Why is this important?

 

Trust, however, doesn’t come easily; it must be earned. One way people earn our trust is through shared experiences. The more often we interact with someone, usually through participation in civic events such as Little League, Church Groups, business organizations, etc., the more we learn about them, and little-by-little, trust develops.

 

Businesses earn trust the same way. If you owned a business, who would you rather buy your inventory from—a company you know and trust, or one about whom you know practically nothing? The same principal applies to advice. Would you rather listen to someone you know has experience with a particular problem, or a stranger?

 

The question then, becomes, how do we increase our contacts? One way is through direct interaction, i.e. face-to-face encounters with others. We interact with others on various projects, and they, in turn, introduce us to people they know and trust, thus expanding our contact base.

 

Often, it is these type of contacts from whom we garner information that helps us achieve business and personal goals. Had we not taken the time to interact directly with someone else, chances are, an opportunity learned though a new contact would not have occurred.

 

One of the problems communities face when trying to build Social Capital is the very nature of today’s lifestyles. Individuals are less likely to volunteer their time than they were fifty years ago. Instead of attending meetings, they are home with their families watching television or surfing the Internet.

 

Smart communities are finding new, inventive ways to connect with their citizens. Instead of viewing the Internet as a problem, they embrace it as vehicle to help reverse the decline of civic involvement. Thousands of communities all over the world now offer interactive websites where citizens learn about problems, areas of concern and activities. Some even offer blogs where citizens are invited to offer opinions or suggest solutions to common problems.

 

Communities rich in social capital tend to fare better economically than those where trust is the exception, rather than the rule. When individuals and businesses within a community trust each other, they are more willing to work on projects for mutual benefit. This leads to successful collaborations, which can become the template for future collaborations, all of which help sustain a community’s economic viability.

 

Further Reading: