Tuesday 29 April 2014

What is the 'Link4Growth Community Platform' ? ... and how WE are going to rebuild a nation!


There are a lot of challenges facing us today... There are challenges with inequality, the gap between the rich and poor gets wider by the day. We have punitive austerity measures that are affecting millions of people. There is a massive rise in Food banks and their use... We have an education system that is failing our young people with a million 16-25 year olds out of work... we are the unhealthiest we have ever been... obesity is reaching epidemic proportions and degenerative diseases are more rampant than ever before...

Would you not agree that it is time for change?

Welcome to the Link4Growth Community Platform... a platform to bring us together as a nation and remove the problems described above... it is a considerable task, but is absolutely possible... not only is it possible it has already begun... and it is gathering pace... This post is designed to explain the mechanics of how we are going to rebuild our country, how you can get involved and play your part. There is absolutely something for everyone... whatever background, age, or disposition... if you would like to be part of this... you can!!

Where do you start?

One of the things which has happened over the past 30-50 years is the gradual erosion of our communities. In the past people knew their neighbours, helped out when times were tough... but in the capitalistic dream (we bought) it became everyone for themselves... we began to measure our value with possessions, and so in the mad scramble of competition, the community spirit was lost... we only did anything for anyone if we were to be paid... and in order to feed the insatiable need for money, we had no time, and we had no need for community.

But the game is up... the capitalistic experiment has failed us, look at what we have created... it is little to be proud of... here are some major observations of changes happening right now... all of them gathering pace...
  1. Many people are becoming disillusioned and fed up with the rat race... fed up working hard, so the rich get richer. The Internet is enabling men and women to fit their work around their lives, perhaps accept a bit less income, but one which actually enables us be far happier with a much better quality of life. Family time is becoming more important.
  2. When we have re-evaluated our lifestyle and taken the focus away from money and possessions, appreciation and gratitude of what we have emerges. The people in our lives become far more important... relationships, support and nurturance becomes our natural state 
  3. As we spend more time working from home and / or with our family we become more conscious of what is happening around us, we become more engaged... and begin to take more responsibility for the community in which we live and work. People often become hugely passionate about where they live and want to improve it for all... the more the merrier!
  4. As we start to engage more locally, we discover a world of people we never knew before... we discover what they do, what skills and knowledge they have, what services they provide... and as we grow to like these people we begin to use their services and recommend them to others
  5. When we talk more and when we connect with each other so we also share information, our knowledge and expertise. By osmosis we can pick up information on a range of topics such as personal development, wellness tips, nutrition and even how to use technology to support us in our endeavours or daily lives... 
  6. As our communities develop and mature people begin to help each other out, swap skills, "if you do this for me, I'll help you out with that..." we can actually reduce the cost of living as we move away from total dependency on money to becoming an interdependent member of our community... Everyone is important, everyone has a contribution to make, everyone has a voice... we can all serve... we all have value... 
The above processes are happening naturally in society slowly but surely... but we are about to accelerate this process...

Introducing the "Link4Growth Community Platform" and the mechanics of rebuilding our communities and our country... It is time to get reconnected... Let's start talking to each other again and discovering those amazing people around us who make up our local communities...

Meet Offline... 
These are local events where we physically meet up, talk, listen, learn and connect. There are no fees to attend so there are no financial barriers, literally anyone from any walk of life can attend. To rebuild our communities we need 100% involvement, social organisations, charities, Schools / colleges, businesses, unemployed... everyone should be given the opportunity to join in... Events are held at different times of the day so there is something that everyone is able to get along too. Currently we host Link4Breakfast (early morning), Link4Coffee (mid morning), CSRLuncheons (noon - 2pm) and Link4Drinks (evening social).

Meet Online...
Not ready to go to an offline event yet? No offline events in your area yet? or perhaps you can't get to a local event? You can join the community for your city, town or village online in the Link4Growth Community Platform. Here you can meet, chat, learn and connect with other local people to you. When ready you can then meet up at any one of the local Link4Growth physical events in your community... or just get on and start one. Every inch of the UK is covered, so if you live in the UK you are already in the Link4Growth Community Platform!

A platform to take action...
There is no cavalry folks!! ... if this country is to be rebuilt, then it is us that has to rebuild it! ... If a job needs doing then connect with some other locals who feel the same way and let's get cracking. What on earth have we been waiting for? ... Now we can easily find and connect with other local like minded people we can start to transform our local community. There is so much that needs doing, we just need the encouragement and support to kick things off.

A platform for us to report and share the news...
At last a place where everything about our local community can be found in one location... and where everyone can contribute! No need to struggle finding different web sites to get the local information you need. Talking to people around the UK what we hear is that there are many amazing good news stories going untold... why? Because good news doesn't sell local papers...  with the Link4Growth Community Platform... you make the news... you can share news you're involved in and comment on other peoples news... No editor to remove your story... no editor to adjust or modify your words... you get to say what you want in your own words... how amazing is that? Take a look at the L4G Watford community... This is taking shape and is our very own local community magazine where we can all make a contribution!! ... shall we get your community magazine started?

A platform for us to celebrate the community we live in...
Up and down the country we have heard people moaning about their towns... how bad it is... all the negative aspects... All I've personally seen is how amazing these communities and places are... from the Redcar Riviera in the north east to the awesome Lutonia in the south... How about Penrith? ... it might be a long way up the M6 but it is next to some of the most amazing scenery in Britain... everywhere has so much beauty if only we could all see it... well now we can folks!! Take pictures, take video... lots of it! ... and share it on the Link4Growth Community Platform for your community... let's get positive about our towns and just watch the difference it makes... a few smiling faces and happy people could start something really special! ... Take a look at some of the pictures in Watford here... this is a side of the town rarely seen... budding journalists, local photographers... media people... or just anyone with a smart phone...  this is your chance to shine, get out there and expose your talents!


A platform that provides us with CommunityTV... 
Now everyone can find out what is going on locally from the comfort of their home... the Link4Growth Community Platform enables us to create TV channels to showcase the rich diversity of our local community life... Youth Shows, Local issue Debating platform, Health & Wellness, Business, A Charity channel... education opportunities... the possibilities are limited only by our imagination. This is being piloted in the SW Herts district and is about to gather momentum. Presenters need only have access to the Internet and a laptop and the platform allows for inviting guests onto the TV show from anywhere. Multiple guests can join in either during the shows or even at the same time... it is possible to even have roving reporters out there interviewing locally, even on the street, live for these community TV shows... this is a real chance to bring our local communities to life. All the shows are recorded too! Can't make the live show? ... watch in catchup via the community video library. What a chance for young people to plug into the technology and begin to carve out new skills and new business opportunities... let's create the future!

A platform that encourages us to buy local... 
Did you know that for every pound you spend with a local trader 5 times as much of it stays in the local economy, that has to be good for our local community. In the Link4Growth Community Platform we have special communities for local independent businesses. Take a look at the L4G BuyLocal Watford community. An independent business can create their own Brand page and this page can then join the BuyLocal community. This is all FREE, and you can start to tell the local community about you and your business. If you have a good news story, a happy customer or some special offers... you can now tell the community directly yourself... no delays, no waiting around for someone to post on your behalf. Easily learned and totally FREE to join in... we can now create a totally interactive and local directory for independent local businesses... now that is very powerful! We believe that the majority of local businesses could do all the business they need within a 10 mile radius, so what is the biggest reason that this is a struggle? ... answer... they are wearing a 'Cloak of Invisibility'. Too few people know about these small independents... and money available for advertising / marketing is scarce... so time to change this. The Link4Growth Community Platform is designed to provide a zero cost opportunity for both local businesses AND Charities to remove their 'Cloak of Invisibility' and be found by everyone in the local community... it is time for the transformation, revitalise our local economies and bring recognition to those unsung heroes in our charities and social organisations!

A platform that allows us to re-integrate the youth of today and encourage them to create their future...
Did you know that there are 1 million 16-25 year olds out of work... 700,000 who are feeling pretty hopeless about their future. Many of whom are waiting for that dream job to fall into their laps. I'm afraid we have failed these young people (click here to visit my blog on this subject) ... but the next biggest growth sector in our economy is going to be 'community building' and all the elements that make it up... as has already been said rebuilding our country is a massive task and there is enough work for everyone. It is a sacrilege that we have people doing nothing when there is so much to do... So we need to engage the young people of today, share with them the richness of what is available in community building today... they already 'get' the technology, they already 'get' the concepts of sharing and collaboration, they have been doing this for years... We just need to open their eyes, give them some ideas, nurture them in developing their skills ... and then watch them flourish... we owe it to them and there are so many interesting and diverse things that need doing there is something for them all... what we need to do is help them discover what they are passionate about... let us tap them into L4GYouth with +Alex Murray and bring these young people back into the community as positive contributors... after all... they will be in this world much longer than many of us!

A flexible, expandable platform that can grow and develop as we do... 
Rebuilding our community is a challenging project... it cannot be mapped out in advance, it is a journey. The destination is not known... we've never done it before. But with millions of minds working together to create the new future we want to see we are pretty confident we can come up with the right answers. As we learn we can add new areas to each community such as the sharing of information on Health and Wellness, Food and Nutrition which will have a positive impact on us and our families. It's not like going back to school, this is about sharing things we are interested in and that others might find the same. If you have tips on saving money, or how to be more eco friendly or even how to switch to buying from local independents rather than the supermarkets others might be interested to read them. The Link4Growth Community Platform can be whatever we want it to be... and it is likely to be different for each local community, and that is absolutely how it should be... let us celebrate our diversity and share it with the rest of the nation.

A platform for education and sharing knowledge...
We all have expertise and knowledge in fact collectively we have all the knowledge and ideas we need, the challenge is that it is locked inside our heads and we have no easy way to share this information with others. The Link4Growth Community Platform gives us the channel to share information locally, regionally and nationally... this can be done with written material or via video conferencing that can be broadcast across the nation. The rebirth of our country depends on us being able to unlock this latent knowledge and get it out there to those that need it...

A platform for business development and mentoring...
We often speak to small independent businesses, who are the lifeblood of this country and they are crying out for more support and help. Often this plea for help is directed at the Government who are not able to provide 'on the ground' real support. Nor do these businesses need help from tired Tim's who used to run businesses years ago. What is needed is useful, state of the art assistance from people out there running businesses today. The Link4Growth Community Platform provides a low cost opportunity to tap into business mentors and those with the expertise to nurture and support small businesses but who are out there at the coalface doing it today in the current economic climate. We need these local small businesses to be successful as they are the engine room for our communities and fund many of the local social initiatives.

A platform to plug into and collaborate with, for fast growth... 
If you want to reach out to a national audience... the Link4Growth Community Platform enables you to plug right in and communicate across 70 districts covering the whole of the UK fast and efficiently... The platform exists already and it provides instant scalability... collaboration is the future and Link4Growth wants to help spread great ideas fast... so talk to us and find out how you can plug straight into the platform.


There is such opportunity around the corner... there is excitement about what is possible... the platforms are in place... the platforms can scale to millions of people... now we have the chance to create the future we really want... the time is now... are you ready?