My creativity advent calendar 2024: Day 15.

Creating a digital campfire.

This article doesn’t contain my words or ideas. It’s a straight copy from a LinkedIn post written by Lauren Hug. I met Lauren on Twitter in 2009. We’ve never met face to face but have developed a strong friendship over the years and now talk regularly on Zoom. I’m a huge admirer of her work, which is more important than ever in an increasingly divided world. This advent calendar is in part my attempt to follow Lauren’s advice: “Thoughtfully and purposefully using social media to share our hearts, expertise and unique perspective shifts digital discourse from negativity and strife toward hopeful and productive dialogue about where we go from here.”

About those digital campfires …

“Sometimes just one person will stop by to warm themselves by the fire we’re tending with our own stories, experiences and wisdom. Other times huge crowds will gather. Even when it seems like we’re alone, there are countless people who see the glow of our fire and feel a sense of safety and comfort knowing it’s there … or experience a growing sense of curiosity about what we’re sharing and who else is stopping by.

“When we wander away from our own fire, we pick up bits and pieces from the stories being told and the conversations happening at the fires around us. They become part of our understanding of the world.

“When a particular story, conversation, or crowd resonates with us, we stay there longer. Sometimes we contribute to the conversation. Other times we listen quietly from a distance. When we want to hear more and to remember how to find a fire, we mark it with a “follow.”

“Sometimes we think about something from a fire we didn’t mark when we first encountered it, and we find our way back when the time is right for us.

“What happens to our digital activity when we stop thinking about it in terms of what the networks push and measure for their own profit purposes, and instead equate it with the kinds of activities humans have engaged in for millennia?

“I know it’s frustrating when the algorithms don’t show our stuff to people. But no matter how much the algorithm hides your stuff, SOMEONE who needs to see it will. I guarantee it. That’s one thing that makes posting in digital spaces worth it for me.”

Thank you Lauren. I’ll keep building my fires and warming myself at yours!

Image shows a roaring campfire in the woods against an evening sky.