I had an interesting event happen today (well, a lot of them) that was significant in its own small way. Someone posted a comment on a post I shared on our corporate internal social network.
Now, for those of us who are active in these networks and communities, commenting on something is an easy, everyday occurrence. But for some people, they’d rather just read comments and not put themselves out there and say something, because of whatever reasons. Maybe fear of management, or of saying the wrong thing, or just being exposed and visible. They are all real fears, whether they are for us or not.
So, to have someone post a comment and say that this was their first comment ever on this platform because they really enjoyed the conversation and wanted to be a part of it, was a joy to me. I gave him immediate encouragement and kudos for posting, recognizing that it was a big step for him.
That is so key. If we want more people to participate, we need to make it welcoming and easy for them to do so. They need to feel that they are part of the group.
And that’s what I told him. He’s in the club now. People like us do things like this. And hopefully, he’ll now contribute even more.
That’s how we bring people to the party. Celebrate the small wins.
That was a win for me today.
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