Category: CommunityCategory: Community

It don’t have to be pretty, it just had to be done.

I’m setting up at a the Lehigh Valley Punk Rock Flea Market this weekend with a friend, and I’ll be selling some musical equipment and records and Star Wars books.

Date: Saturday, September 6, 2025
Vendor Time: 10 AM – 4 PM
Live Music Time: 4:30 – 7:30 PM
Location: The Ice House, 56 River St, Bethlehem, PA 18018

I made a few of these for curious onlookers to pick up and discover the magic of Social Media Escape Club because there’s a great big world out there that might never know about this community!

The text, “Maybe centralized kingdoms of power and influence aren’t the answer,” is from a 2024 post titled “It’s time to do whatever we want.”

As in, we can spend a couple of bucks at a local print shop and make something like this, instead of paying Meta or Twitter to “boost” our posts for absolutely nobody to see.

At least this way maybe three people discover my work, right? And maybe one becomes a member?

Plus, I’ll be having a great day hanging out with my BFF as we try to unload gear we don’t use anymore. I’m forecasting a great return on investment.

Instead of posting 10 things on social media today, email 10 people you’ve never talked to before.

Hop on a Zoom call, swap ideas, ask questions, tell them you like their work.

What if just one of those people included your work in their next email? Or mentioned you on their podcast?

Posting into the void lets us off the hook. “Well, I tried!” we can say.

There’s tension involved in writing to 10 people directly, know that one person will most definitely read your email, and they just might respond.

One third interview, two thirds group Q&A with AMELIA HRUBY, PHD – feminist writer, prolific podcaster, and founder of Softer Sounds!
📅 Thursday, September 11

🕑 2:00–3:00 PM EDT

This hour-long call is part interview, part community Q&A. 

Together we’ll talk about what it looks like to leave social media, build cozy websites (and blogs?!?), and keep making magic without relying on big platforms to spread the word.

This is for paid members only, but you can get a trial membership for just $10 and get all this:

▪️ Access to 3+ live calls every week with creative folks curious about leaving social media – community!
▪️ Personalized email feedback from me (two rounds included)
▪️ Free access to my upcoming MAKING COZY VIDEOS PIZZA PARTY (normally $50)
▪️ Stay connected between sessions in our members-only Discord.

Get your 30 day trial for just $10 here

You’ll get an email with the Zoom link right after you sign up.

On Monday’s Escape Pod Zoom call we dared to believe that we could put work into the world without bowing to the algorithm gods. That our work could stand on its own, and build a sturdy foundation for what’s ahead.

In our workshop on Wednesday we shared stories of grounding our projects in local communities, with real people, and working through procrastination. We also got talking about Patreon and “extra offerings,” and a member mentioned this:

“In the UK, people really love to visit gardens and houses, and they’re just so happy. They will pay the ticket, and they’ll wander around, and they’ll stare at things. And it’s because, you know, it’s not a house that they could own, or a garden that they could have. So, if you’re a creative person making stuff, that’s super interesting to people who don’t. Is there a way that I could just provide a window to my world? You pay your entrance fee, you come and look around a bit, and I don’t have to do anything extra—just share some of what I’m already doing.”

AI was definitely the theme of our Thursday Escape Pod Zoom call. I don’t think we really “figured out” how we’re gonna beat it, but I bet adding more of our own humanity to the work we’re making will probably help.

(more…)

Max Pete and I had a nice talk about chasing tech dreams, the rise (or comeback?) of offline community, and how creatives can find balance between being seen online and actually living their lives.

Some solid quotes from Max during this talk:

“The tech dream is a nightmare… more people I talk to that are in this industry want to leave and do something else—like work at the coffee shop, work at Trader Joe’s—but don’t know how to do that or feel like they can’t.”

“As a community professional, we often put ourselves on the back burner… it leads to burnout. My next talk will be about how to take care of yourself while taking care of others.”

It’s okay to be forgotten and not know everything or everyone. You don’t need to be famous or popular or known by everyone to do good work.