That's how #BFC530 began. Scott asked, "Why are there no Twitter chats at 5:30am?" You see, that's the time he wanted to engage with his PLN. The time he had available to connect, to be inspired. He wanted to start his day with positivity and enthusiasm, thinking about teaching and learning and all the things that keep us doing what we do. He wanted to share his "edu-passions" with others and be motivated by the things they were passionate about, too.
The thing Scott wanted and needed didn't exist, so he created it. He asked, "Why not create a chat at 5:30am?" Maybe people would come, maybe they wouldn't, but he wasn't concerned with that. Instead he was concerned with creating something that he knew to be valuable for himself, and focused on how to make it a really valuable thing for others. (One of the very first comments he made to me was, "better before bigger" and it is something I think about frequently.)
So in July 2014 #BFC530 was born, and people started showing up every morning for this 15 minute, 1 Question sparkchat*. The community began to grow, to contribute topic ideas and songs for the playlist using a Google Form, and to offer to step up and moderate their topic suggestions. The feedback was, and continues to be, absolutely amazing. People all over the world commenting on how it is the best part of their day. That they wake up early just to jump in. That they can't imagine their days without this new piece of their PLN.
Here enters my piece of the story, the BFC story. With the chat growing I started seeing some of the people in my PLN engaging during the EST chat. It quickly became routine to wake up and check back through the hashtag to see what had been shared 2 hours earlier. I came to love this part of my day, to feel more inspired and connected than I had in a while. (I was so inspired I even made my 2nd ever vlog post..that's saying something!) Several days in to this new morning routine I became a bit jealous of the fantastic chat that was happening at 3:30am MST. I would be lying if I said I didn't contemplate setting an alarm one day just to join in, but I had to draw the line somewhere.
I wanted to participate in a 5:30am chat, to share my edu-passions and start my day on a really positive note. So I asked, "What if...we had a #BFC530 West Coast Edition?" "Why not...try to start something up here in my own time zone?" See the thing you want or need and create it, right? So I sent Scott a message to ask "What if?" We started talking about the idea on Twitter and Voxer and discussing the possibilities. A week later, September 10th, 2014 in fact, #BFC530 MST made its debut.
I'm tempted to say the rest is history, but this isn't the end. Like most things that are worth pursuing there is no visible end. The BFC story includes many people, many contributions from an amazing community who has supported it and made it what it is today. The best part is that I know this really is just the beginning of the story. A day doesn't go by without Scott or I discussing a new idea about BFC, about how to make it better or more meaningful for people. About how to support each of its members and share the power of the chat with those who may be new to Twitter, reluctant to join or moderate a chat, or who just need something new to help spark their passions.
We don't believe we are giving anyone anything they don't already have, we are just providing a platform to bring out their passions, their positivity, and their ideas. Sometimes all you need is a little spark from someone else. It is that spark that can ignite an idea, can motivate you to keep going or to try something new. I truly believe there's something life-changing, for us and our students, that lies within that 1 interaction or 1 new connection to someone we may have never met otherwise. It is that single spark, repeated exponentially, that is going to change education and create something different, something better, for every single teacher and student.
