Re: Takoma Village Has a New Face Book Page!
From: Fred-List manager (fholsoncohousing.org)
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2018 04:21:45 -0700 (PDT)
T G <triciamill9 [at] gmail.com>
is the author of the message below.  It was posted by
Fred, the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
after restoring subject line.

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I joined this forum a while back hoping to learn more about cohousing. What
I seem to be finding out instead is that there are a lot of very
opinionated people that like to chime in and aggressively disagree and
insult other people's opinions. Anne, your Facebook page looks nice and I
assume someone took a lot of time to make it look nice and make sure
everyone was ok with what was posted.  As someone who was searching out
cohousing, I find the Facebook pages very helpful even though a particular
community may not be looking for members. I am sorry that what started as
you simply sharing something you were proud of, got attached by others (and
in the meantime insulting young people too...)

After much time reading past threads, I think I might end up staying away
from cohousing. People on here seem to love to complain about other
people's ideas, love to criticize people who enjoy being up to date on
current technology, and heaven forbid someone should say they enjoy
something that someone else is opposed to. Spending my retirement living
with a group of people that seem to be very judgemental and opinionated
does not seem welcoming. Maybe the criticizers (and it always seems to be
some of the same names) should look beyond their own opinion before typing
away and hitting reply. If this is not the majority of what members are
like, then this forum certainly does not represent cohousing well.

Like it or not, Facebook is a current form of community that many people
use to connect with others and learn about the world around them.

On Mon, Jul 16, 2018 at 3:16 AM, <cohousing-l-request [at] cohousing.org> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Takoma Village Has a New Face Book Page! (Ann Zabaldo)
>    2. Re: Takoma Village Has a New Face Book Page! (Philip Dowds)
>    3. Public vs Private [was Takoma Village Has a New Face Book
>       Page! (Sharon Villines)
>    4. Re: Public vs Private [was Takoma Village Has a New Face Book
>       Page! (Karen Sheldon)
>    5. Re: Public vs Private [was Takoma Village Has a New Face Book
>       Page! (Raines Cohen)
>    6. Re: Public vs Private [was Takoma Village Has a New Face Book
>       Page! (Kathryn McCamant)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2018 13:58:59 -0400
> From: Ann Zabaldo <zabaldo [at] earthlink.net>
> To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: [C-L]_ Takoma Village Has a New Face Book Page!
> Message-ID: <F12841CD-C0D3-4036-A021-3131C893FA1C [at] earthlink.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset=utf-8
>
> Hello all ?
>
> From my neighbor, Steve, comes this announcement:
>
> ?????
>
> We are happy to announce that TVC has established a new "community" page
> on Facebook.
>
> You will find posted there:
> - Photos of community activities illustrating life at TVC
> - Announcements of public tours
> - Announcements of home sales and rentals
> - Announcements of other events such as house concerts
> - Links to articles and videos related to cohousing
>
> This platform will not replace any of our current ways of communicating
> with you, but
> gives you an additional easy way to see a lot of what's going on here.
>
> Like us on Facebook!
>
> https://www.facebook.com/takomavillagecohousing
>
> ?????
>
> Maybe I better learn how to use FB?  Nah.  I like living in the 20th
> century pre-1990 ? back when Selectric typewriters were sought after for
> all your written communication needs ?
>
> Best --
>
> Ann Zabaldo
> Takoma Village Cohousing
> Washington, DC
> Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
> Falls Church, VA
> 202.546.4654
>
> The first five days after the weekend are the hardest ?
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2018 14:42:46 -0400
> From: Philip Dowds <rphilipdowds [at] me.com>
> To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Takoma Village Has a New Face Book Page!
> Message-ID: <94322514-2CC2-4694-B8E5-A331C1A111C7 [at] me.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset=utf-8
>
> I have no Facetube account, but I loved my Selectric, kept it for years
> even after the Mac.  My favorite part was the little white spool of sticky
> correction tape:  When it was finally used up and pulled off the machine,
> it was 100% wrong.  It?s really hard to be 100% wrong, but the sticky tape
> spool was in a class by itself.
>
> Thanks,
> RPD
>
> > On Jul 15, 2018, at 1:58 PM, Ann Zabaldo <zabaldo [at] earthlink.net> wrote:
> >
> > Maybe I better learn how to use FB?  Nah.  I like living in the 20th
> century pre-1990 ? back when Selectric typewriters were sought after for
> all your written communication needs ?
> >
> > Best --
> >
> > Ann Zabaldo
> > Takoma Village Cohousing
> > Washington, DC
> > Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
> > Falls Church, VA
> > 202.546.4654
> >
> > The first five days after the weekend are the hardest ?
> >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2018 15:19:16 -0400
> From: Sharon Villines <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>
> To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: [C-L]_ Public vs Private [was Takoma Village Has a New Face
>         Book Page!
> Message-ID: <D001FDB1-148D-4425-A06C-C79F9C587E80 [at] sharonvillines.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset=utf-8
>
> The new Facebook page for Takoma Village is truly lovely and presents the
> community very well.
>
> https://www.facebook.com/takomavillagecohousing
>
> But to what end? Why Facebook?
>
> I have a personal problem with marketing, marketing, marketing in general,
> but especially in advertising a private community. After a community is
> moved in and there are few spaces available ? in most cases none in many
> years?it feels like publicly saying we have a great place and you can?t
> join, and secondly it changes or can change a private community to a public
> place. One plan, for example, is to advertise in-house concerts. In-house
> concerts were started as intimate community events for members and friends.
> Now it feels like I?m living in a place that invites tourists.
>
> CohoUSA had a similar problem a number of years ago with their business
> plan. They wanted to promote cohousing and help cohousing groups form. One
> plan was that built communities would support that. But the goal of
> communities is to move in and be a community. Most cohousers are cohousers
> to live in the community, not promote it for others. The purpose of
> cohousing is not to create more cohousing communities ?it?s hard enough to
> create one. So after move-in, people turn inward, at least for awhile.
>
> I do post on Facebook and will soon be putting up an organizational page.
> But I never post anything about where I live. To do that would feel like
> publicizing private home that is not just mine.
>
> The question is what is the effect of self-promotion? Does it encourage
> community or drain resources and attract people who can?t join?
>
> This isn?t a criticism of anything on our Facebook page, but a concern
> about the effect and reasoning behind it. What does it reveal? How does it
> contribute to our community? And how has your community coped with this?
>
> I might also add that were are in an urban environment that is being more
> and more crowded every day and where there is little to no chance of a
> cohousing to be developed because of land values.
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines, Historic Takoma Park
> In Washington DC, Where all roads lead to Casablanca
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2018 15:06:20 -0700
> From: Karen Sheldon <karen.sheldon [at] gmail.com>
> To: Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Public vs Private [was Takoma Village Has a New
>         Face Book Page!
> Message-ID: <112846ba-1f03-3502-9025-4681d3b6d676 [at] gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>
> Hi Sharon,
>
> I have lived in? Bellingham Cohousing, in Bellingham WA (bellcoho.com),
> almost 2 hrs. north of Seattle, for 14 years and have the same concerns
> as you do. A younger man moved in, as a renter of a room in someone's
> house (my bit of prejudice here), did /nothing/ for 3 years and suddenly
> this year popped out of the sludge and decided we needed a Facebook
> page. I, too, use FB for myself (mostly to rant against 45) and found it
> utterly disarming to have pictures of my home community all over the
> place, marketing invites to this and that. We, too, have no units
> available, (young people can't afford them, anyway, millenials here,
> another WHOLE topic)
>
> https://www.facebook.com/bellinghamcohousing/
>
> I'm a lurker on the L-list and have enjoyed your particular brand of
> posts immensely.
>
> Karen
>
> On 07/15/2018 12:19 PM, Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L wrote:
> > The new Facebook page for Takoma Village is truly lovely and presents
> the community very well.
> >
> > https://www.facebook.com/takomavillagecohousing
> >
> > But to what end? Why Facebook?
> >
> > I have a personal problem with marketing, marketing, marketing in
> general, but especially in advertising a private community. After a
> community is moved in and there are few spaces available ? in most cases
> none in many years?it feels like publicly saying we have a great place and
> you can?t join, and secondly it changes or can change a private community
> to a public place. One plan, for example, is to advertise in-house
> concerts. In-house concerts were started as intimate community events for
> members and friends. Now it feels like I?m living in a place that invites
> tourists.
> >
> > CohoUSA had a similar problem a number of years ago with their business
> plan. They wanted to promote cohousing and help cohousing groups form. One
> plan was that built communities would support that. But the goal of
> communities is to move in and be a community. Most cohousers are cohousers
> to live in the community, not promote it for others. The purpose of
> cohousing is not to create more cohousing communities ?it?s hard enough to
> create one. So after move-in, people turn inward, at least for awhile.
> >
> > I do post on Facebook and will soon be putting up an organizational
> page. But I never post anything about where I live. To do that would feel
> like publicizing private home that is not just mine.
> >
> > The question is what is the effect of self-promotion? Does it encourage
> community or drain resources and attract people who can?t join?
> >
> > This isn?t a criticism of anything on our Facebook page, but a concern
> about the effect and reasoning behind it. What does it reveal? How does it
> contribute to our community? And how has your community coped with this?
> >
> > I might also add that were are in an urban environment that is being
> more and more crowded every day and where there is little to no chance of a
> cohousing to be developed because of land values.
> >
> > Sharon
> > ----
> > Sharon Villines, Historic Takoma Park
> > In Washington DC, Where all roads lead to Casablanca
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> > http://l.cohousing.org/info
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2018 06:20:23 +0300
> From: Raines Cohen <rc3-coho-L [at] raines.com>
> To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Public vs Private [was Takoma Village Has a New
>         Face Book Page!
> Message-ID:
>         <CAKoqfHVp6P=-qFsinW7N_SwkwBzANFKWezt3f3E_TGaP7BQCtQ@
> mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Sharon -
>
> Of course, every community includes people with a variety of perspectives
> on privacy, from "I'm here, I'm home, get off my lawn," to "isn't this
> great that we can do all kinds of things together that welcome the world
> in!" I've come to appreciate where I fall on that spectrum among my
> neighbors (closer to the latter end) and that informs a lot of what I do
> and how I do it, in terms of my home community, like rationing tour access
> and designing and scheduling events to minimize impacts on my neighbors,
> using other venues for most of my activities, and not dragging visitors
> willy-nilly to our common meals.
>
> But the way I fundamentally look at the question of "why are we being
> public about our community?" in cohousing is this: sooner or later, your
> neighbors are going to change. Love them or hate them, life happens, and
> they (or their descendants or their estate's executors or banks that
> foreclose) are eventually going to be looking for new folks to buy or rent
> homes in your community.
>
> If you've been doing the work to bring in new people and get them familiar
> with the community, you've effectively put your thumb on the scales and
> made it much easier for people to sell or rent to folks who care about
> community. No screening required, just giving energy and resource and time
> to enable effective self-selection.
>
> If you haven't, you're at the whims of the market and the people leaving
> and entities with the least interest in or awareness of the importance of
> maintaining the sense of community. Folks who really want to be great
> neighbors will get outbid or miss the opportunity altogether. Neighbors who
> want to leave will have a harder time doing so, and may get grumpy and
> obstreperous, making meetings more challenging and eroding that sense of
> community again.
>
> I greatly admire what your neighborhood, TVC (I always think of it as
> standing for Textured Vegetable Cohousing, BTW ;-) ) does in terms of
> outreach, building the pool of prospective new neighbors and working with
> the regional network, Mid-Atlantic Cohousing (MAC). When homes sell, some
> sellers make a contribution in appreciation for the work and expense
> they've avoided by not needing an agent to do the marketing. And that gives
> the committee the resources to keep it going.
>
> I've been trying to follow in MAC's footsteps with my work over the last
> two decades in the SF East Bay and throughout California to help
> communities collaborate in building awareness. East Bay Cohousing, our
> Berkeley-Oakland MeetUp group, by itself has over 4600 members and
> regularly conducts orientations and other activities designed to make it
> easier to find, build and join cohousing and other forms of community. It
> is great to see that Coho/US is now engaging the regions and building on
> the energy there.
>
> Part of the power of community, as I have come to appreciate, is its
> ability to help any and all of us get beyond what's in front of us right
> now, and the limits of what we can achieve alone or even just what we care
> about. You don't have to do the heavy lifting, just allow others who want
> to, to step up and do the marketing and community-development work. Give
> them feedback that will help them do their important work in ways that
> don't intrude on your life.
>
> Yes, maybe there's a little less privacy, especially in terms of showing
> the world the community's physical structure and activities, than an
> anonymous apartment building would give you. But isn't that worth it for
> what you get in the deal?
>
> Raines Cohen, Cohousing Coach and Cohousing California regional organizer
> http://www.CalCoho.org/
>  living at Berkeley (CA) Cohousing -- where not only don't we have a web
> page, we still haven't come to consensus on a community name after a
> quarter century. What's the rush?
>  currently wrapping up the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) Europe
> conference at Lilleoru in Estonia, and starting training on how to help all
> cohousing communities see themselves as part of a movement with a purpose
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2018 05:03:30 +0000
> From: Kathryn McCamant <kmccamant [at] cohousing-solutions.com>
> To: "cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org" <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Public vs Private [was Takoma Village Has a New
>         Face Book Page!
> Message-ID:
>         <A10A90C1-BAFD-41E0-B726-E904D97CE1F7 [at] cohousing-solutions.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> I appreciate Raines addition to this discussion, and whole heartedly agree
> that the most direct benefit of some public presence (whether that is
> Facebook or just giving regular tours) is finding buyers who appreciate
> what our communities have to offer for future home availability  (whether
> that is a renter or a buyer).
>
> Also, talk to some of the newer or forming communities, and you'll learn
> how much visiting existing communities inspired them. Seeing is believing!
>
> But these days, I think there is another, less direct benefit, for opening
> up our communities in whatever way residents can handle.... we live in a
> world that seems to believe people can't work out conflict in civil
> discourse. The idea that neighbors could work together to create a better
> neighborhood that also makes us better people and more active in the world
> around us is RADICAL!  Eat dinner together.....amazing!  Most Americans
> don't believe it is even possible, let alone desirable, to live the way we
> live in cohousing.  I believe every cohousing community is a beacon of
> light that people can work together to create more than we can do alone,
> and I've seen how this inspires people...whether that is to create their
> own cohousing community or to start a dinner club in their existing
> neighborhood, or just to know it is possible.
>
> In my own community, I try to be very conscious of people's sensitivities
> and not to over use it. And I am ultimately an introvert myself, so the
> last thing I want to do on a weekend  is explain how it all works. But I am
> very grateful for every community that is willing to take the time to offer
> tours and open their doors to show it is possible. We get so much news on
> facebook these days, is great to see working communities out there in
> addition to all the worldly disasters. (Think of it as part of the
> Resistance.)
>
> And if you want to get those millenials to buy into your community (they
> are starting to buy homes), you'll need a facebook presence or they may
> never even know you exist. You might want to talk about what is appropriate
> to post, but personally, I'd love to see a lot more from existing
> communities on FB that counters all the propaganda the American public is
> bombarded with that a bigger, nicer house/kitchen/bathroom will bring me
> happiness.
>
> Katie
> --
> Kathryn McCamant, President
> CoHousing Solutions and Nevada City Cohousing
> Nevada City, CA 95959
> T.530.478.1970  www.cohousing-solutions.com
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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> ------------------------------
>
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