I have wanted to abandon Facebook for years now. It’s mostly a time-suck that brings little value to my life. With all this Cambridge Analytica crap surfacing, I want to delete my account more than ever. I can stay in touch with family and friends through other means, so why stay?
Because mushing, damnit. (It always comes back to dogs, huh)
Facebook groups tie me to hundreds, if not thousands, of other mushers throughout the United States and the world. The group I created (Mushers of the Northeast US) has over a thousand members. When I moved to SoCal, I immediately had contacts on this side of the country, thanks to the mushing community.
Recently, the community saved my dog sled. It only took minutes (minutes!) to find someone with sled-working experience, who lived nearby, who was kind enough to repair my busted tie and drag mat. Will brought the sled down the hill on Monday and it’s already back, good as new. (Thanks, David!)
We also found a local metal worker to weld my busted dryland cart. Even though he’s not part of the mushing community, he’s excited to learn more about it and may start building his own version of a dryland rig. Dryland dog carts and rigs are hard to come by, so introducing a new builder to the community would be rewarding.
While I’ve been dabbling in #musherTwitter, the vast majority of mushers communicate through Facebook. It’s how people buy and sell dogs, pair with mentors, share events, find trails, swap gear—everything.
So what can we do? Can someone build a MushBook?
