How do you run a community without getting sucked into social media?
We're back after a month of no screens and grappling with this challenge
I took August off. Off work, off screens, off community building on the side.
I recognise this involves ridiculous privilege (I’m skint now if that helps, and worked like a dog beforehand), and traditionally when this has been planned projects have seeped in anyway and I’ve balanced kids / travelling / working in a frenzied mess. Or thought I should still post persistently on Board Women over the summer, lest the community blow up in a cloud of smoke (spoiler: this doesn’t happen).
It was a choice, but it was also necessity because I was next level burnt out before the summer. The smallest niggle was making me blow up, I was perpetually angry, sad, exhausted and I knew I was trying to do too much.
Board Women is almost two years old, but the last year has been a strange one, after breaking my wrist in February, and being unable to do any of the sports that the community had been built around. I felt like a fraud, posting daily to encourage women to take more risks, to do more in midlife, that we’re not done yet; and unable to do any of it myself (and carrying a significant amount of fear about the moment I legitimately could). A question hung over me: would I still want to surf / skate / snowboard after all of this?
Nothing kills your enthusiasm in running a community like being unable to take part in the main activity it’s centred around.
A month off screens does something to you. It’s like a reset for your brain. You can physically feel your body take an exhale. It’s bloody lovely and it’s very, very hard to come back from. I felt anxious about my moment of return, knowing that I’d have to slip back into the emails, the whatsapp groups, the onslaught of pings that punctuate my day. And that’s just my work + family tech life. Board Women has always sat on top of this. A daily ritual of putting my kids to bed, and getting my laptop back out again in the evenings to write content and plan events.
I started work again on September 1st, and when it came to the moment I would traditionally get my laptop out, I just couldn’t do it. I’d mentally decided I’d have a quiet first week back (we’d had a death in the family over the summer and it was traumatic), but the 8th September came, and the feeling was the same. I just couldn’t start again. It was the only part of this daily tech onslaught that I had any control over, and it felt like once I started back, it would be like a runaway train.
But I’m here, we’re starting again, and I’m excited. So what happened? I’ve been through a bit of a journey, and I thought it might be of use to other community founders. So here we go.
(1) I went back to why I started the community
Board Women was borne out of what, in reality, were selfish reasons. I wanted to meet more women my age who did these sports, so that I could do them more. I am, of course, capable of going solo to surf and skate, but meeting up with others hits different, and it keeps you motivated, and joyful. I wanted more of that.
As it progressed, I realised there was a narrative missing that I wanted to fill. Women are capable of so much more in midlife and beyond than we tell ourselves, and board sports are a brilliant way of exploring that issue. This community has always been about more than board sports, and I am at heart a writer. I make sense of the world by getting it down on paper. The world of the podcast was one I fell into, but actually I love it. Having conversations with inspirational women will never get old.
I also saw small groups emerging everywhere bringing women together to try these sports. I felt there was an opportunity to hero the work they are doing, but also make it into something bigger, a global community. This feels more relevant than ever.
Going back to why I started it all has helped me explore the burning question: do I need to do everything I’m doing now, or can I focus in on the bits that bring me joy? Which brings me to my next question..
(2) I knew I wanted to move away from the time suckage of social media, but how?
The need to take a break from social media feels all pervasive, particularly amongst those who run communities (I love the zine approach that @surfyonder have just launched - fittingly named, ‘Patience’ - for example). I’ve been trying to understand why I felt so anxious going back into the social fray.
At its best, platforms like Instagram can work magic. Inspiring content that convinces us we are capable of more; connecting directly with the community (the bit I love most, particularly when people reach out to say they love what we are doing); and finding out about events.
At its worst, it feels performative, getting in the way of the joy I feel when I do these sports. Literally the last thing I do when I manage to carve out some hallowed time to do something like skate is to spend part of that time creating a reel. I watch brilliant creators do this daily, and build the volume of their audience at a pace unrecognisable to my own, and I know my account would grow faster if I filmed myself more. But, and this is the sticking point, I really, really like the real world, getting outside, seeing people, and I don’t want my screen to get in the way of that. Call me old school.
So, what’s the solution? I’m focusing on doing more in real life, or when online, forging genuine connections, without worrying as much about frequency of posting, or the growth rate of other accounts. More event arranging, more writing on SubStack, more podcasts. Less ‘what the hell should I post about today to feed the algorithm’? If I haven’t done something interesting, you won’t be hearing from me.
Spoiler: expect a whatsapp group launch this week to arrange meet ups more easily - DM me or comment below if you want in and I’ll send you details
(3) I want to spread the load & involve the community
I’ve been in solo territory for a long time now, and let me tell you, it is exhausting. During that time I’ve had people reach out who want to be involved, for whom the community chimes but they haven’t had the time or opportunity to set up their own.
I haven’t taken up these offers to date, not because I’m a maniacal control freak, but because I haven’t really known how to get them involved.
I’m going to set up an ambassador scheme for Board Women - a group of inspiring women who are either already running communities, or want to in their local area (this will be global) and who want to be involved in something bigger.
I also want the community to write more, and be part of the voice of this community, so if you have something to say, get in touch.
They say it takes a community to raise a baby, and this is mine, so I’m officially open to help (plus funding - but that’s another post!)
So here we are. Board Women is officially open for business again. Expect a new whatsapp group for meet ups, much more writing on this substack (I’m midst putting a book proposal together); and much more real connection vs. algorithm driven content. The podcast will be fully back in force next week (we have the brilliant Emylia Hall, author of The Shellhouse diaries, series and founder of Mothership Writers and fanatical skater and snowboarder), plus a host of other interviews to come.
I’m so glad you’re here, thank you for supporting the community. If you love what we’re doing, please do like, share (on here as well as on the podcast itself), and tell people about what we are doing. It’s a hard slog in the background, but we have big plans, and the more you support us, the quicker we get there.
Have a fab week all
Caroline xxx
Board Women Founder