Digital Community Leaders - Jan Carlyle & Simon Howes

The Digital Community Leaders Podcast is back with a bang for series two, hosting two guests for an in-person conversation. Jan Carlyle, director of Autumn Live, and Simon Howes, technical director and lead consultant at Autumn Live, are good friends of ours here at Steadfast.

Our conversation comes shortly after the event and release of our collaboration project; the Digital Community Leaders Survey Report.

Contrary to most of our guests on the show, Autumn Live are experts in events rather than community - although it could be argued that these two things go hand in hand. There were loads of gems shared throughout our chat which could come in handy for anyone involved in community work.

The Importance of Events for Community Building Strategy

The community space has grown in so many ways over the past few years. The evolution of the internet and the online space has allowed for new tools and innovation, helping people to connect all over the world. This has a whole host of benefits, being a highly accessible and inclusive way to bring people together.

However, with this comes the idea that we can replace live events with online versions. This is a topic which Jan was particularly passionate about. Real life events can bring a lot of value to a community, allowing people to create and deepen relationships in a way which cannot be matched on a Zoom call.

There is a place for online events, but a community could thrive from having an in-person gathering.

“The key thing, which we all know, is that you cannot replace in-person connection... We are hardwired for connection as people.”

Online Events vs Online Broadcasts

The accessibility of online events means that almost anyone can tune in at any time, no matter their circumstances. This can sound really appealing to community managers, and it can be easy to think that throwing a webinar on Zoom or Teams will only come with benefits.

However, there can be a complacency with such easy access to running events - to the point where they don't provide much value. As Simon put it, when an "event" becomes a group call with the host talking at listeners, it's basically just a broadcast.

For a community to grow, an online event needs to be more than people sitting at home and consuming content.

“When I think about an online gathering versus a face-to-face gathering, often it's the side conversations you have with the people sat next to you where you're building and deepening relationships... 'Oh, and the guy who spoke was quite interesting.'”

Overall, exploring the overlap between events and community was a deeply beneficial topic, and this podcast conversation would be a great listen to anyone looking to progress their community through a gathering.

Series two of the Digital Community Leaders Podcast is now available across all streaming platforms, as well as video versions on YouTube.