When setting up this project, I took two steps to communicate ideas to the "outside" world: Started this blog, and set up a Facebook Group, which can be found here. This post explains WHY I did this, and WHAT PURPOSE the Facebook Group serves.
Reason #1: I have a lot of Facebook friends who have been discussing my idea for years, which are usually just ideas that come from them that I stitch together in weird ways. I've spent years curating a diverse set of social media friends who are equal parts creative, objective, and skeptical, and most of which have no problem telling me exactly why any given idea I synthesize is stupid. Given their brains kinda work like mine, just from vastly different perspectives, their input and feedback is incredibly valuable. They understand what I'm trying to do, understand my motivations, and have the ability to inform me of the inevitable blind spots I have based on my limited perspective. They're objective outsiders who get the big picture enough that they don't immediately reject the ideas.
This is important. To paraphrase Hugh MacLeod, "Good ideas have lonely childhoods." Meaning, the more "out there" an idea is, the fewer people there are who will get it. That's part of the reason so many good ideas die a premature death. Luckily I'm used to trying bizarre ideas without any real support (thanks, barefoot running prior to Born to Run!) But the real problem is a lack of feedback. If people don't get your idea, they can't really offer any kind of feedback. The people who join this Facebook group are the precise people who CAN give me feedback right now, today, because they've been with me long enough to see my other seemingly stupid ideas succeed.
Reason #2: It provides an infusion of ideas from sources outside our little world. Not only can outsiders give feedback on the ideas we're testing, but they can be a great source of NEW ideas that we don't consider. Back in the aforementioned barefoot running days, this was absolutely critical to developing good methods to teach people to run without shoes. In many cases, that new info came from people who had some legitimate knowledge about advanced biomechanics, which was far superior to my half-assed knowledge from college anatomy and physiology class. Which I barely passed.
This project, while pretty simple, involves A LOT of pretty complex social dynamics AND involves bringing together a diverse set of people to act as a singular unit. Until we get enough Tribe members to fill out each of the types of people we need, the Facebook Group folks can and will serve an important role.
Reason #3: It can be used to recruit potential new members. It's fairly unlikely someone would move to Montrose, Colorado just to be part of this experimental group, but you never know. In this sense, the Facebook group is kinda like a national or even international recruiting tool.
Reason #4: It can be used to "seed" other similar groups that members of the group may start themselves. This is probably more likely than #3, and has happened with all my other experimental projects. This is especially valuable because this idea SHOULD be able to be deployed anywhere by anyone, but that's just a hypothesis. Actually testing that hypothesis would be incredibly useful.
Reason #5: The Group provides a starting point to market and sell any products we produce. This is tied to my last post about the rationale behind this blog. If this project turns out to be successful and I write a book about it, this is the group most likely to buy the book initially, and recommend it to their friends.
Reason #6: The Group will eventually give us some idea of the kind of people who would not work well in this kind of tribal environment. There's a weird effect that happens when ideas start to grow and spread. You reach a critical mass, then all of a sudden all kinds of people want to join the movement. But they don't usually really understand what you're doing, or WANT to understand. To paraphrase Hugh M. again, "They just want to be on the winning team." Once they join the team, they tend to sabotage the original idea. Sometimes they're only there to take and are not willing to contribute. Or they're only there to sell us crap. Or they're just looking for pictures of your dirty feet. Yeah, that happens.
A lot.
I call it "The Law of Annoying People."
The Facebook Group offers some good "reconnaissance" to figure out how to identify these people, because their characteristics vary based on the project. But every project that reaches a certain degree of success has them. Because the threshold to join the Facebook Group is so low (all you have to do is send a request), you'll see these people showing up there way before you start seeing them show up in person. Once you figure out what they look like, you can set up safeguards to keep them away from the actual real life Tribe.
Some people have asked me in the past why I basically scare these people off when I could be selling my crap to them and making a quick buck. In short, I've learned the hard way that it's not worth the money. Isn't it kinda mean to push people way? Yes. Yes, it is. Part of the difficulty of leading projects like this is making the tough decisions that are ultimately good for the health of the group you're leading. You don't let them into the circle for the same reason you don't put the injured deer in your back seat.
How is the Group Being Utilized?
As of right now, I will utilize the Facebook Group by posting these blog post AND a "Topic of the Day." Both are meant to both disseminate information and receive useful feedback, which is accomplished through respectful, productive, open discussions.
IF THIS SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING YOU'D DIG, join the group and contribute your expertise from your unique perspective!
Conclusion
There you have it - the six primary reasons I started the Facebook Group. For the folks who may eventually read this and decide to start their own tribe, the platform doesn't really matter. I use Facebook because that's where all my important friends spend their social media time.
~Jason
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