Kinda quiet on Reno Baby ...

[Elisa Maser]

Is everyone gorging themselves on Artown and the outdoors? No time for late-night computer sessions? Your Starbucks get closed in the purge?

[Flanigan]

It has been pretty quite huh? I think a lot of people are out and about enjoying the weather. Plus school is out for a lot of people. Come September, I think many will be back on.

[Nico]

I think the inside jokes (aka circlejerking) are the culprit. But that's just me.

[Elisa Maser]

It can get kinda harsh, that's for sure. And if you're not following everyone on 3 or 4 social media platforms ... it can be impossible to follow the discussion.

Me? I'm just swamped with work and trying to cram in a little Artown / outdoor / family time.

[Ryan Jerz]

I'll bite at this, Nico. I read this and thought, great, what did I do? Then I looked through the Forum and couldn't find anything that I would consider inside jokes. I did see an Artown post asking what people are digging that has 0 replies. If anything, Artown should have some replies, right?

So what specifically is killing the site? Feel free to email me if you don't want to call out anyone on here, but I am more than happy to hear it and try to keep the site interesting.

I see it as my responsibility to catch certain inside jokes (which I bet would be from mostly from my friends who are here under duress) and keep conversations relevant. I'm willing to hear any beefs anyone has about this, but also be ready to try to help fix it yourself. That's what communities do.

Finally, and this is for anyone, what are you doing to help the site? I see members on here post events to blogs and Facebook and whatever, but neglect to post them here. I know it's work to do all those things, but a little effort goes a long way toward building something we can all enjoy. So let's do it.

[Nico]

Eh, I don't think it's such a big deal, I was just saying.
And I was just saying it because I noticed a before/after, at least in my personal experience.
See here: http://renonv.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=1620325%3ATopic%3A10413&...
Before that, I'd visit daily. After that, I'd visit the site every 3 or 4 days, because I wasn't in on the intricacies of the relationships, and that led to a decreased feeling of belonging and/or inclusion.

I'm still checking the site though, and posting events. And I will continue to do so until it goes from quiet to dead :P

[Ryan Jerz]

That's a good one to point out. That was totally inside stuff, and it's disappointing that it would turn people off. Obviously that's not what's intended. I tend to play games about parts of town. You'll notice I rarely say anything nice about Sparks. Mostly just because it's not Reno. It's all in fun, and people I know from Sparks don't take it personally.

It's interesting that you mention not being in on the intricacies of the relationships. I follow you on Twitter and when I realized that an awful lot of the active people here were on it, I added it to the profile questions. That seems to be the best place to find regular conversation and become familiar with people. Some are here, some are not, but the overall picture is improved as we begin to form relationships with other people in our community.

I also would still love to get a Reno Baby! thing happening. I failed to make a party we were planning happen, but perhaps it doesn't have to be as formal. This isn't too big of a town, so we should all meet up and perhaps that will help anyone who is leery of jumping into a conversation less so. Thanks a lot for the feedback, Nico.

[Nico]

You're welcome.
I'm not saying "omg u guyz stop circlejerking", but to just be mindful that some people here joined in an attempt to be in the very circle (but not necessarily to be jerked on!), and feel more ostracized when they don't understand what's going on.

As for the Twitter thing:
1) I now follow you. woooo.
2) I've always tried to go from real life to cyberspace. I usually won't add friends to Myspace/Facebook unless I've met the person at least once in life.
I've tried to apply that to Twitter, but it doesn't work that well this way, so I'm adjusting to learning how to make e-friends/contacts first and then meeting them, without feeling like super dork. ("OH HAY I'M ALFAJ0R ON TWITTERRRRRR ")

[IndigoThirdEye]

Friending someone on twitter, facebook, myspace, whatever can only do so much for getting to know someone. I agree it creates a familiarity, and gets you in touch with a person's humor style. Although Twitter is great for meeting up with strangers and saying hi, even if for a moment. For a lot of the singles and shy folk here, there might be apprehension to meeting up with strangers at random places, so perhaps a Reno Baby Party of sorts is a good idea.

What about a potluck at a park? If you show up, great. If not, no biggie. I think creating a formal event makes it feel too much like a work mixer. Instead, just bring some food, something to keep you entertained (volleyball, soccerballs, footballs, games, etc), and an positive vibe. Allow alcohol for those darned inhibitions and mild enochlophobia types, but keep it family friendly as well.

All you really need is a time and place at that point, and the community will create the party as the day progresses.

[Flanigan]

inside jokes? hmmmm? Haven't experienced that. I actually like this site a bunch because it's nice to know from locals what's going on in Reno as far as events go. Besides RGJ and News and Review I check out Reno Baby to see what's going on. Plus I like meeting locals with mutual interests etc...Anywho hope everyone is enjoying their summer! As for Artown, I wish they had more theater and dancing on the week days after work...I like the bands but my 3 year old will only relax to watch for so long you know. The movies in the park are great, like the Lion King the other night...but here is my issue...there are some FREAKY people out there late at night and it's often just my 3 year old and I...so late nights at Wingfield don't work out for me :(

[Flanigan]

wooo hooo, so now we're up and running again! Good job Elisa! I don't actually know anyone personally on here yet. I've just met everyone from chatting. The point of this is to butt in on conversation and become part of them if possible...that's how you make "RenoBaby" friends! Right? We need to have a RenoBaby meet and greet eventually...sigh...yeeeeaaah.

[IndigoThirdEye]

I think I know where Nico is coming from, as I have seen it every time I try to assimilate into a new social networking platform. It's hard to jump into a group of well-established relationships especially when you dont understand the dynamics behind the relationship. This is especially true when a single group seems to dominate, while other groups tend to lurk or engage in very enthusiastic non-participation.

For example, when I first joined twitter, despite being a part of a very networked company, I knew very few people on it. It seemed like the only conversations I saw were between Wolfy, Jim S, and Jerz. I saw the same thing when I joined Reno Baby! The same single established group heading the social interaction and discussions. They are very vocal, very sarcastic, and post a lot. Not saying that's bad... that's just who they are. I cannot vouch for Jerz, but Wolfy and Jim are stand up guys, despite their douchbaggery (oooooh!).

Also, it gets hard to juggle all of the different social sites that have popped up over the years. I count at least 8 that I visit on a daily basis to get my updates and post. Some of the people on here are active bloggers as well. Throw summer events, family, outdoors, and good ol' fashioned face to face interaction in the mix, and you have a group of people who may have a hard time dedicating time to a website that isnt all that active.

So, I really just think it is up to the lurkers and part-timers to really step it up and get this site going full steam. Jerz, Wolfy, Scripps, and Flanigan cannot keep this site alive alone. They need our help. Reno is full of events right now, and maybe 3% of which are being posted in the events section. Maybe that's where we should start. From there, we can meet in the outside world, build our own relationship dynamics that will light a match under those sitting around waiting for something to happen around here.

However, I could be completely off-base here. Working in IT has a tendency to distort my views of reality and social interaction. So, take this message with a grain of salt.

@indigothirdeye out!

[Nico]

Bah, shut up, you nerd!

(example of inner-joke where I bash someone I'm friends with, knowing that he won't take me seriously)