I thought I would share this story on my blog. It truly is a great example of what often goes behind the scenes in an online community and one of the reasons why I love communities so much. It’s a prime example of how we aren’t pixels on the end of a screen, we are living, breathing human beings who reach out to each other, no matter where in the world we are, or our personal circumstances. We get to touch lives we wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to connect with if it wasn’t for this virtual connection that binds us. So for anybody out there who doesn’t “get” the pull of online communities read on.
A few days ago I was privately contacted by a women whose daughter had lost her job abroad. The daughter had been unfairly dismissed and was being placed in a situation were she felt she was being bullied into leaving the country. The mother was looking for advice over who her daughter could contact for a free legal consolation. The mother had never used discussion forums before and didn’t know where to start so I told her I would post her question on her behalf.
After posting about her daughter’s difficulties, and her request for people to give her some pointers on who she could contact for advice, I was messaged via our community’s private message system by a couple of people who asked me to pass along their telephone number to the daughter. (The daughter having limited internet so couldn’t check email etc).
Those phone calls resulted in me receiving the following from one of the people involved:
….. The girl was fired from the company … she was a victim of bullying and intimidation.
With some great legal advice from <snip> I have now sorted her out … I set up an interview with <snip> group and she has been offered another job.
She is going to come and stay with me until everything is finalised..about 2 weeks. …..
So never underestimate the power of online community, and give a thought to the relationship building, and support, that often goes on behind the scenes.
(Image: “diagram of groups with the software omnigraffle” by gigilie via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.)
What a great outcome
Your story reminds me of the importance of community, especially for those who are vulnerable.
I help run a support community for a health charity. Most of our members are isolated and in very difficult circumstances. Our forum is a lifeline to them and we’re very proud to be offering such vital support.
I agree, so much goes on behind the scenes. We’ve had members support each other through death, serious illness, job losses etc, and although much of it is in the public community, so much also goes on behind the scenes. Some even take it to the next level and support each other in real life … face-to-face. Truly online communities are more valuable than we know
Stories like this are a great way of reinforcing why we do this. The power of weak connections never ceases to amaze, nor does the generosity of people for whom we have little if any prior relationship.