Local Leaders, Come Join Us on Discord

Strong Towns Local Conversation leaders are getting together on Discord.

I’ve spent a lot of time this year connecting both individually and in small groups with Strong Towns Local Conversation leaders around the U.S. and Canada. (A Local Conversation is a group of folks in a particular place who come together to talk about how the Strong Towns approach can be used to make their community stronger and more resilient.) We’ve been connecting with these leaders to support and encourage them as they start new groups, nurture existing groups, and take local action with their neighbors.

My favorite way that we’ve been connecting is on Discord. Discord is a social platform where users can communicate using not only text but also voice calls and video calls, one-on-one and in groups large and small. In some ways, Discord reminds me of Slack, and we did actually consider using Slack as our platform for Local Conversation leaders. (After all, there’s already a Strong Towns Slack.) But after consulting with a small cohort of Local Conversation leaders, we decided to go with Discord, and for one major reason: folks who had used both Slack and Discord associate Slack with work, while they associate Discord with fun. Leading a Local Conversation definitely takes work, but it can be—and really must be—fun, if your group is going to be both successful and sustainable.

I’m starting a Local Conversation where I live in Silverton, Oregon. I’ve found Discord to be an invaluable resource as I learn from other organizers, swap stories, and share resources. We talk about what is happening in our cities and the challenges we’re facing. We give advice when we can and there’s always a ton of encouragement. We celebrate with one another, too, as when one leader—Cooper Frost in Charlotte, Michigan—told us he’d won a leadership award. (He pedaled the trophy home on his bike.) Some of us have done virtual happy hour hangouts. And we’re planning a book club for this coming fall. There’s even more to come.

Discord was a new platform for me, as it is for many of our local leaders. We’ve been fortunate to have one leader, Nick Lanata in Zachary, Louisiana, get us up and running. Discord allows you to assign roles to users. We named Nick our “Discord Yoda.” On Monday, Nick and I led an orientation to Discord, to help others take full advantage of the platform.

Ultimately, what makes this Discord work isn’t the tech but the people. Many of us are still getting to know Discord, but it’s the camaraderie and collective experience that makes it such a great place to hang out. If you’re a Local Conversation leader and you haven’t signed up for Discord yet, get in touch with me at john@strongtowns.org. I’ll send you a fresh invite link. And if you’re not a Local Conversation leader yet, go to strongtowns.org/local. There you will be able to see if there’s a Local Conversation near you—and, if there’s not, how to start one where you live!

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