@nzieber@escapefrommelos Same haters come for Dubai but we also love life here too (and for those of us who have lived in HK we feel nostalgic for our times living there! 🤷🏻♀️
@nzieber Built most of the crew website last night using @relume_io which is such a game changer. Also started using @blotatoai to help me with social media which has also been really useful - already noticed an improvement in my LinkedIn
@charlierward Recommended you read Stolen Focus by Johann Hari (changed the way I view community!) - and sorry to hear you'll be in there for longer than expected, I'm sure you're being well taken care of :)
We threw a launch party for Ramen Space - the London founder co-working community from @RamenClubHQ!
An evening of music, drinks, pizza, pool and a tonne of laughs. With friends old and new.
(Ordering ramen for 100+ people is logistically challenging, but we'll work it out someday...)
Our first co-working session (then called 'Weekend Club') was way back in 2019, in a Whitechapel space called Ministry of Startups - a fun but short lived event series before COVID hit.
6 years later, we finally have our own space we can call our home - right in the heart of Dalston.
The evening felt like a culmination of many years of work, trials and tribulations.
And I can safely say all of those challenges were worth it.
Here's to our community members old and new - plus to the next 6 years, and beyond. 🍜🍜🍜
After taking some time out to relocate to the other side of the world and get myself settled, I'm now ready to get back into things.
I'm launching a new community in Dubai!
There's a few reasons why I'm dipping my toes back into actually building again (vs. focused on mentoring others):
1) I've been noticing people *need* closed and trusted networks more than ever. Dealing with bots, AI generated comments and fake profiles generated by AI has meant humans are craving authentic connections with other humans more than ever. Members need to be vetted - highly curated communities is key.
2) The developments happening in AI are insane. I've been enjoying learning how to use AI tools for a while but now I want to use them to solve some of the "older" problems I had when building communities over the years. I can now see how to scale certain community manager activities that previously felt like they were impossible to scale - which has got me pretty excited to be back in the community building space knowing my time will be spent differently.
3) The Dubai (and UAE) community scene here has so much potential. There are ambitious people from all over the world here that value the power of networks and there are tons of communities that exist here. The energy level here is off the charts - yet there is still so much opportunity for passionate community builders to improve the community experience for members (especially online based communities). I plan to play up to my strengths and see if I can deliver value to people in this part of the world.
So excited to share my journey building a brand new community in 2025!
If you want to follow my community updates on Instagram, I've just launched the account and will be posting more updates here on X on how I go from a community pilot concept to launch: https://t.co/tgDloE7RrW
Social clubs in NYC are booming.
10+ clubs have opened in Manhattan just in the last few years.
My theory:
People are fatigued with traditional nightlife—bars, restaurants. clubs.
If they’re going to go out and drop $$$, they want more value:
- Curated communities
- Immersive entertainment
- Alternative experiences (e.g Othership)
The bar has been raised (pun intended).