E-Paying It Forward: How To Do A Digital Act Of Kindness
Over the last few decades, the idea of community has changed.
Instead of purely being a physical space like your neighborhood or your school, it’s become an online one. As such, many of us are increasingly members of online communities.
It could be a reddit where you get all the latest NFT news, a literary blog that lets you discuss the latest new reads you’re loving, or your hometown sports team’s site.
In the past, we’ve shared plenty of ways to better your IRL community (and to earn one of our coveted Better Your Community IRLA packs). You can try to beautify it through public gardens and lending libraries, you can seek out volunteer opportunities in your neighborhood, and you can support local businesses.
Given the time and energy we spend online, today we’d like to make sure that we’re contributing to our online workplaces and online spaces in a positive way, too.
With that, we’re sharing 7 little ways to send digital love to help you beautify your online community.
7 Ways To Pay It Forward Online
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Share The Social Love - Reviews and testimonials are one of the new currencies of the internet, and they are absolutely free. Sharing one for remote workers on their LinkedIn can make the difference in them finding their next job. For freelancers, perhaps it’s a blurb they can put on their own website.
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A Virtual Lunch Date - Surprise someone with a lunch meeting, and then just before the meeting is scheduled to start, have food delivered to their building. It’s a nice way to transform yet another video call into a special moment.
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Pay Someone A Compliment - As effective for coworkers as it is for friends on the internet, paying someone (a friend, a creator you like, or a coworker) a compliment by leaving a comment or sending a private message can be a nice treat. Depending on the situation, working on the internet can be isolating and a spontaneous message can make a difference.
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An Unsolicited Shout Out - Oftentimes we reserve the public shout out for big events: birthdays, anniversaries, job announcements. If you know someone who’s been working hard but still staying under the radar, giving them some online love when they’re least expecting it can help them feel seen.
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Digital Tips - While it’s not always possible to leave tips for employees who help you online, try and take the extra effort to give them positive feedback. From the thumbs up on the chat box to finding out their name and sending an email recognizing them to the company, these extra efforts could make their days (or even get them a raise!).
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Put The Fun In Crowdfund - You already know we’re big fans of crowdfunding, so we couldn’t leave this off the list. Search for probe they’re comjects on Kickstarter or Indiegogo that just sound like fun - maying from a place of passion, maybe they’re right at the finish line and asking for a helping hand to cross it - and give them a little boost.
- Fire Up That Signal Boost - When someone in your community is looking for help (for a job, to promote a project, share their art, or anything else), share their posts to your own profile. Maybe it’s an IG story or a retweet - however you do it (and especially if you do it without asking), you’ll be helping them get a bit closer to their goal.
What about you? Do you have any ways you like to share the love and pay it forward online?