Identity

Apologies - for being gone so long, but late is better than never ...

hello again!

Hello friends,

It's been a while - over a year since my last newsletter. Part of the reason for that gap is that I felt lost. I wasn't sure what purpose this newsletter was serving anymore.

A significant part of my identity was tied to my job in the community space. When I no longer worked at a community platform, I felt a shift in my focus and a change in the way people interacted with me.

Over the past year, I've been working at MatchPoint, a startup focused on using AI to help people connect in person. In many ways, it's still community work, just in a different form. It's also deeply rooted in AI, which I know scares many in the community management space.

However, now being "in the wilderness," outside the traditional community management space, I've reconnected with an earlier identity. Before joining Vanilla full-time, I was a marketer and technologist. I've spent years building and contributing code, and this new chapter has rekindled that spirit in me. I've returned to my marketing roots, I'm leading a development team, and I've even started hobby coding again — something I hadn't done in years. It feels good to create and share code.

I will always love discussing community. I can't escape that I'll always be the "accidental community manager." My perspective will always be shaped by two decades of community work. You don't spend 20+ years in this space without it leaving a mark. But what I came to realize is I don't want to feel confined to only writing about community in this newsletter. That might mean some of you won't be as interested in reading this, but that's okay.

I've come to realize that my mission here is to help the broader community by helping folks understand and prepare for the future of AI.

AI is here. It's transforming our work and lives in real-time. Our roles will change, and new ones will emerge. The biggest thing I see is that most people aren't using AI to its full potential — not even close. I learn new things every day that make me more efficient, more effective, and frankly, better at what I do.

I want to share that journey with you.

I'm not looking to turn this into "just another AI newsletter." I spend a considerable amount of time thinking about AI, not just at work. The truth is, I'm figuring this out as I go. I'm trying to recalibrate my public identity in a way that's independent of any one job and get back to my core mission: sharing cool things and helping the larger community where my interests have intersected — whether that's community builders, marketers, folks in CX, or anyone else who follows me.

I believe AI is the future. It's mostly a force for good, though I know it's also scary. However, it's not so different from when the internet first began to change everything.

A significant part of the decision here is that I paused the second book I was writing. I've come to the conclusion that AI advances too quickly. I simply can't write the book I want because by the time I'm done, things will already be outdated.

Going forward, this newsletter is the best way for me to share the ideas, concepts and things I learn. I don't know if there will be interest in that from this audience, but I completely get it if you decide to unsubscribe; that's okay. I understand the need to protect the inbox.

Ultimately, I must remain true to myself. This newsletter has always been about growth and learning going on in my life, and it's just going to be a bit more complete. I assure you, the things I share will be helpful for community builders, but that won't be my only focus.

Thanks for sticking with me.

Have a great weekend, and I hope you'll join me on this next chapter!