COMMUNITY BUILDING & TELLING STORIES | Matthew Thompson | Season 1 Episode 3

Spoke

Matthew Thompson is in the hot-seat as our esteemed guest this week. For those of you who are familiar with Matthew you probably know him from Best of Belfast, which started out as an Instagram account dedicated to showing the hidden beauty in everyday Belfast. Since it's beginnings as an Instagram account it's sprouted wings and taken on a new life as a Podcast and a community that hosts regular gatherings, dragging people from the digital into the tangible. This is Matthew's first time being the interviewee and I'm glad he chose to share his experience with the Spoke community.

Matthew shares some of the stories involved in starting a community online and what it's like to try and take that community offline. He talks us through how he had 3 simple rules for his life:

1. Not getting married
2. Not going to university
3. Not living in Northern Ireland

...and how he has since reneged on each of these.

If you haven't connected with Matthew check him out on Instagram (@BestofBelfast) check out his podcast and website at (www.bestofbelfast.org). The whole premise of Best of Belfast podcast is to showcase and highlight local legends and Matthew does this perfectly. The episode he recommended you check out was his most recent (at time of recording) with Gavan Wall. My personal favourite is the live recorded episode with Dillon Osborne but they're all great!

Thanks for taking the time to listen! If you enjoyed the episode it would mean a lot if you could take the time to review the episode and as always you can follow us on Twitter and Instagram.