Skip to content
UPWARDConnect
UPWARD

Questions about human connection.Experiments to make things better.

I'm Laura Smith — a researcher, writer, adviser and human problem-solver exploring how we can better understand, connect, resonate, align and work with ourselves and one another.

CURRENTLY ANSWERING

Why do some relationships deepen while others remain acquaintances?

Life · Community · Wondering

Portrait of Laura Smith, smiling
Laura, the one asking
Participants at an UPWARD meetup in Helsinki
An UPWARD meetup, Helsinki

Questions about human connection

Here's what I'm considering, what I'm actively exploring, and what I've learned already. See what applied curiosity has opened for others -- and note if any questions or findings resonate with you, as well.

LifeCommunityWondering

In practice

Under consideration

Many promising connections never become meaningful relationships. What causes some to develop while others plateau? An exploration of reciprocity, initiative, vulnerability, compatibility, circumstance and the other forces that move relationships forward—or keep them where they are.

WorkWondering

In practice

We often consider whether someone fits a role, but less often whether a particular combination of people fits together. Which forms of compatibility—and difference—help people communicate, collaborate and perform well as a team?

CommunityWondering

In practice

Under consideration

Joining once is relatively easy; coming back is a different decision. What happens during and after a first encounter that makes someone want to return—and eventually become a participant rather than simply a visitor?

CommunitySocietyWondering

In practice

Under consideration

If some people naturally connect more easily than others, should communities use that knowledge by design? An exploration of whether designing for resonance strengthens connection—or risks reducing difference, openness and the unexpected encounters communities also need.

LifeLiving

In practice

LAMP — Life Actions Mathematical Planner

Our time is finite, but the people, places, possibilities and problems competing for it are not. How do we decide what deserves more of our time—and when to persist, redirect our attention, or let something go? For this experiment, I apply a LAMP, a repeatable decision-support process to compare possible actions against priorities, values, constraints, energy, future direction and the forms of connection that matter in a particular season of life.

LifeSocietyWondering

In practice

Under consideration

Why do we immediately click with some people and not others? An exploration of the characteristics, contexts and interactions that predict interpersonal resonance—and whether we can know in advance who we're likely to connect with.

CommunitySocietyWondering

In practice

Under Consideration

A collection of people isn't necessarily a community. What transforms a group into something its members experience as an “us”? An exploration of connection, identity, participation, reciprocity, shared experience and the conditions under which community emerges.

CommunitySocietyWorkWondering

In practice

Under consideration

An invitation gets someone through the door, but it doesn't guarantee they'll feel they belong there. What turns access into genuine inclusion—and what makes people feel recognized, valued and able to participate once they've arrived?

LifeCommunityWondering

In practice

Under consideration

We meet plenty of people, but call relatively few of them friends. What distinguishes a friend from an acquaintance—and when, exactly, does that relationship change? An exploration of how we recognize, define and experience friendship.

HomeSocietyWondering

In practice

Under consideration

Much of adult life is organized around couples and families. What might it take for friends, chosen family or other non-romantic relationships to build a meaningful home together—and what social and practical structures would make that easier?

LifeCommunityWondering

In practice

Under consideration

Seeing someone regularly creates familiarity, but not necessarily friendship. What needs to happen between repeated encounters for a relationship to actually develop—and which conditions help people move from simply knowing one another to becoming friends?

LifeHomeWondering

In practice

Under consideration

What transforms somewhere we live into somewhere we feel at home? An exploration of the people, conditions, experiences and attachments that create a sense of home—and what might be missing when a place never quite becomes one.

LifeResearched

How can we make new friends as adults?

In practice

The Friendship Experiment

I publicly recruited new friends — a real application process, written assignment and group interviews — to test whether adult friendship could be approached more explicitly and intentionally, while also enabling connection among the other participants.

CommunityLifeHomeResearched

Can belonging be built?

In practice

The Belonging Experiment

A June 2026 first-person public experiment asking whether I actually belonged where I lived, what belonging consisted of, and whether it could be strengthened.

See all questions →

What should I explore next? Add your question →

Hi, I'm Laura.

I write, research, build things, gather people and run experiments — usually because I've encountered some human problem I don't think we should simply accept. I'm interested in connection and alignment: with ourselves, with one another, within communities and at work.

Portrait of Laura Smith, smiling
The one asking the questions.
Laura outdoors in a park on a bright day
Eight people at an UPWARD meetup outside a Helsinki café at night
Helsinki meetup — arrived separately, left connected.

And what about you?

Questions (and answers!) become more interesting when other people bring their experiences, perspectives, disagreement, curiosity and care to them. What are you adding today?

The open notebook

Write the question you'd want explored. I may be up for finding an answer to it.

Moderated before anything appears publicly. Anonymous by default.

Recently added

Nothing published here yet. Questions appear once Laura has read them.

BETTER YET - BETTER TOGETHER

From Inquiry to Application

Want to discuss or explore a human solution? I'm here to help.

ONE:ONE CONVERSATION

Think with me

Bring a question, a problem or a possibility that would benefit from an intelligent outside perspective.

  • 30 minutes — €149 incl. 25.5% VAT
  • 60 minutes — €289 incl. 25.5% VAT

A single focused session. You bring the situation; we take it apart and put it back together with something useful to do next.

A room of people

Bring me in

Speaking, lectures, workshops, facilitation, and moderated conversations.

Sessions built around a real question your people already have, not a generic keynote. Designed so the room does some of the work.

WIDER WORK

Build with me

Research, advisory, connection and community design, employee experience, communication, collaboration and unusual human problems.

Experiments, tools and structures that outlast the engagement — the same method as the public questions, pointed at your organisation.

Longer-term

Interested in working together longer-term? I'm potentially open to in-house opportunities with interesting people solving interesting problems.

Not everything is commercial

There are many ways to support -- and all of them help us work UPWARD.

  • Follow the work
  • Share a question
  • Make an introduction
  • Support a project

Join in

Ways to take part

None of this requires a budget or an invitation. Show up, add something, or share what you know.

Gather

UPWARD Meetups

Public events, in real rooms, with real strangers who become less strange.

See upcoming events on Luma ↗

Contribute

Expertise, introductions, disagreement

If you know something I don't, or someone I should know, that's genuinely useful.

Offer something →

Open right now

Nothing needs participants just now. That's probably temporary.

Participants at an UPWARD meetup outside a Helsinki café at night
An UPWARD meetup, Helsinki. People who arrived separately and left with connections worth continuing.

What's a human problem you wish someone would actually try to solve?

Bringing a question to your team? See how we could work together →