Blair’s Brainiacs is a community-based ‘server’ on the social media platform Discord. It was sparked into existence by the aspiring student and TikTok star, Blair Fiander, during the year 2020.

Like many students, Blair was trapped at home due to the lockdown, and was adapting to the drastic changes that occurred with it. She decided she would inspire and help students struggling with this change through social media. This resulted in the birth of Blair’s Brainiacs, which has since grown into a hub of student activity and academic discussion, being beneficial to all students within the server.

Before the invention of the server, Blair used the social media platform TikTok to inspire students all over the UK and the world, who were disadvantaged due to the circumstances caused by COVID-19 and lockdown. This was done through live-study streams, which had attracted 118,000 followers in its first week of being established. When seeing this astonishing number, Blair realised that a larger-scale community should be established, and she decided to do this through Discord after discussing with friends how to expand.

When asked how she felt while making this big jump, Blair stated:

In all honesty, while I had a rough idea of how to make a Discord server, I had no coding skills, so I was a little overwhelmed. I called on some friends at college and brainiacs whom I knew well and asked for their help. Together, we planned everything out, created all the rooms and code, and braced ourselves for the influx of almost 30k students who have joined us on the server over the years.

Blair still runs live study streams through her TikTok profile to help motivate students, while she studies and discusses with them. On the Discord side of the ‘Brainiacs’ community, a fellow friend of Blair, Matt, runs and operates the server diligently.

He has found the experience extremely rewarding and states:

I joined the team back in February 2021, a few months after its creation, and have been volunteering my time here for the last nearly 3 years. It’s not easy, but it is very enjoyable. Managing a large community has its ups and downs.

Both Matt and Blair attribute much of the success associated with Blair’s Brainiacs server to the many available mentors and support staff, who are always available to help students who are struggling and need motivation.

These volunteers also often run drop-in sessions, in which in-depth coverage of a certain subject or topic is offered; questions are wholesomely welcomed within such sessions. They also help with organising events, such as pomodoro sessions, or games, which are enjoyed by the entire community.

Matt himself states:

I feel incredibly proud and grateful for all the support of the Brainiacs who have joined me on this journey, and especially to the volunteer team on the Discord server.

Blair suggests to everyone:

If you’re not in the server… you should be

So why don't you? Welcome aboard, to the Blair's Brainiacs community!