issue # 17
issue # 17
sam liebeskind down the community engagement rabbit hole
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🪐 COOL THINGS CURATED IN OUR UNIVERSE
1. On the art of asking for help…
Reflecting on this wonderful insight from Amanda Palmer's best-selling novel The Art of Asking: How I learned to stop worrying and ask for help: “Asking for help with shame says: You have the power over me. Asking with condescension says: I have the power over you. But asking for help with gratitude says: We have the power to help each other.”
2. On Universal Basic Income…
A great list of reads + highlights on Universal Basic Income, with thought provoking arguments in favor and against. Start with this tweet.
3. On the secrets to a fulfilling life…
Revisiting Oliver Burkeman's column, which was one of my fave reads last year. Pair with Clay Christensen's: How will you measure your life? This highlight in particular struck a chord:
I genuinely believe that relationships with family and close friends are one of the greatest sources of happiness in life. It sounds simple, but like any important investment, these relationships need consistent attention and care. But there are two forces that will be constantly working against this happening. First, you’ll be routinely tempted to invest your resources elsewhere—in things that will provide you with a more immediate payoff. And second, your family and friends rarely shout the loudest to demand your attention.
4. On building UGC networks…
A brilliant Interview with Alex Zhu, co-founder of Musical.ly and head of product at TikTok
Two standout highlights:
Education is a little bit against human nature. It's pretty hard for a new startup to try to change human nature. It's better to follow the human nature than to fight against it.
If you want to build a new user-generated content platform or social network then the content has to be extremely light. The content creation AND consumption need to happen within seconds, not minutes.
Related insights in our social graph design and user generated content platforms topic pages.
5. Thoughtful skepticism of Web 3
A collection of tweets, essays, and highlights from people like Emily Gorcenski, Aaron Levie, Benedict Evans, and Moxie Marlinspike - questioning the idea of what a web 3 future represents. (because, in the words of Charlie Munger, we must not allow ourselves to have an opinion on anything until we know the other side's argument better than we do)
✨ CURATOR SPOTLIGHT
brand strategist & community builder at Geneva, going down the active community engagement 🐇 🕳️
Find his Twitter
Why is active community engagement an interesting topic?
Everyone wants to be part of a community — and so many people these days are trying to create new ones — but sadly, most new communities fail to really take off. We've all been there: you join, introduce yourself, maybe show up to one thing, and then it all just fizzles out. Fortunately, there are some timeless ideas and concepts that we can all use to start and sustain meaningful communities. To really do it right though, you have to go deep and start early — if your approach is entirely focused on 'engagement hacks' you've already sort of lost.
A podcast worth listening to?
Get Together — hosted by Bailey Richardson and Kevin Huynh of People & Company. They're no longer making new episodes but it's a treasure trove of interviews with "ordinary people building extraordinary communities" that really gets into the nuts and bolts of community design and engagement: how to get the first people to show up, how to create the right conditions for active participation, how to elevate new leaders, and more...
Things worth reading and watching?
I really like Fabian Pfortmuler's writing on community design and engagement. Casper ter Kuile's book The Power of Ritual informed a lot of how I think about community rituals these days. And everything Danielle Maveal puts out — especially this piece on Creating Abundant Communities - is beautiful and spot on.
Projects worth following?
I love how Seed Club is pushing boundaries with tokenized communities, exploring new models to incentivize participation and engagement. And of course, gotta plug Geneva, the new group communication app we're building to try to make online communities more vibrant and fun. If you're looking for a healthier alternative to facebook groups or discord, say hi!
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