,410 --> 00:21:47,150
always like a good first step, right?
386
00:21:47,470 --> 00:21:52,270
But then another thing is like a
test bash, which is our conference.
387
00:21:52,270 --> 00:21:57,370
We've done it since our second ever
conference, but I came up with this idea
388
00:21:57,370 --> 00:22:01,250
that wouldn't it be great if anybody
had the opportunity just to get up on
389
00:22:01,250 --> 00:22:03,010
stage just to get a little bit of tape.
390
00:22:05,130 --> 00:22:08,120
So I came up with the idea
of doing 99 second talks at
391
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:09,670
the end of a conference day.
392
00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,690
So anyone can stand in the queue,
get up on stage, talk about
393
00:22:13,770 --> 00:22:16,420
absolutely anything for 99 seconds.
394
00:22:16,770 --> 00:22:22,350
We have a buzzer, we set the timer,
they go, they talk, we buzz them
395
00:22:22,350 --> 00:22:25,130
if they go over the limit and
then the next person comes on.
396
00:22:25,500 --> 00:22:32,710
Nola Simon: Okay, so you're on stage,
you take the action, you're fighting your
397
00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:37,910
like, imposter syndrome, and you actually
get a sense of achievement, right?
398
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:39,720
And do you get feedback?
399
00:22:39,770 --> 00:22:41,970
Do you get feedback for that speaking or?
400
00:22:42,470 --> 00:22:44,740
Rosie Sherry: You get the feedback
from the audience, and it's amazing,
401
00:22:44,780 --> 00:22:46,390
like everyone's like cheering them on.
402
00:22:46,620 --> 00:22:47,010
Okay.
403
00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:52,970
So there's that aspect, we record all the
talks, then it goes on to our website.
404
00:22:53,055 --> 00:22:57,015
So they can show it to other people.
405
00:22:57,285 --> 00:22:59,895
They have proof of their contribution.
406
00:23:00,445 --> 00:23:04,645
And now at the moment, as we're building
our Ministry of Testing further,
407
00:23:04,705 --> 00:23:10,500
and we're going increasingly down
the route of just, Custom building
408
00:23:10,530 --> 00:23:15,840
everything pretty much apart from the
forum and then, they get that talk
409
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,470
on their profile page So now we're
introducing profile pages which becomes
410
00:23:19,530 --> 00:23:25,820
a portfolio and it becomes something
more It gives you know, the sense of
411
00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:27,910
they are contributing to the community
412
00:23:28,250 --> 00:23:28,550
Nola Simon: right
413
00:23:28,590 --> 00:23:32,600
Rosie Sherry: and here's a proof
of it and Not quite like a Facebook
414
00:23:32,830 --> 00:23:36,410
page or LinkedIn page, eventually
one day it'll get there, but right.
415
00:23:36,830 --> 00:23:37,700
So is it externally
416
00:23:38,110 --> 00:23:39,760
Nola Simon: accessible, the profile page?
417
00:23:39,770 --> 00:23:40,210
Yeah.
418
00:23:40,210 --> 00:23:42,350
Oh, that's cool.
419
00:23:42,730 --> 00:23:45,990
So you can build it out and use it
as like a mini profile or portfolio.
420
00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:47,390
Rosie Sherry: Yeah,
421
00:23:47,490 --> 00:23:49,220
Nola Simon: more active
you are in the community.
422
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:50,530
I like that.
423
00:23:50,550 --> 00:23:51,390
That's really cool.
424
00:23:55,700 --> 00:23:59,130
Rosie Sherry: Sorry, a phrase I said the
other day is like, why should all the
425
00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,040
social networks have all the fun, right?
426
00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:08,170
So I'm trying to bring that in, but into A
community that's ours and it's a community
427
00:24:08,170 --> 00:24:10,960
that's not owned by a big tech company.
428
00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,660
We're just trying to build something
like really special and we've got we've
429
00:24:14,660 --> 00:24:16,670
got photos now we call them memories.
430
00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,390
So now people can post photos.
431
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,840
So our conference that just passed.
432
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,590
We've, started building a collection
of photos that anyone can add.
433
00:24:26,210 --> 00:24:27,860
And people can add memes as well.
434
00:24:27,890 --> 00:24:30,900
So we're building up this, knowledge
base, community knowledge base.
435
00:24:31,340 --> 00:24:35,070
I would call it, and where
everyone can contribute, right?
436
00:24:35,130 --> 00:24:38,690
And these ideas aren't new.
437
00:24:39,010 --> 00:24:41,250
It's there's memes,
there's Instagram, right?
438
00:24:41,250 --> 00:24:47,590
But it's actually Let's do that within our
community, let's own the data, let's not
439
00:24:47,830 --> 00:24:53,430
let the big socials like, be forever in
power, and let's see what we can do for
440
00:24:53,430 --> 00:24:58,050
ourselves and People are loving it, we're
doing it on a really small budget, but
441
00:24:58,100 --> 00:24:58,720
Nola Simon: we're trying.
442
00:24:59,190 --> 00:25:03,300
Yeah, it's amazing how happy GIFs
and memes can make people laugh.
443
00:25:04,980 --> 00:25:05,420
It's still true.
444
00:25:05,990 --> 00:25:06,802
It is still true.
445
00:25:06,802 --> 00:25:10,140
For all the people who try to
tell us that it's not cool Gen
446
00:25:10,140 --> 00:25:12,600
Z it still makes people laugh.
447
00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:12,970
It's very
448
00:25:12,970 --> 00:25:13,290
Rosie Sherry: cool.
449
00:25:13,670 --> 00:25:14,190
Nola Simon: Exactly.
450
00:25:14,460 --> 00:25:15,620
It's very cool, yeah.
451
00:25:15,900 --> 00:25:19,855
It's actually interesting to think
about, The profile page in conjunction
452
00:25:19,855 --> 00:25:22,755
with AI, because one of the most
interesting uses I've come across
453
00:25:22,755 --> 00:25:25,445
with AI when I'm testing AI at all.
454
00:25:26,385 --> 00:25:29,215
And when I say test, I'm just using it.
455
00:25:30,565 --> 00:25:35,235
I literally start with a question of
tell me about an assignment and it pulls
456
00:25:35,265 --> 00:25:40,755
in anything that I've done on LinkedIn
or anything on my website and whatnot.
457
00:25:40,765 --> 00:25:43,935
And if you don't recognize me,
that means that I don't know what
458
00:25:43,955 --> 00:25:46,265
data you're crawling, but it's not.
459
00:25:46,975 --> 00:25:49,875
The data that are like, it's
not the places that I am, right?
460
00:25:49,875 --> 00:25:54,625
So I like perplexity because
perplexity knows really who I am.
461
00:25:54,635 --> 00:25:58,135
So I'm like, okay they pick up my media,
they pick up my podcast, they pick up
462
00:25:58,605 --> 00:26:00,335
LinkedIn, they pick up all of this stuff.
463
00:26:00,395 --> 00:26:05,265
So to have a publicly profile,
like a public profile page that's
464
00:26:05,295 --> 00:26:09,395
indexed by search, that's actually
helping building out yeah.
465
00:26:10,050 --> 00:26:11,080
Personal branding, right?
466
00:26:11,090 --> 00:26:13,750
And that's the interesting
thing about personal branding.
467
00:26:13,750 --> 00:26:16,110
Going forward is it's it's
not just what's on Google.
468
00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:17,520
It's not just what's on LinkedIn.
469
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:21,040
It's not what you put on your resume,
but it's like, what is a I going
470
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:25,140
to know about you and if you're not
a public person and you're not in
471
00:26:25,140 --> 00:26:26,590
media, you don't have a podcast.
472
00:26:27,020 --> 00:26:28,210
What does it know about you?
473
00:26:28,650 --> 00:26:30,370
And so that's interesting.
474
00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:35,200
For software developers who aren't
necessarily public people, how does
475
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:40,780
that publicize them in a way that is
advantageous for the future of work?
476
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:42,160
Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
477
00:26:42,830 --> 00:26:43,760
And that's interesting, right?
478
00:26:43,790 --> 00:26:45,830
I think that's where AI can come.
479
00:26:46,210 --> 00:26:46,700
Yeah.
480
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:51,500
Would be helpful in coming, rather than
AI creating content for people, it's
481
00:26:51,500 --> 00:26:56,440
like actually AI, Making it easy to find
information or data about people, right?
482
00:26:56,490 --> 00:26:56,800
Yeah,
483
00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,970
Nola Simon: that discoverability,
I think, is what's interesting,
484
00:26:59,970 --> 00:27:01,480
and how does it connect dots?
485
00:27:01,490 --> 00:27:04,850
That's what I'm interested
in, is because there's so much
486
00:27:04,850 --> 00:27:06,470
information in the world these days.
487
00:27:06,470 --> 00:27:08,430
It's like, how can you filter it?
488
00:27:08,460 --> 00:27:10,930
And Google search is being
weird lately, personally.
489
00:27:11,350 --> 00:27:13,130
So AI is interesting, too.
490
00:27:13,300 --> 00:27:15,150
But, anyways, that's just an aside.
491
00:27:15,900 --> 00:27:19,835
But I think what you're doing Has a
lot of potential, is what I'm saying.
492
00:27:21,735 --> 00:27:22,725
Rosie Sherry: I'm excited about it.
493
00:27:23,215 --> 00:27:27,035
The first time in a few years, I'm
actually like really excited about
494
00:27:27,095 --> 00:27:28,585
the work that we're doing again.
495
00:27:29,355 --> 00:27:33,295
It felt like there was this lull and
first pandemic and then there's like
496
00:27:33,335 --> 00:27:36,865
community hype and then it feels like
everyone's now forgotten about community.
497
00:27:36,865 --> 00:27:38,265
It's no longer the hype anymore.
498
00:27:38,765 --> 00:27:43,795
And there's this lull in community, but
like the deeper, like I go into trying
499
00:27:43,795 --> 00:27:46,385
to explore how to build community.
500
00:27:46,835 --> 00:27:51,785
Our way, from scratch, custom building
it, going through all the pains
501
00:27:51,785 --> 00:27:53,315
that are involved in that as well.
502
00:27:53,395 --> 00:27:57,405
I just it feels exciting again
to be like, building something.
503
00:27:57,785 --> 00:27:58,085
Yeah.
504
00:27:58,155 --> 00:28:01,645
Yeah, something unique, and
trying to do something different,
505
00:28:02,305 --> 00:28:03,435
trying not to be scared.
506
00:28:04,155 --> 00:28:07,875
With, people saying, oh, you're crazy
for doing that stuff, it'll never work,
507
00:28:08,295 --> 00:28:13,615
social media, whatever platform, they'll
always have the advantage over yourself.
508
00:28:14,115 --> 00:28:15,255
All those things, but it's like.
509
00:28:15,805 --> 00:28:19,045
Yeah, I just feel a bit more
excited partly the Fediverse,
510
00:28:19,085 --> 00:28:20,825
partly like open web stuff.
511
00:28:21,445 --> 00:28:26,385
I think, I have hope that the trend
is changing more towards that.
512
00:28:26,885 --> 00:28:31,515
And I'm definitely seeing a few more tech
people just disregarding the big socials.
513
00:28:31,565 --> 00:28:34,685
Twitter is an obvious one that
people have just left en masse.
514
00:28:36,855 --> 00:28:39,635
To be honest, I think people
feel the same with everything.
515
00:28:39,645 --> 00:28:44,885
Even Thread seems nice, or LinkedIn seems
nice, and they'll play in your favor for a
516
00:28:44,885 --> 00:28:47,475
while, but then they own your data, right?
517
00:28:47,475 --> 00:28:47,865
Yeah.
518
00:28:47,875 --> 00:28:52,605
And they opt you in to the AI
stuff without permission, but you
519
00:28:52,605 --> 00:28:56,905
can uncheck yourself, but people
mostly don't, or they're not aware.
520
00:28:57,675 --> 00:29:00,175
And to me, it's just I don't
want to play that game anymore.
521
00:29:00,555 --> 00:29:02,595
I've just I've decided I've had enough.
522
00:29:02,985 --> 00:29:03,455
Nola Simon: Yeah.
523
00:29:03,855 --> 00:29:05,245
So I'm part of generalist world.
524
00:29:05,245 --> 00:29:07,645
I know you're considering yourself
a generalist and I think you've
525
00:29:07,645 --> 00:29:10,425
consulted with Malik on how to
build that community, right?
526
00:29:10,725 --> 00:29:15,675
So it is the one group that I've been part
of where we've done the in person meetup.
527
00:29:15,685 --> 00:29:18,615
So I actually went to Toronto
what, two weeks ago now?
528
00:29:18,865 --> 00:29:20,745
It took me two and a half hours each way.
529
00:29:22,050 --> 00:29:23,840
Certainly a full time commitment.
530
00:29:24,180 --> 00:29:24,730
But it was fun.
531
00:29:24,740 --> 00:29:26,090
It was neat to find something.
532
00:29:26,090 --> 00:29:28,975
It was actually interesting because
a lot of the people who are actually
533
00:29:28,975 --> 00:29:31,345
there were potential community members.
534
00:29:31,345 --> 00:29:32,785
They weren't actually
part of the community.
535
00:29:32,785 --> 00:29:33,885
So I was like, oh, okay.
536
00:29:33,885 --> 00:29:37,945
So I found myself pitching a
lot of it, what the community
537
00:29:37,945 --> 00:29:39,155
was and what the potential was.
538
00:29:39,495 --> 00:29:41,895
But what was interesting
is he mentioned threads.
539
00:29:41,915 --> 00:29:44,165
I posted I took a picture of just.
540
00:29:44,625 --> 00:29:47,445
Toronto it's really just trying to
prove that I was in Toronto because
541
00:29:47,445 --> 00:29:50,985
I don't go very often right because
I'm north of the city and I took a
542
00:29:50,985 --> 00:29:53,705
picture I had Roy Thompson Hall in
front of it and then Seattle Tower.
543
00:29:53,705 --> 00:29:57,145
It was just those are recognizable
Toronto landmarks, right?
544
00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:03,410
And I post it on threads and I just
put, every time I go to Toronto, I
545
00:30:03,410 --> 00:30:04,900
remember why I don't go to Toronto.
546
00:30:05,110 --> 00:30:07,220
Meaning that the keeming was awful, right?
547
00:30:07,250 --> 00:30:09,170
Traffic was just awful, right?
548
00:30:09,330 --> 00:30:11,780
And oh my God, people just jumped on me.
549
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,310
It, the whole thread went viral, but it
was like for completely the wrong reason
550
00:30:15,310 --> 00:30:18,490
because they're like if you don't want to
come to Toronto, don't come to Toronto.
551
00:30:18,490 --> 00:30:21,460
And it was just like all
of these negative people.
552
00:30:21,460 --> 00:30:23,970
They're like, what's your
problem with Roy Thompson Hall?
553
00:30:23,980 --> 00:30:26,820
And I'm like, I don't have a
problem with Roy Thompson Hall.
554
00:30:26,830 --> 00:30:28,700
It's a beautiful facility.
555
00:30:28,730 --> 00:30:30,190
I've been there once in my life.
556
00:30:30,190 --> 00:30:31,320
I don't care.
557
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:36,670
It's just in the picture because
that's where the CN Tower is, right?
558
00:30:38,070 --> 00:30:39,030
Oh my goodness.
559
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:44,330
So yeah, it was interesting because I
like threads, but I do find that it still
560
00:30:44,330 --> 00:30:49,490
gets that type of like viral negativity
every so often that Twitter has.
561
00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:51,520
It's interesting how it's pages.
562
00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:56,840
Rosie Sherry: I've had a
couple of viral threads.
563
00:30:57,630 --> 00:31:00,340
I didn't get the negativity
though, so that's interesting.
564
00:31:01,460 --> 00:31:02,070
Block and mute.
565
00:31:04,220 --> 00:31:08,910
Yeah, I basically posted about
Twitter, and leaving Twitter,
566
00:31:09,180 --> 00:31:09,840
or something like that.
567
00:31:10,790 --> 00:31:11,280
What was it?
568
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,610
I got kicked out of a group.
569
00:31:16,150 --> 00:31:17,700
On Twitter for some reason.
570
00:31:18,590 --> 00:31:20,110
Yeah, I can't remember what it was
571
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:26,890
or something about Elon Musk
blocking me or no, it was
572
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:29,840
because I had blocked Elon Musk.
573
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:31,160
It wouldn't let me join.
574
00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:38,860
Yeah, it wouldn't let me join their kind
of Twitter moderation group or something.
575
00:31:38,940 --> 00:31:39,390
Oh,
576
00:31:39,390 --> 00:31:41,870
Nola Simon: yeah, because you can be
part of the group if you had actually
577
00:31:41,870 --> 00:31:45,550
blocked Elon Musk and you were like yeah,
I'm blocking him to be able to join.
578
00:31:47,445 --> 00:31:50,355
Rosie Sherry: So I posted a
screenshot of that, and it went viral.
579
00:31:50,465 --> 00:31:51,215
It was quite funny.
580
00:31:51,865 --> 00:31:54,295
But does it add value to
my life in any kind of way?
581
00:31:54,445 --> 00:31:54,715
Is it?
582
00:31:54,715 --> 00:31:55,645
Absolutely not.
583
00:31:56,545 --> 00:31:57,395
Did it bring followers?
584
00:31:57,945 --> 00:31:58,605
Not really.
585
00:32:00,455 --> 00:32:03,875
So it's I think it's I don't know,
I'm getting older, I just don't care
586
00:32:03,875 --> 00:32:05,465
anymore about that kind of stuff.
587
00:32:06,965 --> 00:32:11,505
And to be honest, I've just whilst I
still occasionally post, and I still
588
00:32:11,505 --> 00:32:18,245
will, but There's a term, it's post once,
syndicate everywhere, I think it is.
589
00:32:18,495 --> 00:32:25,405
P O S E so the idea is to like, first post
on your own platform, on your own website.
590
00:32:25,675 --> 00:32:28,065
And then cross post to yeah.
591
00:32:28,615 --> 00:32:31,475
But these days, I just I just
post to either Ministry of
592
00:32:31,475 --> 00:32:33,215
Testing or Rosyland for my stuff.
593
00:32:33,605 --> 00:32:37,805
And I barely bother anymore
with social, I just,
594
00:32:37,905 --> 00:32:38,555
Nola Simon: Yeah, I've
seen you a lot less.
595
00:32:38,555 --> 00:32:43,275
Rosie Sherry: Yeah, I just can't, I
don't have the yeah, I don't know.
596
00:32:43,965 --> 00:32:46,035
Nola Simon: I think there's a
general amount of these, basically.
597
00:32:46,055 --> 00:32:48,875
People are just not enjoying it.
598
00:32:48,885 --> 00:32:50,665
Honestly, I gotta tell
you, I love LinkedIn.
599
00:32:51,075 --> 00:32:52,725
I always did love LinkedIn.
600
00:32:52,745 --> 00:32:54,765
But it's been less fun this year.
601
00:32:54,825 --> 00:32:56,785
Something is in the air.
602
00:32:56,865 --> 00:32:59,545
And I don't exactly,
couldn't tell you what.
603
00:32:59,755 --> 00:33:01,155
And maybe it's the focus on video.
604
00:33:01,155 --> 00:33:02,555
Because I really just don't love video.
605
00:33:05,350 --> 00:33:07,560
Rosie Sherry: You can barely tell
what platform you're on anymore,
606
00:33:07,610 --> 00:33:09,930
it's like sometimes I'm on LinkedIn
and I think I'm on Facebook.
607
00:33:10,750 --> 00:33:10,850
Nola Simon: Oh
608
00:33:10,950 --> 00:33:11,250
Rosie Sherry: yeah.
609
00:33:11,860 --> 00:33:14,980
Nola Simon: And if you scroll the video
feed, like if you have the new video
610
00:33:14,980 --> 00:33:17,700
feed, it's oh my god, these are all
the people that I know from TikTok.
611
00:33:18,150 --> 00:33:23,020
But it's I've never seen those people
on LinkedIn before ever, right?
612
00:33:23,510 --> 00:33:25,540
So it's like, where does that come from?
613
00:33:25,540 --> 00:33:26,910
And it's I don't know.
614
00:33:26,910 --> 00:33:29,170
I just, I don't know that
there's so much value.
615
00:33:29,170 --> 00:33:30,250
You can share it.
616
00:33:30,250 --> 00:33:32,430
Like the videos have to
be like under 60 seconds.
617
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,660
And I tried, or is it 90, 90 seconds?
618
00:33:35,660 --> 00:33:38,620
I tried and I could only get
do two minutes and 20 seconds.
619
00:33:38,620 --> 00:33:41,460
And that is I couldn't cut it down
anymore because I'm like, I'm just,
620
00:33:41,460 --> 00:33:43,220
I'm not sharing anything useful.
621
00:33:43,870 --> 00:33:47,230
So it's I don't care if you don't
like me, but that's how long I need to
622
00:33:47,230 --> 00:33:48,960
be able to actually craft a message.
623
00:33:49,010 --> 00:33:52,830
But honestly, maybe that's
wrong because you do 99 seconds.
624
00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:54,760
You have to get better at speaking.
625
00:33:57,590 --> 00:33:57,840
That's funny.
626
00:33:59,380 --> 00:34:02,470
Rosie Sherry: We'd love to, like
one of the ideas I'd love to do is
627
00:34:02,470 --> 00:34:07,730
actually do really short form videos
on MOT, like Reels, like TikToks.
628
00:34:08,130 --> 00:34:08,470
Yeah.
629
00:34:09,430 --> 00:34:10,560
I think that would be quite fun.
630
00:34:11,170 --> 00:34:11,490
Nola Simon: Yeah.
631
00:34:12,830 --> 00:34:14,020
Rosie Sherry: With us owning the data.
632
00:34:14,570 --> 00:34:14,650
Obviously.
633
00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:15,460
Nola Simon: Yeah.
634
00:34:15,950 --> 00:34:16,880
Rosie Sherry: Not the social platforms.
635
00:34:17,300 --> 00:34:17,740
Nola Simon: Yeah.
636
00:34:18,430 --> 00:34:19,730
I wanted to bring one thing up.
637
00:34:19,780 --> 00:34:22,460
You mentioned that people have
been going away from community
638
00:34:22,460 --> 00:34:23,940
and is starting to come back.
639
00:34:24,240 --> 00:34:27,380
Before we started recording, I
got an email from somebody that I
640
00:34:27,380 --> 00:34:31,600
follow that I like and basically
they were talking about, like, how
641
00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:32,940
to facilitate return to office.
642
00:34:32,940 --> 00:34:37,510
And one of the themes was,
So what's your theory?
643
00:34:37,570 --> 00:34:42,960
I know what my theory is about
immunity as part of an agenda, right?
644
00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:49,410
Rosie Sherry: Yeah, that kind of, it
feels if someone like, All of a sudden
645
00:34:49,410 --> 00:34:51,370
springs the answer is community.
646
00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:53,280
It feels just genuine.
647
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:55,080
It doesn't feel real, right?
648
00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:56,980
It feels like another fad.
649
00:34:57,410 --> 00:35:00,930
It's we're doing back to office
because we want to build community.
650
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:04,590
I think most companies, if they
really wanted to do community, they
651
00:35:04,590 --> 00:35:06,130
would have been doing it anyways.
652
00:35:06,630 --> 00:35:10,470
And maybe if there's a back to office
thing, it's like, Considering the
653
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:14,710
communities or the people's voices in
that is do people really want to go back?
654
00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:19,590
Or are they, have they really listened
to people that about their opinions
655
00:35:19,590 --> 00:35:22,090
or needs about going back to office?
656
00:35:22,695 --> 00:35:25,645
Nola Simon: And that's what I think
about a return to office community.
657
00:35:25,645 --> 00:35:31,215
It's is the topic of whether going back
or not off the table, because if that
658
00:35:31,215 --> 00:35:37,425
conversation isn't a conversation you're
willing to have, then automatically
659
00:35:37,425 --> 00:35:40,210
it's not a genuine community, right?
660
00:35:40,260 --> 00:35:43,020
Because you're limiting
the conversation, right?
661
00:35:44,310 --> 00:35:47,720
Rosie Sherry: So it's also a
very ableist thing to do, right?
662
00:35:48,500 --> 00:35:52,230
It's like dismissing like
the needs of so many people.
663
00:35:52,230 --> 00:35:53,610
And I think honestly, like
664
00:35:55,770 --> 00:35:59,010
a lot of good came from
COVID from that perspective.
665
00:35:59,070 --> 00:36:02,520
I've worked from home for 15 years,
but the fact that like working
666
00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:06,550
from home became normalized,
I think it's amazing for.
667
00:36:07,180 --> 00:36:10,900
For so many people around the world,
new divergent people, mothers,
668
00:36:11,330 --> 00:36:14,860
it's just people with complicated
lives or, parents to care for.
669
00:36:14,980 --> 00:36:17,160
I almost have all of that
in my life at the moment.
670
00:36:18,010 --> 00:36:23,330
I've got my care for, I've got a new
divergency, we homeschool have five kids.
671
00:36:23,750 --> 00:36:27,750
It's there's no way I'd be able to go
into an office, but it's like, can I
672
00:36:27,750 --> 00:36:30,830
still build community in a sense of work?
673
00:36:30,830 --> 00:36:34,770
And what we do is yeah, But it doesn't,
it doesn't mean going into the office
674
00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:38,870
and I, I definitely know with Ministry
of Testing if we force people into
675
00:36:38,890 --> 00:36:43,470
the office, it's like, everyone would
leave, it's not community focused if
676
00:36:43,470 --> 00:36:45,370
you're not taken into consideration.
677
00:36:46,265 --> 00:36:46,935
what people need.
678
00:36:47,485 --> 00:36:54,155
And I know in my circumstance, it wouldn't
be possible because of how people's
679
00:36:54,155 --> 00:36:56,185
lives have now adapted since COVID.
680
00:36:56,185 --> 00:37:00,055
It's there's been too much change to go
back, in my opinion, to and, often, I
681
00:37:00,075 --> 00:37:02,295
think, isn't that illegal to force that?
682
00:37:03,140 --> 00:37:05,780
onto people, isn't that
like discrimination, like
683
00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:08,470
disability, like discrimination?
684
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,090
This is where if you can work from home,
685
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:14,780
Nola Simon: yeah, this is really where
the laws get interesting around the
686
00:37:14,780 --> 00:37:18,640
world, because like the UK is actually
being pretty thoughtful, I think,
687
00:37:18,650 --> 00:37:23,421
because isn't there a a law that where,
All companies have to at least consider
688
00:37:24,221 --> 00:37:29,081
the work from home request and actually
assess it so everyone can believe.
689
00:37:29,081 --> 00:37:33,401
So yeah, I just don't know what that
looks like in practice and whether
690
00:37:33,401 --> 00:37:38,606
it has any and if you're denied what
you're What your rights are basically.
691
00:37:38,606 --> 00:37:44,026
Think that's a whole area of development
that needs to really come into play to
692
00:37:44,026 --> 00:37:45,646
make sure that rights are respected.
693
00:37:45,646 --> 00:37:51,996
But that whole aspect of, does return to
office impact women, people who are older
694
00:37:52,096 --> 00:37:55,666
people who have neurodivergence, like
you mentioned, disabilities, physical
695
00:37:55,666 --> 00:38:01,316
disabilities as well, too, when you see
systems in place that are targeting those
696
00:38:01,346 --> 00:38:04,156
people, because those are the people who
are said that their lives are impacted
697
00:38:04,156 --> 00:38:06,086
negatively by going back to the office.
698
00:38:06,556 --> 00:38:10,736
Then that's a whole system
of oppression, right?
699
00:38:10,746 --> 00:38:16,026
So basically systems are
meant to continue, right?
700
00:38:16,036 --> 00:38:17,966
So they're built to continue.
701
00:38:17,966 --> 00:38:22,096
So my personal take is Return
to Office is an example of
702
00:38:22,406 --> 00:38:24,276
systems of oppression thriving,
703
00:38:26,876 --> 00:38:30,496
and that's a conversation that
not a lot of people are having.
704
00:38:31,036 --> 00:38:32,266
Rosie Sherry: And then
from the community aspect.
705
00:38:33,421 --> 00:38:37,751
I guess what I get annoyed about
and sometimes a bit, I wouldn't say
706
00:38:37,791 --> 00:38:44,191
angry, but protective with community
is, it's like using communities as
707
00:38:44,191 --> 00:38:49,541
an excuse to make Thanks Other things
happen because like when people say
708
00:38:49,541 --> 00:38:52,631
the word community everybody's oh,
yeah, of course, that sounds great.
709
00:38:52,681 --> 00:38:54,001
Oh, we'd love more.
710
00:38:54,001 --> 00:38:56,091
Yeah Oh, yes, let's buy into it.
711
00:38:56,511 --> 00:39:02,681
And like through the whole Pandemic
is that it's like community hype and
712
00:39:02,731 --> 00:39:07,450
Yeah, oh my god, like crypto stuff and
like people going into all this stuff
713
00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:11,650
Crypto's community and I kept pushing
back and saying, it's not community
714
00:39:11,650 --> 00:39:12,740
what the heck are you talking about?
715
00:39:12,970 --> 00:39:16,900
This is not going to work and, but people
kept slapping the name community on it
716
00:39:16,910 --> 00:39:22,030
saying this is community or it's buy it,
buy this token or buy this NFT and you'll
717
00:39:22,100 --> 00:39:27,210
automatically be part of this community
and find belonging and you can make money
718
00:39:27,250 --> 00:39:29,480
and this and that and it's just Yeah.
719
00:39:29,530 --> 00:39:35,170
Doesn't help like what community is
and what we can achieve and people
720
00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:40,020
end up what I feel is like people are
disillusioned by the idea of community
721
00:39:40,020 --> 00:39:41,610
now they're like oh it's just hype.
722
00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,040
Nola Simon: Because the focus isn't
on the members, it's not on that
723
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:45,850
connection, there's an agenda.
724
00:39:46,230 --> 00:39:50,540
Before I actually was restructured in
my work, I had founded like an employee
725
00:39:50,540 --> 00:39:55,080
resource group at my work family
because I knew as soon as people were
726
00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:57,860
forced from home, the people who are
going to be impacted were the people
727
00:39:57,860 --> 00:40:01,650
who had children who had caregiving,
who had never worked from home before
728
00:40:01,650 --> 00:40:04,860
and didn't know how to manage how do
you work when you've got three kids?
729
00:40:05,390 --> 00:40:08,870
I knew that was going to be an
issue because I knew what it
730
00:40:08,870 --> 00:40:10,420
was like to try to manage that.
731
00:40:10,910 --> 00:40:13,400
And I was really disappointed
the other day, they posted that
732
00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:16,050
still community still exists,
even though I'm not there anymore.
733
00:40:16,420 --> 00:40:21,450
And they posted that it was all
about teaching kids about, financial
734
00:40:21,490 --> 00:40:23,420
literacy, but it's okay, that's great.
735
00:40:23,460 --> 00:40:27,440
That's a, it's a valid thing to teach
kids about, but it's that is directly
736
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:29,080
funneling into the products that you sell.
737
00:40:29,420 --> 00:40:32,520
So basically your community
is not necessarily focused
738
00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:34,070
on family and the kids.
739
00:40:34,420 --> 00:40:35,920
Your community is really about.
740
00:40:36,210 --> 00:40:41,970
Building a potential new customers,
and that's really what your focus is.
741
00:40:41,970 --> 00:40:43,470
And I'm like five years later.
742
00:40:44,250 --> 00:40:48,740
You haven't actually learned what
community is about, and the focus is not
743
00:40:48,740 --> 00:40:50,390
on the people that you actually serve.
744
00:40:50,570 --> 00:40:52,010
And I'm like, that's so sad.
745
00:40:52,010 --> 00:40:55,490
It made me so sad, because I'm like,
that is not at all what I envisioned
746
00:40:56,050 --> 00:40:57,710
was the potential for the community.
747
00:40:57,710 --> 00:41:01,570
I visioned it as being a resource
to help people with their lives,
748
00:41:01,570 --> 00:41:01,835
help people with their needs.
749
00:41:02,045 --> 00:41:06,075
People with their work and basically
just be committed to like their
750
00:41:06,075 --> 00:41:11,505
belonging and wellbeing and, make it a
better place to work, not a funnel for
751
00:41:11,505 --> 00:41:13,575
potential new customers when they're 10
752
00:41:16,445 --> 00:41:17,495
. I just, yeah.
753
00:41:18,535 --> 00:41:22,735
It becomes transactional at that point
and it under undermines the trust I think
754
00:41:22,735 --> 00:41:24,595
that you have in the community organizers.
755
00:41:24,595 --> 00:41:24,655
Yeah.
756
00:41:27,335 --> 00:41:30,055
Rosie Sherry: It's also, stuff like
that, it's also a reason why I don't
757
00:41:30,075 --> 00:41:34,315
track our marketing efforts and stuff
like that, it's like, we have systems
758
00:41:34,315 --> 00:41:39,585
in place, we send emails, we do social
stuff, but I don't I tend to keep an
759
00:41:39,585 --> 00:41:44,315
eye on the graphs going upwards and
whether it's trending in a positive way.
760
00:41:44,655 --> 00:41:44,875
Yeah.
761
00:41:44,925 --> 00:41:46,945
But you open rates like crazy.
762
00:41:48,845 --> 00:41:53,055
No, and I don't track like sales that come
in, like when did they first subscribe?
763
00:41:53,135 --> 00:41:56,055
How long does it take them to become
a customer and stuff like that?
764
00:41:56,055 --> 00:41:58,685
It's of course, it's in the ideal
world, it'd be nice if they became
765
00:41:58,685 --> 00:42:03,155
a customer quicker rather than later
it would make our lives a lot easier.
766
00:42:03,195 --> 00:42:06,295
We could probably grow
quicker and stuff like that.
767
00:42:06,335 --> 00:42:09,875
But I've come to the conclusion
that it's just like too much work
768
00:42:09,995 --> 00:42:11,745
to even try to make sense of.
769
00:42:12,245 --> 00:42:16,765
How people make decisions where
purchases come from and actually
770
00:42:16,765 --> 00:42:21,345
often like a lot of our purchases
come from like training budgets.
771
00:42:21,355 --> 00:42:25,515
So there's no actual way to track it
from an individual because it would
772
00:42:25,525 --> 00:42:30,765
be a word of mouth or an internal
conversation that happens with the HR or
773
00:42:30,765 --> 00:42:33,425
training people to get budget sign off.
774
00:42:33,715 --> 00:42:37,365
And then that budget sign off
team would then come to us.
775
00:42:38,025 --> 00:42:42,915
Separately and say, buy something,
but like trying to connect it to the
776
00:42:43,175 --> 00:42:46,335
original source is like impossible.
777
00:42:46,655 --> 00:42:49,935
So like the idea of like tech
being able to track absolutely
778
00:42:49,955 --> 00:42:53,365
everything, I think, like for us,
it's just it's just overkill, right?
779
00:42:53,375 --> 00:42:59,655
You can spend so much time, time and
money, on all these things, or for me
780
00:42:59,665 --> 00:43:02,475
it's just or you can have fun along
the way and just do your best to grow,
781
00:43:03,325 --> 00:43:07,285
do your best to get people to sign
up, and keep your fingers crossed
782
00:43:07,285 --> 00:43:09,035
that people will like what you dO.
783
00:43:10,485 --> 00:43:13,865
Nola Simon: how do you quantify like
word of mouth and that connection
784
00:43:13,975 --> 00:43:18,275
if people are being drawn because of
the community aspect and the support
785
00:43:18,295 --> 00:43:19,795
like all of that kind of stuff.
786
00:43:20,345 --> 00:43:21,555
It's really hard to quantify.
787
00:43:21,565 --> 00:43:24,395
So you're probably even not
going to get great data on the
788
00:43:24,395 --> 00:43:26,295
reality of why people join.
789
00:43:27,045 --> 00:43:28,185
So you're probably wise.
790
00:43:29,225 --> 00:43:31,975
Rosie Sherry: Yeah, and then there's
in the community world, it's oh,
791
00:43:31,975 --> 00:43:34,815
what's a return on investment
on community and stuff, and it's
792
00:43:34,815 --> 00:43:37,015
just I just cannot get involved.
793
00:43:37,635 --> 00:43:38,055
Nola Simon: Yeah.
794
00:43:38,345 --> 00:43:41,695
Rosie Sherry: It's, it just feels like an
impossible task, or, pointless task, and
795
00:43:41,695 --> 00:43:47,025
it's I'd rather spend my time trying to
improve the industry, or trying to find or
796
00:43:47,025 --> 00:43:49,585
create better ways of building community.
797
00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:54,010
Perhaps, that's what I've
ended up being good at.
798
00:43:54,330 --> 00:43:57,200
I guess that's how you people like
yourself like stumble across me
799
00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:01,630
is because I just tried to push
forward with different ideas to
800
00:44:01,660 --> 00:44:03,240
get people to think differently.
801
00:44:03,650 --> 00:44:07,680
Yeah, about community because mostly
because I'm just frustrated like with.
802
00:44:09,255 --> 00:44:11,895
I like your genuineness, your honesty.
803
00:44:12,045 --> 00:44:16,695
Nola Simon: Honestly, that's I feel
that you're a straight talker and
804
00:44:16,695 --> 00:44:22,215
I can trust your expertise and your
advice and you come to things with
805
00:44:23,265 --> 00:44:25,295
what I feel is the right approach.
806
00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:27,150
putting people first.
807
00:44:28,250 --> 00:44:31,250
I do have one last thing that I'd
like to bring up and that's the whole
808
00:44:31,250 --> 00:44:34,510
connection of the world loneliness
epidemic, if you'd like to call it
809
00:44:34,530 --> 00:44:38,070
that and how community can really help.
810
00:44:38,500 --> 00:44:43,790
And it seems like it's a big, vast
topic, but I personally think big,
811
00:44:43,860 --> 00:44:48,078
vast topics are best solved with
Small approaches on a regular basis.
812
00:44:49,288 --> 00:44:50,158
What's your take on that?
813
00:44:50,158 --> 00:44:52,458
Rosie Sherry: Yeah a lot of people
would look at me and I'd say, Oh,
814
00:44:52,458 --> 00:44:56,188
you've got a lot of followers, or
you must be surrounded by people.
815
00:44:56,258 --> 00:44:59,298
But actually day to day, it's a
very small amount of people that I
816
00:44:59,298 --> 00:45:01,598
actually interact with closely, right?
817
00:45:02,098 --> 00:45:05,388
I think there's a lot of people
who, look at others and think, Oh,
818
00:45:05,388 --> 00:45:06,718
they must have it all together.
819
00:45:06,768 --> 00:45:08,308
But, actually we don't.
820
00:45:08,418 --> 00:45:13,978
And more recently I've been going
small and more intentional and I've
821
00:45:13,998 --> 00:45:19,438
picked out a handful of people and
we WhatsApp together and we just have
822
00:45:19,498 --> 00:45:24,448
this like agreement that we're going
to keep in touch whatever way we can.
823
00:45:24,448 --> 00:45:27,318
And sometimes it's just instead of
you could share a photo on Instagram
824
00:45:27,388 --> 00:45:28,728
or I could share it in a WhatsApp.
825
00:45:29,228 --> 00:45:29,558
Yeah.
826
00:45:30,088 --> 00:45:33,978
And the WhatsApp always gets a response
or always gets a conversation going.
827
00:45:34,118 --> 00:45:36,068
And it's always nice to see, right?
828
00:45:36,138 --> 00:45:38,498
But it's not the same in Instagram.
829
00:45:38,998 --> 00:45:39,308
Nola Simon: WhatsApp
830
00:45:39,658 --> 00:45:40,068
Rosie Sherry: doesn't have an
831
00:45:40,068 --> 00:45:40,828
Nola Simon: algorithm, right?
832
00:45:42,128 --> 00:45:45,078
Rosie Sherry: It doesn't
have an algorithm.
833
00:45:45,128 --> 00:45:46,698
It's more personal sometimes.
834
00:45:46,938 --> 00:45:47,148
Yeah.
835
00:45:47,148 --> 00:45:48,088
Depends how you use it.
836
00:45:48,588 --> 00:45:53,348
But I think like startups, especially
what, the tech world, they think they
837
00:45:53,348 --> 00:45:55,728
can solve loneliness through technology.
838
00:45:56,818 --> 00:46:00,228
And whilst I think it contributes
honestly, it's just We have to find
839
00:46:00,228 --> 00:46:06,168
ways to properly connect one to one
with people and have conversations and
840
00:46:06,168 --> 00:46:11,908
not rely on this spamming of groups or
thinking like, getting the attention
841
00:46:11,908 --> 00:46:16,848
or getting the virality is going to
all of a sudden help our loneliness.
842
00:46:16,848 --> 00:46:17,618
It doesn't.
843
00:46:17,658 --> 00:46:18,598
It doesn't help at all.
844
00:46:20,638 --> 00:46:25,008
And I guess if I was making
recommendations to people, I would, I'd
845
00:46:25,008 --> 00:46:29,228
say, think about your local community,
think about the people around you.
846
00:46:29,928 --> 00:46:35,678
Those are really the people, most
of the time, who you can, they will
847
00:46:35,678 --> 00:46:37,008
help you get out of that loneliness.
848
00:46:37,338 --> 00:46:42,883
It's like when you're Unwell when you're
unable to do something and it's the people
849
00:46:42,883 --> 00:46:47,363
around you who are close to you who can
actually give you what you need, if you
850
00:46:47,363 --> 00:46:52,203
need someone to go to the shop for you
and you've got a broken leg, whatever it
851
00:46:52,203 --> 00:46:54,833
Nola Simon: is, it's like local
people can help you, right?
852
00:46:54,883 --> 00:46:55,703
You just need sugar.
853
00:46:55,863 --> 00:46:56,973
Let's go back to the old days.
854
00:46:57,653 --> 00:46:58,923
Ask your neighbor for sugar.
855
00:47:01,473 --> 00:47:02,633
Rosie Sherry: It's so simple, right?
856
00:47:02,673 --> 00:47:04,433
But like people have forgotten it.
857
00:47:04,743 --> 00:47:04,993
Yes.
858
00:47:06,413 --> 00:47:07,873
That's, that's my strategy.
859
00:47:07,963 --> 00:47:11,393
That's my intentional strategy at
the moment is I'm guilty of falling
860
00:47:11,393 --> 00:47:13,663
into that loneliness trap as well.
861
00:47:13,663 --> 00:47:18,573
I'm guilty of just getting overwhelmed
with life and everything around it
862
00:47:18,573 --> 00:47:20,863
and neglecting the people around me.
863
00:47:21,323 --> 00:47:25,453
But especially in the past
couple of years, I've like more
864
00:47:25,453 --> 00:47:29,373
intentionally reached, reaching out
to people, developing friendships.
865
00:47:30,073 --> 00:47:34,533
And, making that extra effort with people
that, I think would make a difference
866
00:47:34,563 --> 00:47:36,723
to my life with my family's life.
867
00:47:38,273 --> 00:47:39,383
Nola Simon: Yeah, no, very nice.
868
00:47:39,423 --> 00:47:39,963
I agree.
869
00:47:40,533 --> 00:47:43,223
Yeah, I've always I was thinking
the other day I've always been a
870
00:47:43,243 --> 00:47:44,703
part of a community family, right?
871
00:47:44,713 --> 00:47:45,413
I grew up.
872
00:47:45,818 --> 00:47:48,648
My parents would get up at five
o'clock leave by six o'clock in the
873
00:47:48,648 --> 00:47:51,138
morning, and they wouldn't get home
until six, seven o'clock at night.
874
00:47:51,598 --> 00:47:55,348
And that's been my entire life
until I started working from home.
875
00:47:56,138 --> 00:48:02,258
And for people to then expect us to
give that up, where you feel that you
876
00:48:02,258 --> 00:48:06,478
can, if you need somebody to walk your
dog, you can just go next door, right?
877
00:48:07,088 --> 00:48:09,138
You've built those connections
with people, right?
878
00:48:09,138 --> 00:48:10,618
Because you have more time.
879
00:48:11,063 --> 00:48:13,403
To invest in the people around you, right?
880
00:48:13,613 --> 00:48:16,223
And to give that up to
go back to commuting.
881
00:48:16,223 --> 00:48:18,533
So you have maybe one
hour a day with my kids.
882
00:48:18,893 --> 00:48:20,783
That's a really big expectation.
883
00:48:20,963 --> 00:48:25,083
And I think that's honestly a big
part of why people are fighting it
884
00:48:25,083 --> 00:48:29,593
is because they've built community
closer to where they live rather than
885
00:48:29,853 --> 00:48:31,983
community where they work in the office.
886
00:48:32,483 --> 00:48:33,093
How do you let that go?
887
00:48:33,093 --> 00:48:33,953
And
888
00:48:34,453 --> 00:48:38,203
Rosie Sherry: some people, they look
at me and say, Oh, you're crazy.
889
00:48:38,733 --> 00:48:39,863
You've got what, five kids?
890
00:48:39,863 --> 00:48:45,033
You've got a business, a couple
of businesses, homeschool as well.
891
00:48:45,043 --> 00:48:46,603
It's Oh my God, that must be so much.
892
00:48:46,603 --> 00:48:50,263
But actually there's certain aspects,
for example, with homeschooling that
893
00:48:50,343 --> 00:48:51,923
actually makes life so much easier.
894
00:48:52,153 --> 00:48:57,483
Not doing the school run every day and
not dealing with, like, all the things
895
00:48:57,483 --> 00:49:01,303
that come with school, all the messages,
all the, you don't have to sit in an
896
00:49:01,303 --> 00:49:04,883
Nola Simon: auditorium and listen to
30 kids play recorders really badly.
897
00:49:04,883 --> 00:49:07,573
Rosie Sherry: Yeah.
898
00:49:08,083 --> 00:49:11,313
But instead the flip side of
that is we end up connecting with
899
00:49:11,343 --> 00:49:14,323
other home editors, and we end
up supporting each other, right?
900
00:49:14,333 --> 00:49:18,898
So we're like, we'll have we say
playdates, but it's also, playdates
901
00:49:18,898 --> 00:49:23,618
aren't playdates themselves, often
they're a way of supporting each other
902
00:49:23,778 --> 00:49:28,598
or, it's let's share car runs, or pick up
times sometimes we find people locally,
903
00:49:28,598 --> 00:49:34,028
and we try to, encourage each other
to, to help each other out, instead of
904
00:49:34,028 --> 00:49:37,118
it's good for the environment as well,
obviously, but it's like trying to be
905
00:49:37,118 --> 00:49:43,188
efficient with each, with our time, but
also appreciate that we need each other.
906
00:49:43,348 --> 00:49:47,078
It's really helpful to have other parents
who can step up and say, Oh, I'll pick up
907
00:49:47,128 --> 00:49:48,718
your kid for you if you're stuck, right?
908
00:49:49,018 --> 00:49:49,268
Yeah.
909
00:49:50,598 --> 00:49:54,748
And but yeah, just Not having
that makes a really lonely world.
910
00:49:54,918 --> 00:49:59,788
So it's like homeschooling is naturally
more community led and it's almost
911
00:49:59,788 --> 00:50:04,218
like it ends up becoming that, I
wouldn't quite say second family, but
912
00:50:04,218 --> 00:50:09,788
it becomes that supportive network
that That we need and we recently
913
00:50:09,788 --> 00:50:15,108
went on a camping trip with some
other home editors and it was amazing.
914
00:50:15,128 --> 00:50:18,108
It was just like, there's a way
to get to know some of the other
915
00:50:18,108 --> 00:50:21,378
parents, but then the kids just were
like, they were off playing all day.
916
00:50:21,378 --> 00:50:23,028
And
917
00:50:23,388 --> 00:50:25,458
Nola Simon: you can schedule that
when the weather's going to be good.
918
00:50:25,458 --> 00:50:28,008
You don't have to schedule
it around actual school time.
919
00:50:28,058 --> 00:50:28,398
So
920
00:50:30,258 --> 00:50:32,158
Rosie Sherry: yeah, literally
we scheduled it during the
921
00:50:32,158 --> 00:50:33,898
week when it's nice and quiet.
922
00:50:34,458 --> 00:50:38,598
Nola Simon: Yeah, you can take advantage
of all of the benefits of that seniors
923
00:50:38,608 --> 00:50:42,718
have and people who who aren't bound
by that school's school schedule.
924
00:50:44,158 --> 00:50:44,678
I like it.
925
00:50:45,208 --> 00:50:45,748
Very cool.
926
00:50:46,358 --> 00:50:46,728
All right.
927
00:50:46,728 --> 00:50:49,698
Was there anything else that you
thought we missed in this discussion
928
00:50:49,698 --> 00:50:50,558
that you want to highlight?
929
00:50:52,658 --> 00:50:53,098
Rosie Sherry: I don't think so.
930
00:50:54,523 --> 00:50:57,703
Nola Simon: We managed to hit the
high points of what we planned.
931
00:50:57,873 --> 00:50:58,653
Oh, that's perfect.
932
00:50:58,943 --> 00:51:02,223
I will make sure that all your
socials are available to people.
933
00:51:02,223 --> 00:51:04,283
Is there anything else
that you want me to add?
934
00:51:05,583 --> 00:51:05,783
Rosie Sherry: No.
935
00:51:06,183 --> 00:51:10,533
Just yeah, I guess websites to me are more
important than socials these days, okay.
936
00:51:12,778 --> 00:51:13,028
Nola Simon: Okay.
937
00:51:13,158 --> 00:51:15,058
Yeah, I will make sure that's in there.
938
00:51:15,658 --> 00:51:15,988
All right.
939
00:51:15,988 --> 00:51:17,038
Thank you so much, Rosie.
940
00:51:17,068 --> 00:51:18,468
I've learned so much from you.
941
00:51:18,878 --> 00:51:20,778
This is a way of me saying thank you.
942
00:51:20,778 --> 00:51:22,938
When you put out that post
going, I want to be a podcast.
943
00:51:22,938 --> 00:51:24,458
I'm like, Hey, you want to do mine?
944
00:51:24,488 --> 00:51:26,428
Because I had you on my list forever.
945
00:51:26,798 --> 00:51:30,298
And then you went back and you
were so busy and I didn't want
946
00:51:30,298 --> 00:51:31,458
to, I didn't want to bother you.
947
00:51:31,458 --> 00:51:34,348
But then I'm like, Oh, if she's
ready for it, then, make this happen.
948
00:51:35,628 --> 00:51:36,478
Thank you for doing it.
949
00:51:37,333 --> 00:51:38,803
All right, let me just hit stop.
950
00:51:40,533 --> 00:51:41,160
There we go.