Brief History of Highlands, North Carolina, video via YouTube. Hat tip to Susie deVille for the link.
Lots of towns have a history video. What I want to see is your “now” video, and then I want to see your “future” video.
You know the kind of town history videos I mean. The ones with an announcer narrating the story while historical photos show your town the way it used to be. Of course, these things vary in quality. Some are really good and draw you into the story, some are really terrible. Most are just average, and they’re interesting enough if you’re interested in the town to start with.
Past
Let’s re-think that history video. What parts of your history matter? Think about what makes your town different. No place is quite the same mix of people and place, culture and heritage.
Present
What would you put in a “now” video? What are your people working on now? Here’s a way to think about it: If you gave me a personal tour of your town today, what would you want to show me? Now make that video and show everyone.
Future
What goes into your “future” video? You can let your imagination run wild. Create the vision of the town you want to live in. Create the whole vision, the downtown, the schools, the parks, the art, the fanciful parts. Invite kids to draw the town they want. Older kids can mock up models. Use these to create a “future” video.
Get together with friends and build the Lighter-Quicker-Cheaper temporary version of the town you want. Use pop-up restaurants and art galleries to fill empty buildings, put temporary cafe seating right on the sidewalks, haul in plants, invite everyone downtown, and make it a big party. Get video of that. That’s your “future” video.
If you have a “now” or “future” video, I’d love to see them. Drop a link in the comments, or if you’re reading by email, hit reply and send me the link.
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Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
