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Stop underselling our work: We build community

02 Jul 2026
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Simon Tomes and Rosie Sherry reflect on a chance coffee meetup with Andy Claremont and how you never really know the impact your words have on other people. They dig into why "just show up" is such a hard sell for community members, and revisit an old belonging survey Rosie calls "the chuckle": a look back at past work that makes you smile, wince, or both.

They also explore TownSquare, a tool that lets people see who else is browsing a page in real time, and what it might mean for building presence into the motaverse. Plus, plans for a dedicated TWiC chapter in the MoTaverse, and a hot take on why "we don't build community, we create the conditions for it" undersells the systems and decisions that make community possible. Topics in this episode:

  • Why measuring community impact often feels impossible
  • The chuckle is looking back on past work with a smile
  • A hot take on undervaluing community professionals' work
  • TownSquare lets visitors see each other browsing in real time
  • A reflection on how much harder growing communities feels today
  • Community gardening left a lasting impression on someone years later 

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