At Fueled, we spend a lot of time thinking about what technology can enable, especially when it is designed with care. The best digital experiences do more than deliver information. They can widen access, invite participation, and help people feel connected to something that matters.
At this time of year, as we celebrate the holidays and prepare for a new year, clients doing socially consequential work that builds a better future for all are top of mind. One such client project is One Small Step, an initiative from longtime client StoryCorps that invites Americans with differing political beliefs to sit down for a recorded conversation, not to debate, but to listen. The goal isn’t to agree, but to understand. That mission has felt especially resonant lately, and it’s why I wanted to learn more about the impact One Small Step is having, one conversation at a time.
I sat down with Jonathan Webster, Managing Director of the One Small Step initiative, to spotlight the work his team is doing, why civic bridge-building and connection matters, and how our team at Fueled has helped to make their growing reach possible.
Q&A with Jonathan Webster, Managing Director of One Small Step
Fueled: To start, for those who aren’t familiar, can you introduce StoryCorps and the One Small Step initiative?
Jonathan: StoryCorps archives the stories of everyday Americans for storage in perpetuity at the Library of Congress, and has done so for over 20 years. In that time, StoryCorps has created the single largest collection of human voices anywhere on the planet.
One Small Step is one of several initiatives, and it focuses on bringing Americans back together by forming human connections across lines of difference, with the goal of turning down the temperature and reinforcing the reality that Americans are capable of having these conversations.
We’re invited into communities where people take a courageous step into these spaces, and we have the receipts to show people can—and do—connect across political differences. Listening to them is hopeful. The vulnerable sharing of personal experience, the “why” behind what someone believes, builds authenticity and human empathy. It’s not a message that gets reinforced often.
Fueled: We’d love to hear a story about a particularly memorable conversation or connection!
Jonathan: One story that jumps to mind is from Columbus, Georgia. We met two gentlemen, Wane, the former president of the local NAACP chapter, and Alton, the former Party Chair of the local Republican party. They were vaguely aware of each other, and likely saw each other as counterforces. We brought them into a one-on-one conversation that starts with personal storytelling and empathy. Through the process, they made a connection, understood each other’s roots in the community, and discovered striking similarities. They became friends and have had several conversations since!
Fueled: What role does digital play in supporting the One Small Step program?
Jonathan: One Small Step originally started with a model of live, facilitated conversations. Facilitators are experts at inviting people into vulnerable spaces and navigating the conversation. But it isn’t as scalable, and there’s also an accessibility component; people need to be able to do this whenever and wherever they can. As demand increased nationally, and as it became increasingly important for our national wellbeing to expand the program’s reach, we needed a way to enable the experience digitally.
Now, One Small Step is entirely digital first. When someone comes into the program, they can easily sign up and step through an online workflow that gathers their information and begins the matching process.
Of course, our web presence helps to explain our story and purpose, and amplify the reach of our most inspiring stories. But most significantly, our digital platform automates the experience by providing matches, enabling people to reach out, chat, and schedule a conversation at scale. It’s a guided space, and also a brave space, and it’s a digital community we’re creating in direct partnership with Fueled.
Fueled: What role has Fueled played in that digital transformation journey?
Jonathan: Fueled was critical from the outset in helping lay the foundation, shaping the process and user journey, and making a big undertaking more approachable. We did workshops to refine the overall objective and break it down into a more specific game plan, including how this would fit into StoryCorps’ broader ecosystem. And of course, implementation and build.
Our collaboration continues beyond just site maintenance, including meaningful refinements to the interface based on data, and developing a more flexible algorithm to drive matches based on what we’re learning about which matches lead to the most successful outcomes.
Fueled: Heading into the holidays, certainly a time when connection and community tends to be on the mind, what would you like people to know, and what can they do to support your mission?
Jonathan: The holidays can be a difficult time for mental health and loneliness. In many ways, what we’ve built here is a tool for human connection. The community coming in the door is incredibly diverse, but unified by empathy, a service orientation, and a commitment to the idea that this experience is valuable.
If someone is looking for a channel for human connection during the holidays, or just believes in the power of speaking to those we might not normally share a space with, there’s a whole community of people out there who want to connect across differences. Come to us. We’ll help make those connections and put people into a space for a meaningful conversation and practice. You can go to TakeOneSmallStep.org, go through the sign-up process, and we’ll provide matches as soon as possible.
Start Connecting
Our team feels incredibly inspired and privileged to support One Small Step in an increasingly critical mission to bring more people together. For anyone looking to participate in the program, or simply be inspired by some of the constructive conversations they’ve shared, you can:
For teams interested in building digital experiences that make participation easier, broaden reach, and support a mission at scale, we’d love to chat.
