Thanks for the reality check, Guys! Alex, the naming advice is MUCH appreciated! Randy, you are totally right; thanks for the reminder! I think properly expressing the "what", "why" and "whom" is something I need to work on.
On Thursday, February 20, 2014 11:00:06 AM UTC-9, Texrat wrote: > > Thanks Alex, and I agree: I don't think Job has much to sweat. > > To answer one of your questions Job: as I noted, many disagreed with me > at first regarding naming, mission, etc. And when it finally dawned on our > evolving Board of Directors that we did need to redefine ourselves as Alex > describes, there were a few who were disgruntled at the development and we > lost some board members. So I misspoke when I said "everyone" realized the > need. > > But here's the thing: don't worry about naysayers, or people who can't > get on board with your vision. They're always going to exist. You have to > lead something you're passionate about, and that passion is infectious. As > long as you're able to clearly sum up WHAT your vision is and WHY it > developed into what it is and WHOM you are seeking to serve, people will > break your doors down to get involved. That's what we're seeing. It also > helps to have interesting projects or goals; people will cheerfully > volunteer their time if you've identified what THEY are passionate about, > and those things fit into your mission. > > Focus on the community members who are drawn to your vision (or at least > want to understand). As for those who don't understand or complain, a > little listening will help you determine who WANTS to understand vs the > usual concern trolls. ;) > > Randy > Tarrant Makers > > > On February 20, 2014 at 1:10 PM Alex Hillman > <[email protected]<javascript:>> > wrote: > > There is also the distinct possibility I am overthinking this. > > > This. :) > > If you had hundreds of people who knew about what you were doing and you > suddenly changed the name, this *might* be a bigger deal. But as you've > said, you don't, so I think you're putting the cart before the horse, big > time. > > Involving the community in the naming is great, though I wouldn't let it > hold you back. > > More general advice around naming: it sounds like you're trying to name > the "thing" you're doing. Coworking, "crank"ing, jelly-ing, etc. > > To riff on Randall's post, which I think is a GREAT illustration, notice > that their new name doesn't describe what they do but *who they are*. It > tells you something about the people and what they care about, rather than > naming a specific effort. > > That's what makes a good name: when it describes *who* you'll find > there. Those people may do a variety of things, from coworking to teaching > to socializing to who the hell knows but the things they have in common > won't change dramatically. > > So: > > 1) Stop worrying about a name change. I assure you that more people won't > notice than will. People are just as concerned about in their lives as you > are about your name...and you can be 100% sure that they care more about > their problems than yours. ;) > > 2) If you're gonna rename, work towards a name that describes the people > instead of what they do. > > -Alex > > > > -- > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > > On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 1:49 PM, Job Sonnentag > <[email protected]<javascript:> > > wrote: > > Glad to hear that, Randy. My hope, other than to get help, was to > highlight an issue others might have or are having to face. Congrats on > your growing community by the way! > > What was the effect when you changed your organizations name? Both within > the group and outside? It sounds like you already had a decent following at > the time you made that decision. > > One of the things I also realized in creating the name on my own, is that > I had potentially missed out on a great opportunity for community > involvement. Had I waited, the community could have helped come up with the > name and as a result felt a stronger connection with it. My only issue with > this is how do I go about that now that I have a name, and one that I feel > is not suitable to continue with? The only viable solution I can think of > for a scenario where the community-to-be helps pick is one where I keep the > current name and wait until said community grows before we change it. > > I just don't want to rename it now, on my own, only to be in this same > situation another 9 months from now. I could do something generic for the > time being - E.g. Alaska Jelly Group - and wait for the community. Though I > feel changing it (generic name) and then changing it again (community > derived name) will have negative side effects. > > There is also the distinct possibility I am overthinking this. But I feel > like it's an issue worth talking about. > > On Wednesday, February 19, 2014 10:19:34 PM UTC-9, Texrat wrote: > > It's an interesting topic to me, Job, especially since it hits home. > > Over a year ago I started to pull together a local maker community in my > area. After many coffee shop meetups, several people settled into a > collection of leaders. At initial meetings that subject of identity came > up, and I had thoughts similar to yours: I felt we needed to build > community first, then start a physical makerspace once we had an > organization established. I also believed our org name should identify the > community first, space(s) second. > > I was outvoted at first and we came to be Fort Worth Makerspace. Over > time, as our purpose evolved more to favor community education powered by > partnerships, everyone realized we wouldn't be just one physical space > ultimately but many. In fact we are working on two now, partnering with a > library and university respectively. And so everyone else changed their > mind to abstract the organization from physical spaces-- our organization > became Tarrant Makers, named after our county to identify our physical > reach. > > So I can understand your dilemma. Your name, brand, identity-- whatever > you call it, it creates an image in the minds of your community, customers, > partners and sponsors. You have to think deep about who and what you are, > what needs you intend to fill going forward, how you wish to be perceived. > It sounds like you already have a good idea which way you're going to go. > Hope my rambling helped. > > Randy > Tarrant Makers > > > On February 20, 2014 at 12:06 AM Job Sonnentag < [email protected]> > wrote: > > About a year ago I decided to start a coworking space here in Alaska. I > figured it needed a name, so that it could grow and be referenced. That > name is CrankSpace. As luck would have it, one of the first things I > realized, was that I actually didn't want to start a space, I wanted to > build a community. And eventually, when our community needed it, we would > find a location to house it. > > So a year has gone by and we have a name which presumes we have the one > thing we actually don't - space - and, I feel, vocalizes a value I don't > see in that one thing. At least not direct value. > > My question is this: Does it matter? I would love for it to be a > community decision, but despite being at it for almost a year, we don't > have much of an active one yet. I feel I'm losing connection with the name > because it promotes values I don't believe in and fear it having a negative > impact. My fear in changing it is loss in recognition, perceived flakiness > or lack of viability. Not sure what to do with this one. > > *TL:DR* - I feel our name doesn't fit our goals anymore. Does it matter? > > Job > > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > Randall (Randy) Arnold > Developer and Enthusiast Advocate > http://texrat.net > +18177396806 > > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] <javascript:>. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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