What this is and what it might be, Part 1

I thought we'd pause the weekly dispatch to talk about the future of Uncommon. This week, I write about what this is and what I hope it will be.

Have you ever tried to explain Uncommon to a friend and found yourself saying, "It's a little hard to describe..."? I sympathize. Let me help.

Uncommon in Common is a community of creative, kind, and curious people. (That's you!) It's a work in progress that has begun with a weekly dispatch about the best and most meaningful parts of our lives. The email is about the community, but also by the community. In the future, Uncommon will have an online home, a haven from noise and chatter, follower counts and filters.

Uncommon asks the question, What are your ten favorite things in the world? The answers, and the stories behind them, are a profound way to explore the uncommon we have in common. Uncommon will also be a place for the best parts of our week. What are the things you return to again and again? A daily question prompts us to share our insights and inspirations. Finally, Uncommon is thoughtful conversation. Not forums or comment threads, but a slow dialogue with a different group of people each week.

Incredibly, this community already exists. We've created lists of uncommoners on Twitter, shared drinks in Austin, learned about one another through the dispatch, and started conversations with people near and far. There are almost 300 of us now. Here's what a few of you have had to say:

"What you're building is exactly what people need on the Internet - meaningful, personal, and interesting stories that bring people together." — Adam

"With each dispatch I fall a little more in love with the @uncommon community. It's bringing out the best of the internet and the people on it." — Patty

How do we take the next step forward?

Uncommon is a self-funded passion project. We're a small team investing our weekends and evenings in something we believe is worthwhile and achievable. (And if you're a designer who'd love to leave your mark on Uncommon, let me know.) We're starting to build the foundations of the site. That will likely be a slow process, but we'll be able to explore this idea even before the bits and pixels combine on our screens. It's called Tangibly Uncommon and it's a different way to begin an online community. More about that next week.

The heart of why we want Uncommon in Common to exist is because we want to be part of it ourselves. We want to meet more people like each of you and share the best of ourselves and this world with each other. We want to visit a beautiful website and leave inspired and refreshed. We want to start conversations on Uncommon and continue them on our back porches.

There is so much more, but surprise is part of Uncommon, too. I'd love to hear your questions and thoughts about these sketches of Uncommon's future. What resonates with you? How can we make it even better?