The other day I decided to "unsubscribe" from a music industry-related newsletter. To my surprise, its owner wrote to me immediately, dismayed that I wanted to exit.
I ended up staying on, partly for the information and partly because I had learned that my presence was important to the writer.
In our exchange, he expressed his belief that we are part of a community. I like that idea...and at the same time, I often wonder if true community is possible online.
How well do we know each other, if we only know each other by online profiles and emails? How likely are we to truly support each other when the going gets tough?
Which is more supportive: letting someone unsubscribe without fanfare, or following up...and if so, how?
I've always had a "no questions asked" policy, but after this experience I reconnected with someone who had recently left my list...someone I consider to be part of my genuine, real-life community, even though we've never met. I was very glad I did.
In order to build true community, people on both sides of the equation have to stay very conscious of the needs of others...the need for privacy, need for connection, need for readership...and see how we might best meet those needs.
Creating community is time-consuming and it's hard work...which is the exact opposite of what we often expect online connection to be.
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