Building community through jokes and memes

This story was originally published in The Westshore newsletter, Aug. 2, 2022. 

When he moved to Sooke seven years ago, Benjamin Kendrick knew next to no one. His parents had a couple of older family friends, but the Alberta transplant wanted to get involved on his own. He’d been a fan of a social media page called Meanwhile in Russia, where people post funny videos and jokes about daily life in Russia—such as a photo of a tank going through a McDonald’s drive-thru.

So Kendrick started the Facebook group, Meanwhile in Sooke, where he figured the joke would be more like a tractor at a Tim Hortons drive-thru. He hoped he would meet a few locals and share some laughs.

He never expected the group to become the Facebook juggernaut it is today with more than 23,000 members. "I don't know why it's still growing today...but as long as people are happy, I'm happy, I guess," he said.

In the early days of the group, Kendrick hosted a meet-up to transition connections from the internet to real life. He figures 15 people came to that first event, among them a few who have become lasting friends. He met business owners, long-time Sooke residents, and a lot of newcomers. Through those friendships, he’s discovered a love of hiking, developed his photography hobby, and learned about all sorts of secret places and venues he’d never have found otherwise.

Online, the group kept growing, and on the ground hundreds of people were moving to the rural town. In the time Kendrick has lived in Sooke, the official population has increased by well over 2,000 people. This summer when he restarted the in-person meetings after a two-year COVID break, he saw a noticeable influx of new faces.

Moving to a new place during a pandemic comes with so many challenges, not least how hard it is to meet neighbours and make new friends. The Meanwhile in Sooke page has been a social lifeline for many, and a lot of folks were eager to get offline and meet in person. At the meeting this past Saturday, 25 people came. Not bad for a long weekend.

His advice for newcomers to any town is to find a local group, and reach out.

"Make it known that you want to be involved. I think a lot of people don't make that clear, and then people don't know what you're looking for. Be clear that you're open to new experiences and meeting new people," he said.

Managing an online group of this size has become a time-consuming job with an emotional toll. Kendrick spends up to two hours a day monitoring comments and enforcing group rules—no hate speech, no public shaming, no fake news or COVID discussion. But his decisions to delete comments or ban users who don’t comply has sometimes invited more trolling. Earlier this year Kendrick stepped away from Meanwhile in Sooke because the nasty messages from trolls were getting too much. He thinks a lot of it comes from people who live in Sooke and don't appreciate the way Kendrick promotes the town.

"There are some in Sooke who don't like change. They don't even like me to promote the town at all. So any promotion of the town is not good," he told The Westshore. "I thought the community thought I wasn’t a good person, or doing a good job. It can be hard to read people online."

He passed off moderation to other core group members while he restarted the in-person meetings, in partnership with the Sooke Chamber of Commerce. When the trolls let up, Kendrick came back. He couldn’t stay away from Meanwhile in Sooke for long, saying the reward is worth the work.

The Sooke Newcomers Club meets on the last Saturday of each month at a new location. On Aug. 27, they’ll be at the Artisan’s Garden at 10am.