This will be a shorter post but I wanted to say:
Because I will be posting a lot of my own art in this site, I want to request people not to copy and pass it as their own. You can repost and tag me or share my content but I work hard on my pieces and I am happy to share them but please don’t copy them without my consent.
Thank you
-Sara A
Campfire very quietly started rolling out last week, and I noticed it when I saw a rather peculiar grey icon in-app near my Daily Adventure Incense.
I tapped on it. I was met with a black loading bar that didn’t seem to do anything, so I left my phone where it was for a couple of minutes. Then, when I looked at it again, I had a map displayed on my screen with PokéStops and Gyms laid out. So?
Campfire is essentially a way for Pokémon GO players to socialize with their local community. It’s not just a social app, though. Right now, it’s most beneficial use is to help you find nearby players to fight Raids with you. Especially when primal raids like Kyogre and Groudon occur, it’s important that you have enough Trainers in your battle group to ensure Raid Boss defeat.
If you’re looking to link up with other Trainers locally, Campfire is a great way to find nearby Trainer-hosted events that you can join. Additionally, the social aspect is great to keep all of your Pokémon GO communications in one place.
Personally, I haven’t downloaded Campfire yet—I have friends I see regularly who already play, so we’re typically able to play as we’d like without yearning for new friends. But, it might be useful for at least one of your friends to take one for the team, so that when your core group needs the extra help for a raid, they can light a Flare.
Campfire links up with other Niantic apps as well, so if you have more than just Pokémon GO, it might be worthwhile.
But for now, I’m okay just being able to see the nearby Flares within Pokémon GO, without needing all of the other features the full app has to offer.
Sometimes I need mantras to help me get through hard times. I have compiled a list of my favourite ones and I share them with you now in the hope they will help you if you need them. Even if you do not yet believe some of them (yet), say them because fake it til you make it right?
This site was created as part of a class at Simon Fraser University titled, Publication of Self in Everyday Life.
As part of the class, we were required to develop one post a week about the process of creating our website. The teaching team supported the course in this endeavour, by providing materials to reference and prompts to adhere to. In the course, we referred to these posts as “process posts”; each and every post on this website that has the word regarding in the title is a “process post.”
This post is the final “process post” that will be created for the class.
Unfortunately, I was sick for last week’s lecture and unable to make it, however, I do know that the lecture was about community and am able to access the readings and slides from the course. Subsequently, this final process post is going to be about the importance of rest and community.
Last week, I fell sick.
When I was sick, I came across a Linkedin post by TED Conferences which made the point “by doing nothing, you are actually being your most productive and creative self. It might feel weird and uncomfortable at first, but boredom truly can lead to brilliance.”
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What the post explained, is the value that you receive when you take time to sit with your ideas. It explained that when you take time to do nothing, you are allowing your brain to process all the information from your life so that you can spend time daydreaming and realizing your aspirations in life.
Truthfully, over the course of the semester, I cannot help but feel that I have spent too little time doing that.
However, it makes sense. Just see my post 30 Minutes: Working a 99 Hour Work Week. Since making that post, I did experience a period of severe burnout but thankfully recovered quickly after having a few days of rest.
When I was sick last week, I had the opportunity to spend some time reflecting on my life, and as a result, I honestly feel much more in tune and aligned with myself than before I was sick.
Ironically, having no rest is what truly has allowed me to realize the value that rest does provide.
On the internet, there are communities, that would not exist if it were not for the internet.
One such community that I am incredibly thankful to have participated in is Lookout Landing, a Mariners fan site, with an incredibly loyal audience and fun community.
I found the site sometime in 2016 and have ever since been a follower of the site. In fact, almost every morning one of the first things that I do is take a look at posts which the site calls Moose Tracks. Moose Tracks are daily posts that share links to news around baseball. However, the content of the posts themselves are only a small part of the Lookout Landing experience, the comments below each post is where you actually get the opportunity to engage and talk to individuals in the lookout landing community. Typically Moose Track posts have around 300 comments per day, and if something big in baseball happens you can guarantee that these posts will have 500+ comments.
Although based off my initial explanation it may not seem this way, Moose Tracks are actually only a small part of what makes Lookout Landing what it is. The staff of the site also posts game recaps, game threads (for discussion), game charts, analysis, creative writing pieces and more. All content based around the Seattle Mariners.
Although I myself rarely comment and am a bit more of a lurker, I still feel very much a part of this community and it has helped fuel my Mariners fandom.
Lookout Landing most certainly is my favourite online community, they have a fantastic audience, great policy, and even better writers.
If you are at all interested in the Seattle Mariners, I highly recommend checking out some of the posts on the site.
We are a product of the people around us.
This is a fact. Simply start hanging around a different group of people and evaluate your speech pattern before and after. It will change.
People around you also influence how you think of and view yourself as a person. A lot of the time, the people around you will either provide you with energy or drain you of it.
Community is key to shaping who we are and providing us with energy to move forward.
We are a product of the decisions we make.
The decisions we make, forge the path that we take and subsequently shape the history and future of our lives. When we do one thing, it will close some doors and open others.
Oftentimes, the decisions we make are impulsive. When we are well-rested and aligned with who we truly are as people, these impulsive decisions can be effective. However, when we are tired and in dire need of rest, we often make poor and sloppy decisions.
Rest is critical to the decisions we make.
It should also be noted that we all have the opportunity to choose who it is that we spend time with. Rest enables us to choose the right communities for us to be a part of.
To maintain energy, be our best selves, and subsequently make great things, it is critical we are well rested and engaged with the right communities.
Zomorodi, M. (2022). By doing nothing, you are actually being your most productive. Ted Conferences. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ted-conferences_by-doing-nothing-you-are-actually-being-activity-7003032527359672321-dEjR/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Reflecting on my site and its values, it is important I clearly state my guidelines for optimal functionality. I am looking to share content that brings value. For this reason, my platform is a welcoming environment where I wish to build a community of likeminded individuals as well as onboard others into this awesome new space. My inbox is always open, though I expect those who contact me through any of my social channels are respectful and amicable as I will do the same. If there are ever questions or topics you wish to speak more on I am happy to organize a time to speak. Please feel free share new findings or trends occurring in the space if you are following it as well because the more information the better.
I believe these are the guidelines that suit my platform the best as I wish to engage my audience in conversation as much as possible. I believe clearly stating my wish for amicable discussion is effective as there will always be individuals who do not agree with all my perspectives. I will implement them via posting my guidelines for all users to see as the earlier it is known the better.
Leave it better than you found it
Hello, and welcome to One More Klick!
A common saying in the outdoors community is “leave it better than you found it”. While this often relates to trail conservation, it also relates to this community. Do not comment anything you wouldn’t want your mother to read.
Thank you for respecting these simple rules, and happy klicking!
Sincerely,
Magali Bureau
Building a Community
When was the last time you tried something for the first time?
The first time I heard someone ask me this was two years ago, at the Tough Mudder start line, minutes before the race started. For those who don’t know what this race is, Tough Mudder is a 12 mile obstacle race that was originally designed to test mental and physical strength. Of the 25 obstacles, some include crawling under barbed wire, running through live electric wires, submerging yourself in a pool of ice water, climbing over walls, hanging from monkey bars, and much, much more.
I know what you’re thinking: why would anybody put themselves through that?! I was thinking that too, until I used that fear as fuel to gain a sense of ownership and control. In 2017 I wanted to challenge myself to do something I thought I would never be able to do. For a long time, Tough Mudder was it: I hate cold water (with a passion), I’m not the biggest fan of heights, and I didn’t think I’d be physically able to complete this treacherous course. Despite all of this, I managed to rope my friends into completing it with me in. And not once – but twice – with plans of doing it again in the summer of 2019.
Be not afraid of discomfort. If you can’t put yourself in a situation where you are uncomfortable, then you will never grow. You will never change. You’ll never learn.
Jasno Reynolds
Realistically, my current audience is the small circle of family and friends who relentlessly support me (hi mom!). Ideally, this following will expand to an audience that doesn’t know me personally, yet is still drawn to the content and photographs of this blog. The dream would be for this blog to flourish internationally, growing a community of fellow travellers and adventurers. I want this blog to encourage people to share a desire to get outdoors and try new things; I aspire for these images to inspire the love for travel, adventure, and the outdoors; I hope motivate people into embracing the unknown and challenges. This will take time, no doubt, but I am excited at the opportunity for potential.
Community guidelines for any social media platform is an important element to have in order to lessen the risk of possible inappropriate behaviour with your site. For this week’s process post, we were to develop our own community guidelines and think of how we would implement them.
My site and its content can be a very touchy subject as it deals with very real and personal issues that many individuals have to face on a day to day basis. The content can also be different for those who may not be comfortable yet with such diversity and it may either clash with certain beliefs or challenge their thinking. It is important that my blog does not force any opinions, but merely highlights and brings to attention the importance of having diverse narratives and identities published online.
Four core community guidelines could go as follows (more could be added with further development of the blog):
Here, There stresses on diversity and opening up to listening and understanding multiple narratives, thus, it is important that the site creates an open and welcome space for all voices. By not offering a welcoming space, we are inhibiting the ability of those who may feel marginalized or already silenced to not be able to speak up and feel included within the discourse. No matter where someone may come from or who they may be, by creating an open space, Here, There will be able to carry out its objective of challenging hegemony and the “single narrative”.
As a space that opens up to topics about issues regarding race, gender, and sexuality, topics can sometimes be very personal. As a space that encourages the freedom of speech, it is key to note that Here, There will carefully look at separating free speech from hate speech. We each have a perspective on how we view the world, but it is important to understand that hateful comments will not be tolerated and often come with negative repercussions.
In conjunction with the second guideline, it is crucial that users do not make comments or post content that is discriminatory. As a blog that deals with the marginalized, discrimination is not uncommon for certain groups of people, so, having a no discrimination policy will help reduce what many have to face on a day to day basis.
It is crucial for Here, There to make it aware that all comments and activity from users will be kept confidential. As the topics discussed can enter very complex and complicated situations that some may feel uncomfortable or uneasy telling, it will be the utmost importance to keep this information private – unless given permission by the individual to publish and share.
The community guidelines for Here, There, would be a separate page to click at the top so that it is apparent and visible for visitors to the site. It will also be linked at the footer of the site as well so that when scrolling and navigating, it is easy and obvious to read and get to. The community guidelines will continue to grow as I learn from my audience as well as continue to learn of what constitutes a good blog of my subject matter.
The importance of having community guidelines is not to add heightened censorship to the site, but to enforce certain rules to minimize certain actions that will have negative implications towards the blog and its users. It will be key to have these guidelines carefully looked at so as not to create problems regarding the freedom of speech. Additional community guidelines that would be implemented would have to go under careful analysis to make sure that it continues to provide an open space for all, but still enforces the reduction of hateful and discriminatory behaviour and action.
