Cafe Reflections

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 I was an early adopter to social media. Over the years, it allowed me to reconnect with family and old friends.  It also acted like a rolodex and calendar to stay in touch with friends and activities.  It was a real time link to community groups.

There was also a negative or downside to this tool...this new world.  There emerged an incredible degree of negativity and vitriol.  It became a platform for politics, daily complaints, scam, spam and people trying to sell you duct cleaning.  

Two years ago, I thought it would be an interesting experiment to try something new.  As an urban planner, I have always believed in the concept of 3rd spaces.  These spaces included parks, libraries and recreation centres all of which are publicly accessible. But there are also coffee shops restaurants, fitness clubs and more; while privately owned; provided a space where people and the community gathered. 

The concept emerged to create a virtual cafe.  A place where people could gather, stop for a virtual coffee, catch up with friends, meet new ones, share memories, stories and have discussions on topics related to Bronte. 

The Bronte Cafe was born without any fanfare.  Rather, it grew by word of mouth (on other groups), sharing its existence with my FB friends and others stumbling across it in a search, or looking for something about Bronte. 

In two years it has grown to nearly 1800 members with an additional 2000 visitors and as many as 20,000 views and posts per month.  At present it grows at well over 100 people a month.  About 2/3rds live in Bronte/Oakville, the rest from farther afield.

Like any Cafe, there are regular patrons, others who visit occasionally and what I call street traffic.  The banter is positive and people have connected with old friendships and built new ones....at least virtually.

People share photos, memories and inspirational thoughts.  And.....lots of humour and fun.  We even have had a few members end up in FB Jail. 

It has also been a platform to post positive information on Bronte, local events and initiatives such as the Bronte Coat Drive.  It also receives cross posting from the Bronte Legion, Walton and the Bronte BIA.  

The Cafe also participates in other groups related to Bronte and Oakville.  There continues to be both positive and negative participation to the degree some of the more prominent ones and had to limit participation. 

Recently, I connected with an old high school friend (on FB) and we met for breakfast.  It was a wonderful discussion of a variety of topics. This year we also made a point of attending all the Lake Notes concerts, meeting up with new friends from the Legion.  

There are other commitments and activities, some fulfilling, others frustrating. 

Another backdrop has been the loss of a high school friend, another facing illness, a nephew with a major operation and another old friend going through the loss of a daughter.

Backing away and reconnecting in the real world turned a big light bulb on about aging and life.

I have long had a creative side of photography and writing.  Some of which I hoped to include in the Cafe.   That real life discussion with an old friend got me thinking about the Cafe and my original purpose/experiment. 

The Cafe has not really turned into the creative outlet particularly in terms of story telling and as an urban muse or observer which I had hoped.  That is not to say it is a fun and worthwhile space.  

Rather than changing the CAFE, it will continue to exist.  

However, I will be shifting my creative and writing outlet to a new FB Page called Parading the Streets.  It will include a blog on current events, urban  issues, my photography, stories and travel experiences.   I will be more outspoken on issues in our community and more.  

At the same time I will lessen my social media footprint on other groups, limiting to the promotion of some of the volunteer activities I cherish.  I will continue to administer the CAFE (if someone would like to take on a supporting role that would be great), but my presence will be limited.

So if you're interested; check out Parading the Streets. 


 



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