The first episode of The Online Community Show is officially live. This podcast is focused on real conversations about online communities, community building, trust, traffic, and connection. Not just the biggest success stories, but the full range of experiences from people who are actively building communities right now. In this first episode, @Eric Howell and I introduce the show, share how we met through Skool, and talk about why online communities are becoming one of the most important places on the internet in 2026. Here are a few of the things we get into: • Why social media often feels less social today and why communities are filling that gap • How online communities create real human connection in a world full of AI generated content • The difference between traffic tools and nurturing tools when you are growing a community • Why podcasting can become a long term trust builder for your future members • How overthinking and perfectionism stop people from starting communities or creating content • Why testing, experimenting, and learning together is one of the biggest advantages of communities One of the biggest ideas we talk about in this episode is that people are looking for something real again. When most social media feeds are filled with algorithms, ads, and content from strangers, communities create a place where people can actually talk to each other, build relationships, and learn together. We also talk about something that many creators misunderstand about podcasting. A podcast is not mainly a traffic tool. It is a trust builder. Someone might scroll past dozens of short videos and forget them instantly. But when someone spends thirty to sixty minutes listening to you talk, they begin to understand how you think, what you value, and whether they trust you. That is where communities grow. We already have 3 more episodes recorded with upcoming conversations featuring @Matthew Burns, @Victoria Gallagher, @Artin Asghari, & @Ethan Brits, each bringing a different perspective on building, growing, & running online communities.

Curious to see who’s been here the longest. 👀 How long have you been on Skool, and what’s one change or feature release that you thought was a great move? There’s been a lot of updates over time, so it’ll be fun to see which ones stood out most to each of you.

On Skool News today they announced that you can now start a new community for only $9 a month! Amazing, right?! You can see it on the pricing page here. But here is what you need to know. I downgraded a community to show you what it looks like. (All pictures included, so if you're on a phone.. swipe!) You lose: Custom URL All the links that originally posted somewhere will FAIL (go change them) Transaction fees go from 2.9% to 10% Suggested groups will show on side bar You only get 1 admin/moderator (YOU the owner) You lose access to PRO plugins You lose access to affiliates Your cover photo will have a powered by Skool banner Before you can downgrade, you may need to do a few tasks like: If you have a moderator or admin, you will have to downgrade them. Turn off the pro plugins. Turn off affiliates. If someone starts a Skool community from your $9/m community, you won't be auto given the affiliate. You can still get them as an affiliate, if you give them your affiliate link. IF you have people that had a community as an affiliate underneath you, then you will still get a commission for a $9/m community if they downgrade. If someone starts as a $9/m community and they upgrade, you'll get the upgraded affiliate amount. Who are you bringing to Skool? Are you starting a $9/m community?

There have been a few updates today, but one of the best ones for Skool community owners & supportive roles in my opinion is this one... You can now pin comments (Admins/Owners for sure.. possibly mods) I wanted to share this with you here, because some are not on Skoolers now. How will you use this for your community?

You are going to see a lot of new changes happen in Skool, especially with the Skool owned communities. Skool Community & Skool Games are merging into Skoolers. You will have to be an owner of a community to be in there and you will be removed if you're not an owner. (We can discuss what this means for supportive roles, if you'd like. Comment if you do.) This change has been in the making for a bit and it's here to stay. So let's look for positive ways to change perspectives if there is any negativity around the change. (Change happens and it's not fun for some.) Affiliates is going to for sure be here March 3rd. There is a launch party. Try to be there. If not, I will make sure to have a recap at some point. (People in Mastermind be ready for a call following the launch party.) Skool News is going to be LIT! 😎 It'll be a classroom in the Skoolers community. 👇 Questions, Comments, Concerns, Just wanna share something? 👇