My search for an alternative community platform has led me back to, yes, Twitter. Although I am still experimenting with a couple of other platforms, namely Minus and Discord, this new Twitter Communities pilot is interesting. We're all aware of the trials and tribulations of Twitter, and we're also aware that it is not entirely without value. As I've previously mentioned, I have made a small number of decent connections with people there that have led to light-touch friendships and collaborations. So when this invite-only communities pilot launched with an opportunity to apply, I thought it would be cool to create one focused on minimalist design.
I applied through the Minimalissimo account because it felt like the most suitable and probably increased my chances of being accepted. Well, it was, and the community is now up and running.
A community has moderators and members. Each moderator can invite as many people as they want, and members can invite up to five people. I think it will be straightforward to grow on a platform like Twitter, but I am keen to keep the numbers pretty small. If a community grows too much, it ceases being a community. That probably means we have to ignore some requests to join, but it's probably a good thing in the long run. But who gets in? Well, I'm pretty open to that. Although other mods and members can invite who they want, I'll personally be looking at people's Twitter bio and recent timeline for relevancy and to see how active they are on the platform. I'll send them an invite if I think they'll be a good fit and likely to positively engage.
So what are we going to talk about? It's difficult to say at this stage, but we can share and discuss past, present, and future designs and concepts. To celebrate the work of others and use the community to request feedback on work of our own. But it also doesn't need to be too serious or intellectual. Shit, if someone wants to share a meme, so be it.
Like with any community, it's impossible to know how successful it will be or even what success might look like. I certainly won't be comparing it to any other Twitter communities. I simply hope there are some decent discussions and good vibes.
If you are interested in joining the Minimalism in Design community, get in touch.
Update: This hasn't really worked out. I thought people would be interested in it, but it got very little engagement, so it's not something I am going to pursue. I think for it to work, you need people who tweet multiple times per day to keep activity very high, otherwise, it becomes stale and people won't waste time communicating there.