Thursday

Shambhala on Facebook

Global Shambhala Network is a Facebook group created by Beth Roberts of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. member Beth Roberts sends this report on Global Shambhala Network, a Facebook group she created.

(What is Facebook? It is one of the largest and most popular of social networking sites, with almost 70 million users worldwide.)

Here’s what Beth has to say about Global Shambhala Network, or GSN:

“I have been a member of the Washington, D.C. Shambhala Center (using the term ‘member’ loosely) since about 2003.

“It’s been a great experience hosting the GSN! I joined Facebook about two years ago, and quickly realized what a powerful tool it is for connecting with people. Since a few of my local D.C. Shambhala friends were already on Facebook, I thought that a Shambhala group might be a good way to connect with them and any other Shambhalians on Facebook. I started GSN in the fall of 2007.

“At first we only had a tiny number of people and not much activity. But with very little promotion, word of the new group spread like wildfire (as these things tend to do on Facebook, which is what makes it such a powerful social networking too.) We soon had a huge jump in membership on a weekly basis. It was very exciting to see everyone from all over the world with a connection to Shambhala join together.

“The GSN group is a great way to share news and to promote the Shambhala.org website; I set up news links that take the reader to that website. It has also been a nice way for folks internationally, in particular, to connect and to share web sites and other information of interest to the global community. We currently have 1,452 members.

“There are also smaller offshoots, for example the Washington, D.C. Shambhala Center now has its own Facebook page as do many other centers. One thing that we see now and then are folks who are looking to connect with other Shambhalians in real life wherever they live and who have not yet found a community.

“My hope is that the site can help people connect wherever they are, and, if there are no other practitioners available in real life that at least the online community can be a good support and a way to stay in touch and make new friends.”

If you would like to visit or join Global Shambhala Network at Facebook, just click here to go to the group page. (You’ll need to join Facebook – which is free – in order to access the group.)