Building More Than a Website: A Year of Lessons, Changes, and Possibilities

As we approach the one-year mark of the GXA "GenXAlliance", I've been reflecting on what this experience has taught me, what I've gotten right, what I've gotten wrong, and where I'd like to take things next.

After decades of working in web development, branding, and online marketing, one thing never changes.

Building a website and building a community are two entirely different things.

I know how to build websites. Getting people to discover one, walk through the doors, participate, and keep coming back? That's an entirely different education.

Especially when your audience is Generation X.

Let's face it. We're a skeptical bunch. We've spent enough years being sold to, marketed at, and promised the moon to develop a healthy suspicion of anything asking for our time, attention, or money.

And honestly, I don't blame us.

Learning as We Go

One of my earliest decisions involved exploring ways to financially support the community through member contributions.

The reasoning was straightforward. Building, hosting, maintaining, and promoting an online community involves ongoing expenses. I hoped to establish a way for the community to help sustain itself, allowing me to invest more resources into its growth.

My intentions were sincere, but the approach wasn't necessarily right for what I was trying to accomplish.

Some people questioned my motives. A few responses were unnecessarily personal. But I've never taken that low of an IQ seriously. But looking past the criticism, I recognized an important lesson.

Trust is earned over time, and I was introducing financial considerations before people had experienced enough of the community to determine its value for themselves.

That's something I should have considered more carefully.

I don't view it as a failure. I view it as an education.

You try something, evaluate the results, learn what you need to learn, and adjust accordingly.

That's how progress happens.

A Different Approach

I've since decided to cover the community's operating expenses out of my own pocket.

Not out of guilt. Not because I believe there was anything dishonest about my original intentions. I'm doing it because I believe in what we're building, and I'm comfortable personally investing in its future.

More importantly, I've spent much of the past year developing a longer-term approach that doesn't depend on financial contributions from members.

And here's where my thinking gets a little unconventional.

Rather than building something that takes money out of people's pockets, I'd love to develop opportunities that help put something back into them.

There are ideas I'm actively exploring, details to work through, and plenty of practical considerations. I'm not interested in making promises before there's something concrete to deliver.

But the direction is intentional. I'm currently working with two of our own to develop a system I can invite you all to join.

Perhaps it's the people pleaser in me. Perhaps it's simply the perspective that comes with getting older.

After spending so much of my working life involved in the internet, I've reached a point where I'm increasingly interested in what I might contribute rather than what I might personally gain.

Thinking About Legacy

I've also found myself thinking about something I rarely considered when I was younger.

Legacy.

Not in some grand, self-important sense. I don't expect history books to remember my name. Heck, most people I meet forget me by the next day.

But I sometimes imagine a grandchild, great-grandchild, or distant relative stumbling across my name in some obscure corner of internet history decades from now.

What would I want them to discover?

I'd hope they'd find someone who made mistakes, acknowledged them, learned from them, and tried to use his experience to make a positive difference in other people's lives.

Someone who eventually realized that personal success isn't always measured by what you accumulate.

It's better measured by what you contribute.

I don't share that looking for recognition or a pat on the back. I share it because I believe being transparent about our motivations matters, particularly when we're asking people to trust something we're building.

And because, at this stage of my life, that perspective genuinely influences the decisions I make.

It's About Participation, Not Population

One thing hasn't changed since the beginning.

I'm not particularly interested in boasting about how many members belong to the GXA.

Ten members, fifty, a hundred, or ten thousand. The number itself means little without meaningful participation.

I'd rather see ten people genuinely enjoying themselves, exchanging ideas, sharing experiences, and building friendships than have thousands of names on a membership list with little interaction.

I want this to be a place people visit because they enjoy being here.

Somewhere to laugh, learn something, share an opinion, discover an opportunity, or connect with someone who understands the experiences of our generation.

And I appreciate everyone who has already helped make that happen.

Of course, the challenge is figuring out what makes a community valuable enough for people to return regularly.

That's where listening becomes important.

What do people want? What interests them? What would make their time here worthwhile? What are we overlooking?

Those are questions worth asking, and the answers will continue shaping what we build.

The Next Chapter

I'm optimistic about where this is going.

Not because I believe I've figured everything out, but because I'm willing to keep learning.

Some ideas will work. Others will need adjustments. A few might turn out to be completely wrong.

I'm comfortable with all three possibilities.

That's the advantage of approaching something as an ongoing learning experience. Nothing needs to remain set in stone.

For those already participating in the GXA, I appreciate you being part of the experience. I'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.

For those discovering us for the first time, you're welcome to come have a look around. There's no expectation to participate in anything that doesn't interest you.

And if you find something worthwhile, perhaps you'll stick around and contribute a little of your own personality to the mix.

Because there's one thing I understand better today than I did when this began.

I can build a website on my own.

But building a genuine community involves something much more interesting: people choosing to make it their own.

That's what I'd like the GXA to become.

Not simply another website with my name attached to it, but a place our generation finds useful, enjoyable, and worth sharing.

We're still learning. We're still evolving. And I'm looking forward to seeing where we take it.

After all, we're Gen X.

We've been figuring things out as we go for most of our lives.

Why stop now?

Sean Lowery
Founder, GXA

The biggest Gen X online house party ever.

Building More Than a Website: A Year of Lessons, Changes, and Possibilities

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Written by a member of The GXA: GenX Forum.