To launch the conversation about Community this month, we felt like it was imperative to first look to our own community.
It didn’t take long to find the creators of The Vancouver Side, a widely popular, hyper-local video blog that highlights a range of small businesses, non-profits, events and community members.
The brainchild of Gary Bock, Jim Mains and Harrison Lynch, The Vancouver Side, launched into the vlog-o-sphere in April of 2012 and quickly became a hub for neighbors and newbies alike to learn about what’s happening around town.
We sat down with Gary and Jim (and eventually Harrison) to talk about how community is changing in the digital world and why they think their way of creating community is working.
Broadsheet360: Tell us a little about how The Vancouver Side came to be.
Gary: It grew out of our Think/Vote campaign of 2011. We found that we had more to say and that there was a real opportunity to highlight the community here.
Jim: Yeah, what he said. We want people to engage in their community, take more pride in it and have confidence when they say, “I’m a Vancouverite.”
Gary: We want to warm people up to the ‘Couv. We want to play. We want community to be fun and to show our leaders in a different light.
Broadsheet360: So, is community inherently political?
Jim: (Pulling out phone) Let’s ask Siri.
Gary: If you see politics as more than people who get elected to jobs then of course. If you look at it as the way people relate to each other. Think of the politics in high school, business. Politics are everywhere.
Jim: Yeah and so is the bridge.
*We interrupt this interview to offer apologies to our global readers. Skip to the next question. We can’t have a discussion about our community without discussing the elephant in the room: a bridge, more specifically a replacement bridge on I-5 that connects our community of Vancouver, Washington to Portland, Oregon. This project has been under discussion and planning for close to twenty years.
Jim: The bridge is dividing our community and what really worries me is that regardless of the outcome I think it’s going to leave a divide for years to come. The crazy thing is that only 8% of our community members are engaged in this one issue, but there’s a ton of energy and focus on it. I hear all the time from our viewers why aren’t we working on other things that matter—early childhood intervention, supporting our elders. The bridge gets all attention.
Gary: If you put the issue of the bridge aside, I think you’d find that people agree 95% of the time on those other issues, but for some reason we can’t get past this one.
Broadsheet360: Let’s put the bridge aside and talk about how our community is different. What makes Vancouver unique?
Gary: I’m originally from Southern California and I’m constantly stunned by the access we have to our elected officials.
Enter Harrison Lynch, the youngest member of The Vancouver Side and resident videographer.
Harrison: I’m from a town of 10,000 people, so I think the community here is big. I love it. It’s really one of a kind.
Jim: I’m a local. I’ve been here for life, but what’s different for me is that Vancouver has grown up. That’s good and bad. There’s so much more urban sprawl now. We’ve lost some gems. We’ve lost some green space. But, then at the same time we still have an opportunity to play in the woods close in. With the trail system you can get out into the forest in a matter of minutes.
Broadsheet360: In an ideal world where would you like to see the community in ten years?
Gary: I want us to develop identities in different neighborhoods. Each community needs to establish itself, its character, its attitude. Downtown has set itself apart with artwalks, events and localized restaurants.
Harrison: I want a connection between the east and west side of town. People who live in the east don’t even know we have a downtown. (Pointing) This is a downtown!
Jim: The problem for my generation of friends is they don’t look for community here. They head to Portland. I don’t think we’re connected enough. We need to embrace what we have to offer and embrace the fact that we’re right across the river from Portland. I want us to stop playing off that we don’t like Portland and work to embrace the uniqueness of both cities.
Broadsheet360: What do you think is working in our community now?
Gary: The local vibe is developing. We’re seeing a decline in national chains and a rise in locally driven attitudes.
Jim: The community is coming together to make people feel attached. We’re creating events where people bond to the event and the place like the outdoor summer concerts, farmers market and Anecdotal Evidence.
Harrison: One of the things I like about what we’re doing at The Vancouver Side is bridging those events with non-profits and business—bringing everyone together.
Jim: Yeah, the three of us each represent a different decade. As a community we have to meet each generation’s needs. Harrison pushes us to be edgy and Gary lends wisdom to our work.
Broadsheet360: Let’s talk a little more about your work. Our readers might not be familiar with your video antics.
Gary: Our goal is and always will be to mock ourselves. We don’t think there’s a benefit in mocking other people. The humor comes in laughing at ourselves.
Jim: We’re expanding our platform. We’ll be bringing in bloggers, highlighting more serious community events through a “Cup of the County” feature and showcasing funny, short clips in “Couv Clips.” Our one year anniversary is this April and we’re looking forward to continuing to expand our vast media empire.
Check out The Vancouver Side's latest installment of "Try" and look for new content on their site later this spring.