Today, we launch Memberful Design! 20 years in the making

Hi there. I’m Harald Dunnink, the creator and host of Memberful Design. Alongside my team, I’d like to welcome you to our initiative to make the world more memberful.

But you might be wondering — what’s this word memberful? Why did we launch this thing? What’s it all about?

This project came out of a realization that you’ve probably had, too. It’s hard to ignore that we’re facing increasingly complex, multifaceted challenges: entrenched polarization, fickle billionaires, rising sea levels, and more. None of us can solve these types of problems on our own. It’ll take communities coming together, working in concert, to get us where we have to go.

You sometimes hear this referred to as collective action (which we’re huge fans of). But the power of the collective requires the commitment of the individual — and it can be a challenge to break through the noise and inspire action.

Where do you start? What story do you tell? How do you bring people together?

These are the kinds of questions we’re exploring at Memberful Design: How to best create meaningful connections, between people, among ourselves, and across communities. To find answers, we’re talking to experts from across the creative spectrum.

Expect to hear from founders, firestarters, designers, makers, and creators. Each month, we’ll share their insights, along with practical toolkits, and tidbits of wisdom from our own work and community.

The work we’re sharing here is also research-backed. The ideas behind memberful design were developed in partnership with researchers at New York University and stem from our work on De Correspondent, the third-largest member-funded journalism platform in the world. The seed of this idea was planted there, and now we’re ready to watch it grow.

Along the way, we’ll reach out to you, our readers and listeners, to hear your thoughts and experiences. Together, we’ll discover how we can build communities to create lasting impact.

Because whether you're sparking a movement or building a brand, we can all benefit from creating meaningful and lasting relationships with our biggest advocates.

Welcome to Memberful Design, we’re so glad you’re here.

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