Comments on: Losing my faith in Community

By: Jeff Moriarty

Jeff Moriarty — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:41:30 +0000

Thanks, Will – I appreciate that. I’ve never tried to be a leader, but do like to think I’ve helped do some cool stuff.

I think one of my big misses and education in the past year has been sharing my OWN view on all this. I let my blogging drift to zero, so I can’t rightly be much surprised when I suddenly find people didn’t know how I viewed my own groups, projects, and communities. The Gangplank reference is a good example of that. I tried to do something similar though not that concise with recent posts about Ignite. I still owe one on how to make it better, which I need to get to…

By: Jeff Moriarty

Jeff Moriarty — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:31:50 +0000

That’s somewhat my take. I just want to work with people who work on the same things, and see what happens. Those who don’t want to help, or want to do something else, are welcome to go their own way.

By: Tyler Hurst

Tyler Hurst — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:00:45 +0000

Diversity should be the lifeblood of the community? Why? We’re not drawn together by how different we are, we’re drawn together by common traits.

By: Will Bradley

Will Bradley — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:03:15 +0000

Good approach. My parents discovered a similar thing with groups– everyone has great ideas for OTHER people to tackle, but “don’t have time” to tackle them themselves. A little bit of a “get involved or get lost” mentality can bring great sanity to an overextended leader.

Regarding the definition of community, I think a big doozy is groupthink: pack mentalities are present as well as individual agendas inside a single group, however large or small. People can both rally around a central idea and work to undermine it in the same sentence. One of the more effective ways I’ve seen of dealing with this conflict is by defining the group such that the groupthink is self-controlled, and the biggest conflicts are excluded and minor conflicts are absorbed. For example I’ve heard that Gangplank is simply a space and that involvement equals attending that space regularly. Sad for people like me who wish they could be involved with that group of people while sitting in my office from 9-5, but convenient for Gangplank’s leadership who has no obligation to cater to my specific needs. People who attend but wish Gangplank were a daycare service are excluded, while people who attend but code in FORTRAN instead of Ruby on Rails are absorbed, all by the group’s definition as a space, not an X.

Maybe Ignite could be a “cool ideas time NOT a project pitch time” and Improv can be a “secret participation performance NOT a tourist attraction” — kinda like Gangplank is doing with their “Unlike competition, Gangplank does x:” http://gangplankhq.com/2010/01/what-exactly-is-gangplank — you need examples and differentiation in order for your group to get an accurate public image.

Anyway, rant too long, thanks for everything you’re doing Jeff. I seriously respect anyone who even attempts to be a leader and you’ve done a great job to boot.
.-= Will Bradley´s last blog ..Right-Hand Navigation in Website Design =-.

By: This is not the community you’re looking for | tdhurst

This is not the community you’re looking for | tdhurst — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 02:17:26 +0000

[...] And we’re starting to lose faith. [...]

By: Tyler Hurst

Tyler Hurst — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:10:50 +0000

So we give up on those that either aren’t willing to put in the work or just don’t care enough to even show up and focus on those that do?

Yep.
.-= Tyler Hurst´s last blog ..Half Marathon =-.

By: Jeff Moriarty

Jeff Moriarty — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:15:30 +0000

When people tell me I should do X or Y with Ignite Phoenix, my standard reply now is to tell them how to get involved, and what they can expect to be part of the team if they want to help make their suggestion a reality.

The majority of the people I never hear from again, but the ones who followed-up and got involved are amazing. Some people just like to complain, and some people are just honestly waiting for an invitation to join.

By: Jeff Moriarty

Jeff Moriarty — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:11:34 +0000

You took this even deeper than I intended, but I’m still inclined to agree. The behavioral side of what I’ve learned about people from working on and attending local events over the past year sometimes makes me think I should write a book.

People are nuts, but that’s half the fun.

By: Jeff Moriarty

Jeff Moriarty — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:08:58 +0000

Honest question: How do you define “real community” as you used it above?

By: Stace

Stace — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:34:19 +0000

I think the problem here in AZ is that there’s too much “what’s in it for me?” in communities and not enough “what can I do to help?” There’s a lot of entitlement going around, especially at events where people pay nothing or next to nothing…
.-= Stace´s last blog ..Tips for political candidate websites =-.