What is Community?

What do you think about when you hear the word "community"? Webster's first definition of the word is "a group of people living in a particular local area." I think of something a little more concrete like playgrounds, baseball fields, volunteering at the Red Cross, family dinners, barbecues, and fun! So to me, community is less about placing boundaries on geography and more about expanding definitions. Community is about finding common interests and sharing insights with people who might not have been in your social/business circle before.

Since we've updated our Merchant Forum, there have been great discussions and tips shared by merchants. The forum is a great place to expand your business network and meet people you otherwise wouldn't come into contact with. You, as a business owner with a website, are in a special place since you can make contacts online as well as offline through your business. Please use every opportunity available to reach out to your fellow business people or just browse the forum and see what your fellow business owners are talking about.

I was looking through our Merchant Forum today, reading some interesting posts by merchants from all over the U.S., and took note of Debbie's Mobile Tax Service, based in Port Hueneme, CA. Debbie had this to say about her newly acquired site:

Pretty new to MerchantCircle
I recently joined MerchantCircle, have added a coupon and a blog, and told a few other businesses about the site. I havent seen any activity from my site either, but I have seen my business name clearly jump higher on Google. It has made me much more visible, so I am expecting to find more people who let me know that they found me on Google. Since the majority of my business is seasonal, I will find out in a few months if more people are finding me.
Debbie
Debbies Mobile Tax Service

Great work on the website so far, Debbie. I really like how you're utilizing the bulletin board to show off your coupon! And it's always good to hear when merchants notice that they're getting more visibility online. I'd like to see even more people using the forum and stretching the limits of that word "community."

Best Regards,
Ryan
Product Marketing