Paul, great post! I couldn't agree with you more; it is up to each of us in #UsGuys to make it whole again!
It belongs to us and we should take care and instill respect for the stream. How do we do that? By behaving in the manner that you want others to behave, by creating conversation that is professionally robust. Creating the desire to belong or be a part of the group and/or conversation.
For those of you those come from big families and understand the dynamics of it; that is exactly who we are! One big family with various tempers, characters and emotions! Sometimes we might not like each other- but we always respect each other, we embrace each other’s talents, and we celebrate our successes!
I believe #usguys will be there for a long time. I believe this community is giving us back more than just conversation...it is giving us a sense of belonging, of camaraderie. It has changed the way we use twitter and the way we communicate in social media. But the best part is; along the way we have made superb friends!

Paul

Some interesting and clear points on the development of #usguys.

The most important ones from my perspective are:

Leadership.

Ons site branded and developed that brings all the content together.

Conference/networking events opportunities UK/US.

Premium content service offers for potential members.

Partnership, discounts on services and products for members who do business with other members.

Promotion and development

Structured topics focused on the social web.

I have been a member from day one or five ;-) I have watched the growth, participated, engaged become frustrated, supported and defended this forum. We have gone through all the stages that groups experience offline only in public online on occasions.

What is critical is to step up to the next level. Focused leadership, strategy and business development activities are important to keep members engaged and to renew the membership.

It would be real shame if this group goes the way of other online forums and just withers and dies.

(cont)...learn how to be part of it. This is my focus. The biggest question and challenge that faces #usguys I believe is the transmission of its culture.


Kevin
@mediasres

Yes Dan, this topic has been addressed at least 173 times. Now it's time to do something about it.
I feel that it's important to distinguish between the #usguys twitter stream and the #usguys tribe. The twitter stream is open to everyone due to technical nature of twitter. Furthermore, it is very superficial and fleeting. At peak hours the “shelf life” of a single tweet is measured in fractions of a second. And, if you don’t tweet, it usually takes a week or so before someone notices. But that’s OK, that’s how twitter works.
People meet in the stream, discover other avenues like LinkedIn, Facebook and the Blogs and develop deeper relationships there. That’s where the real “tribe” starts to form.
The real tribe is not in the Twitter Stream, not in the Facebook groups, not on the Fan Page and not in the LinkedIn group. The real tribe exists in the hundreds of thousands of individual connections that exist on FB, LinkedIn, Skype, IRL and even other kinds of cooperation that started somewhere way back in the Twitter stream. That is the strength of #usguys. And that’s why I agree that a professional and well maintained “Homebase” and some sort of branding are important. People do leave the twitter stream, but they don’t leave the tribe. There is a need for a place that people can always come home to, a place where a presence doesn’t expire as quickly as a tweet or a Facebook post.
I’m starting to feel like Norm from Cheers, so I’ll stop here. Prost everyone!

Ha! Jon Henry is SteelDryver.

I think that the beauty of the multiple blog posts about #usguys is that it is something different to each person and not the same to any two people which gives each person their own voice on their blog. Maybe a new person wants a longer description like Paul's post or something short & snappy like Carl Sorvino's how to join #usguys graphic. The main point is that #usguys HAS evolved over time and people keep coming back to say hi and converse. I would love to see more indepth conversations and interchange like we had so much more frequently in the past but also find new value in each new friend that comes in to ask "what is #usguys?" Cheers!
P

Its funny how what you guys call a "phenomenon" happens every day on social media platforms. People connecting, building relationships, meeting IRL. Maybe you guys should stick your heads out of your beloved stream for a second and take a look around. Then ask yourselves why the original members/founders rarely make an appearance there. Or realize how many people exploit your stream just to get blog post clicks/comments. Don't believe your own hype.

But if it makes you all feel better about yourselves to make the tribal bell your claim to fame, then who am I to rain on your parade...

Hi Paul,

I think this is a really well-written post, not just because it sort of traces the history of what Usguys has been and is now, but also because it sets that against how Social Media at large may be developing.

The tribe certainly has had its ups and downs, but in general, I have been stunned at how the group has grown and remained cohesive. Some of my greatest online connections are in #usguys, so how could I not hold it in a special place in my heart? :)

Well done!

Nice summation of where #UsGuys is at Paul. Others have echoed much of what I think as well. Particularly how it's up to each of us to make it what it can be. We each get to define our user experience so to speak by what we contribute.

While I'm not jumping in as often as I did before, I see the stream and lively dialogue taking place. For me, competing priorities have pulled me away but that doesn't discount the quality of the people I've come to know nor the smile I often get when I see your banter in the stream.

I am in fact very much looking forward to meeting you and hopefully other New York area #usGuys next Tuesday (June 7th) somewhere in NYC (still need to nail that down!!!).

In short, if you're not getting something out of the stream, it's your individual responsibility to do so or not. It's free form and a case of what you put into it / how you use it. And that's the beauty of it. And like life, yes, it's going to ebb and flow. And who knows where it's going to go. But either way, I still think it's pretty cool!

As I read your insightful post, Paul, I realized that I've been one of those people who has been in-and-out during the last 9 months. Well, never out entirely, but sometimes extremely active in #usguys and sometimes only moderately so.

I guess I'm learning that everything in life seems to cycle -- has its natural ebb and flow -- and so at this point, I no longer get frustrated if the stream seems less gratifying on a particular day.

Your call to action is empowering: if there's something you/I/we want from #usguys that you/I/we aren't getting... then, create it!

On a more practical level, it seems important that I point out that:

working in digital media can sometimes be lonely.

If you work remotely, or from home, or if you are a blogger, or are a digital marketing expert at your company -- you may not have daily access to like-minded people who are as fascinated by social media's positive possibilities as you are.

In other words, sometimes you want to talk-shop with people who already essentially 'get it.'

And for this, #usguys has had significant value to me.

In fact, in many ways, #usguys took these concepts that we'd all been exploring intellectually for a couple of years, and made those concepts: very, very real.

As my first port of call in a vow to visit/comment on more #usguys blogs, what better place than a piece on the stream itself, from the very fella that introduced me? Right? Right.

First and foremost, #usguys IS a special stream, at least from my perspective. The level of close support, positive attitude, diversity of knowledge, open-minded debate and many other facets, all pretty much on tap for a 24/7 rotation, set it apart from anything else I've come across on Twitter. That's not to say other experiences that hit all those buttons don't exist, but I've tried many and haven't found all of that in another place, to date.

As Dane mentioned - and its excellent to see you regularly in the stream again, btw :) - the ebb and flow of participation is a natural phenomenon. Whether due to life/biz commitments or simple burn out, everyone will have periods during which they're pulled away from #usguys. Sometimes it's intentional, others involuntary, but there's something there that keeps people coming back for more...even if only to tap on the glass now and then, as with the inimitable Mr Perez!

For new folks too, the constant I see is that people are astonished by the volume of welcome that flows into their @ mention column. Even if they don't return frequently - though many do - that initial #usguys experience remains with them, perhaps again drawing people back over time. It also encourages us existing #usguys to explore the profile of those we just welcomed, encouraging increased interaction and understanding of who we've added to the ever-swelling ranks.

To retain the core of what #usguys offers to people, I think we all need to bring as much of our specific 'expertise' (dread word) and knowledge to the stream as often as possible, adding to the fun and games of morning #coffee and the #Nightshift (can you tell when I'm on most frequently?) with informed debate, advice, and professional information as we can muster. It's easy to sit back and watch someone else answer a question, but what if we always tried to jump in and add our own perspective? At minimum, the group will benefit from an extra tweet, at most, key info will be exchanged and discussions started/ideas generated. Win, win, and thrice win.

I don't think the #usguys stream looks like withering any time soon and it will certainly have more than its fair share of growing pains as time goes on, but I believe there's something at its core that most participants understand and value. To keep it burning bright and push it to new levels, I think we all need to be the change we want to see and participate with as much of our passion and intelligence as we can muster.

Oh, and always share the #coffee.... ;-)