Making your way in the world today takes everything you got

👋 I want to give a HUGE shout out to new folks at Future Community!

Welcome Adriana, Sefiya, Garrett, Dana, and Richard. It's also great to say hello to Tiera, Ashley, Sania, Lina, Shawn, Harper and Bis. And a big howdy to Justine, Katia, Nadia, Chris and Tony.

Let me know where you're from and what you're looking for here. Or send along any questions. Reply here or schedule a chat.

The latest Future Community Jobs are down below. There are several new fundraising and development roles, in particular. If you're in Chicago, check out the comms and development leadership role at Center for Neighborhood Technology.

Would a world without social be more, well, social?

Lex Roman talked with seven entrepreneurs whose quit social media and are finding other paths - often very social paths - to building businesses and communities.

It's well worth the read. It reminds me of the waves of conversation that nonprofit comms and organizing folks, particularly in and around progressive movements, have had since the Facebook Cambridge Analytica days and, more recently, since the mad billionaire eugenecist, Elon, bought and poisoned Twitter in 2022.

Would our campaigns, community building, and fundraising have been stronger if we hadn't spent so much time and money optimizing our ads and content to fit the needs of corporate platforms? Would we have used more meaningful ways of listening to, talking to, and making meaning with people?

I don't know. But social media as a landscape for connection and meaning is rapidly changing. Lex's conversations put this in a "social for business" context. And folks like Jack Brewster, in a LinkedIn post the other day, are observing how regular/real people aren't finding meaning in social media.

Your org or candidate leaving social altogether is a radical ask that's probably a bridge too far (and which no communications director would ever go for, tbh).

All I ask is that resource starved organizations and movements think more strategically about if and how they throw money and time into chasing an audience that is no longer captive to the social media show.

Bright Ideas

ICYMI: If I ran your email program we would help readers solve problems and measure results in happiness and reader impact. Not click rates and A/B test results.

A general theory of Activity Anchoring. Ask for more and you'll attract people who will do more. Ask for little you'll get not much.

You may need this: We are living in a time of polycrisis. If you feel trapped – you’re not alone by Theresa MacPhail for The Guardian. // thx Charlotte Binns for the link

Cory Doctorow on what we might salvage from the wrecked of today's AI companies. This is also a clean and even-handed explanation of why "big AI" (my term) is so exposed to a crash.

"ICE Watch works because it surrounds men seeking approval with people loudly expressing their disapproval," writes sociologist Nicole Bedera about the organized (and sometimes not so organized) power of community action in response to government violence that's intentionally dialed up to intimidate and overpower the public.

Future Community Jobs

Be sure to check out the full job list here.

Audience, content, journalism and news roles

• Director : North Carolina Local News Lab Fund [Remote in North Carolina]
• Director of Development : KALW Public Media [San Francisco]

Communications

• Communications Director : Progress Now New Mexico [Remote in New Mexico]
• Development and Communications Manager : The Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts [Massachusetts]
• Content Manager, Communications : MacArthur Foundation [Chicago]

Nonprofit organizations

• Elections Director : Georgia Conservation Voters [Atlanta] ⏱️ February 1
• Executive Director : Conservation Northwest [Seattle]
• Content & Community Manager : Rootcause [London]
• Land & Water Policy Advocate : Montana Environmental Information Center [Helena, MT]
• Development Director : PowerSwitch Action [Remote in the US]
• Senior Policy Specialist, Clean Energy :  National Wildlife Federation [Washington, D.C.]
• Regional Campaigns Director : The League of Conservation Voters [Remote in the US] ⏱️ January 29
• Director of Philanthropy Knowledge : Alliance Publishing Trust [London]

Fundraising and Development

• Vice President of Advancement : First Descents [Denver preferred / Remote]
• Director of Development and Communications : Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) [Los Angeles]
• Development Director : Georgia Conservation Voters [Atlanta] ⏱️ February 1
• Managing Director of Development and Communications : Center for Neighborhood Technology [Chicago]
• Vice President of Advancement : Feed the Children [Oklahoma City preferred]
• Strategic Partnerships Manager : Check My Ads Institute [Remote in the US]

Foundations and Philanthropy

• Program Officer : ECMC Foundation [Los Angeles, CA/Minneapolis, MN/Washington D.C]
• Education Initiatives Manager : Climate Disaster Philanthropy [Remote in the US] ⏱️ February 6

Agencies, politics, products, projects & more

• Deputy Director, Operations : Pocketbook Strategies [Remote in the US]
• Influencer Marketing Manager and Social and Influencer Marketing Specialist : Cotopaxi [Salt Lake City / Remote in the western US]

Future Community is a product of Ted Fickes and Bright+3. Reply or visit Bright+3 to get in touch and learn more about our work. It's fabulous.

Bonus time: For those of you at the intersection of "hey, he's referencing the Cheers song in the subject line" and "I love Star Trek: The Next Generation" here's the video you didn't know you needed.