It has been a very busy week. I have been working with my development team to enhance the features of the ventureheart.com Professional Community. The BETA version will launch tomorrow! There have been many long nights going over revisions of the software application. To this point, users that have registered have not been approved to log on. This process is as such:
For an online community to truly work and survive, a focused, common thread must exist. Hence, before the member gains access to join or view the ventureheart.com Professional Community:
- Member profiles are reviewed manually to approve content.
- The profile is checked against profiles of other community members to verify that common interests, goals, and experiences are shared with the group.
- A new member may also enter upon invitation by an existing member.
Only users that complete this process are allowed to view member profiles. This adds a level of privacy to the community- unlike most online communities that let any visitor off of the internet browse. Furthermore, privacy options let members determine who in the network has access to specific information in their profile.
I know that the Black Community really values privacy. From my experience, we are significantly more hesitant to share information about ourselves- from discussing our finances with family to posting a profile on the internet. I think that often this line of thought hinders progress.
Why is that we don’t want to tell our neighbor how much we paid for our house? Don’t they live in the same neighborhood? Couldn’t they easily find that out?
Why don’t we want to share our secrets of success with one another? Will it take away from our own?
It truly annoys me. However, I have to admit that I have followed this secrecy at times because of conditioning from the unspoken practices of our community. In recent years, I have tried to be conscience of it and break the trend- fueling the inspiration for creating an online Black Professional Community.
I hope the ventureheart.com Professional Community sparks open dialogue about success in business, family, and other personal endeavors. I want to share information about how I run my business as well as learn from more seasoned business owners. We have to get it in our heads that sharing this type of information is not going to take away from our own identity or success!
You know, one of my largest clients was an Hasidic Jew. This man sat me down, told me how many millions of dollars he was making a month and mapped out how he got there. Clearly, the way that Jewish people share information with each other has not detracted from their success as a community! I never forgot how I thought that a Black person would never share this type of information with me! What is that? Is it a residual effect of slavery? Do we feel like if we speak of it that “master” is going to come and take it from us?
As a people, we have had a very damaging and tragic history. Our behavior may very well stem from the past. How do we move on? Who are our leaders of today?
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this topic.
I hope that we can lead together and create a difference, even if just within our own families, through the Black Professional Community here on ventureheart.com
I said all of this to say that the BETA (in progress) version of the ventureheart.com Professional Community will launch tomorrow. Users that have registered and are waiting to log on, will receive an email message with a profile activation link within the next 24 hours.
Reisha
For an online community to truly work and survive, a focused, common thread must exist. Hence, before the member gains access to join or view the ventureheart.com Professional Community:
- Member profiles are reviewed manually to approve content.
- The profile is checked against profiles of other community members to verify that common interests, goals, and experiences are shared with the group.
- A new member may also enter upon invitation by an existing member.
Only users that complete this process are allowed to view member profiles. This adds a level of privacy to the community- unlike most online communities that let any visitor off of the internet browse. Furthermore, privacy options let members determine who in the network has access to specific information in their profile.
I know that the Black Community really values privacy. From my experience, we are significantly more hesitant to share information about ourselves- from discussing our finances with family to posting a profile on the internet. I think that often this line of thought hinders progress.
Why is that we don’t want to tell our neighbor how much we paid for our house? Don’t they live in the same neighborhood? Couldn’t they easily find that out? Why don’t we want to share our secrets of success with one another? Will it take away from our own?It truly annoys me. However, I have to admit that I have followed this secrecy at times because of conditioning from the unspoken practices of our community. In recent years, I have tried to be conscience of it and break the trend- fueling the inspiration for creating an online Black Professional Community.
I hope the ventureheart.com Professional Community sparks open dialogue about success in business, family, and other personal endeavors. I want to share information about how I run my business as well as learn from more seasoned business owners. We have to get it in our heads that sharing this type of information is not going to take away from our own identity or success!
You know, one of my largest clients was an Hasidic Jew. This man sat me down, told me how many millions of dollars he was making a month and mapped out how he got there. Clearly, the way that Jewish people share information with each other has not detracted from their success as a community! I never forgot how I thought that a Black person would never share this type of information with me! What is that? Is it a residual effect of slavery? Do we feel like if we speak of it that “master” is going to come and take it from us?
As a people, we have had a very damaging and tragic history. Our behavior may very well stem from the past. How do we move on? Who are our leaders of today?
I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this topic.
I hope that we can lead together and create a difference, even if just within our own families, through the Black Professional Community here on ventureheart.com
I said all of this to say that the BETA (in progress) version of the ventureheart.com Professional Community will launch tomorrow. Users that have registered and are waiting to log on, will receive an email message with a profile activation link within the next 24 hours.
Reisha