*Special thanks to Dr. Jordan Lewart of Orangetown Smiles who provided a topic idea that helped inspire this blogpost
It could be because I've only grown up to "tower" around 5'4" in adulthood, but during my childhood I often heard the cliche "Good Things Come in Small Packages." I usually dismissed the trite expression as some sort of compensatory phrase friends and family would offer to help us short folks feel better about ourselves, but in writing this blogpost have had occasion to re-examine this expression in a different way as it relates to community and intimacy, the kind of community and intimacy found in Rockland County.
When I recently asked the Rockland BizBuzz 'Facebookers' and 'Twitterers' to suggest topics for this blog, one that particularly piqued my interest came from Dr. Jordan Lewart of Orangetown Smiles who wrote "...as a county we are the smallest in New York. It's almost like we are a big town... [there is an] intimate feel in Rockland." One quick check of Wikipedia will confirm that, yes, "Rockland is the smallest county in New York outside of New York City." It's a interesting factoid, and I started wondering if it could possibly help explain why Rockland County has the fine reputation it does for being warm, friendly, and for having local businesses where the store owner and/or staff most often knows your first and last name and maybe even remembers to congratulate you on that local award your son or daughter or spouse recently won. There's something to be said for "small".
Surely, it's easier for local Rockland County businesses to keep track of customers' likes/dislikes/needs when a county is small. It's also easier and more likely for community members to run into one another as they prepare for holiday celebrations at the gourmet shops when there are only a certain number of gourmet shops in the area. The familiarity and proximity help create a warm, intimate feeling.
There is a darker downside to "small" though too. Xenophobia, and also fear of "the new" (regarding new ways of doing things that have traditionally been done otherwise) can occur. In fact, in preparing this blogpost, a few local folks who do not engage in social media (and therefore not yet familiar with Rockland BizBuzz on Facebook or Twitter or the RocklandBizBuzz blog) turned me down and/or wouldn't contribute ideas either because Rockland Biz Buzz wasn't yet known to them and/or because of distrust of "that new social media stuff". Only one of those few was borderline rude (in the holiday spirit I will spare the person's name and organization name), but I did get the distinct feeling that I was being interrogated a bit, perhaps even finding myself as the unintended ambassador/defender of social media in Rockland!
(Supplemental rant: I guess given my many years working in Corporate Communications, I did and do always respect the time-sensitivity when a reporter, and these days, when bloggers, call or email me, tell me they're on deadline, and that they need contributors for a story. It's simple, either contribute and help, or don't, but please don't harangue, and it's certainly not an opportune time for a lengthy interrogation of the reporter/blogger. A few questions are expected and fine, but when you're writing on deadline, it's no time to be put on the spot to defend the value of social media in general. I'm happy to talk to you about it when I'm not on deadline! Geez! This concludes my supplemental rant. Blogpost continues below.)
Still, it's easy to see and feel the benefits of "small", and it feels warm and GOOD. It may seem trivial, but I do love that when I go to the drycleaners they print out my ticket with my correct name without having to ask me. I love that the nail place knows what colors I usually choose and that the local take-out place knows that when they receive a phone order for a certain set of menu items, that they guess it's for my household and know my address. I also love when I bump into Rocklanders "IRL" (in real life) with whom I first became acquainted via Rockland social media/Rockland online communities; they seem like old friends.
Perhaps Rockland County, the smallest county in New York State, is showing New York that good things truly DO come in small packages, or at least that they can.
-Posted by Stephanie (aka RocklandBizBuzz) on November 30, 2009
