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Brick No150: Networking Is Broken
By Matt Weston, Thursday 23 June 2005 Brick batt I'm off on a two-week break - a real break without a computer, and my first since I wrote Brick No93. The next two Bricks won't happen. But I'll be back, battery completely recharged, on 14 July. Before I leave a Matt-shaped hole in the door, I have a major new project you can really help me with. Last time I checked, 2,146 of you had clicked on the link I gave you last week. If even half that number lend a hand to today's project, we'll be off to a flyer. And I'm not asking for money, just a little time. 10 minutes of it. Or, if you prefer to think of it this way, the time you would have spent reading Brick No151 and No152 if I wasn't away. How you can help I just added Brick Nos 141-149 to the archive. Out of those nine, you may or may not be surprised to hear that Brick No148, AKA "Keep Your Town Weird", generated the most plaudits. And by no short head - not for the first time, the volume of your feedback made my laptop perform a backflip. (I thank you.) With No148, the conclusion was that we should spend zero effort lobbying politicians about clone towns. Instead, small business owners should rally together, use each other, and form networks. It got me to thinking - Networking is broken. I had to dig around to find examples of small business owners working together collectively. And when I did find examples of networks, they were taken from across the pond: Keep Louisville Weird, Ky; Keep Austin Weird, Tx; and Raleigh Unchained, Nc. etc This is why - (a) Most networking is selfish. IMO, many of us go about it in the wrong way. We give it the hard sell. And when that doesn't work, we move on to the soft sell. But that doesn't work either. It doesn't help that most networks are built around these two ways. We need a third way. (b) Most networks aren't weird enough. Mostly the ones that get the column inches are centrally run chains. And they all follow the same formula. I'm way more wowed by self-run groups like Di Horner's Swan Group k or Julia Chanteray's Bagel Networking. (c) Most networks aren't networked. A bit like AOL does with the rest of the www, they pretend other networks don't exist. And they certainly don't connect with them. Two ways to help fix these problems - (1) Help make a list. I want at least 1,073 of you to reply to this email with a list of your local networks. And when I get back from my break, I'll turn your lists into a directory - a network of networks, if you like. It's this easy - 1. Click reply 2. Type out a quick list of any local (or not) networking groups you've joined, attended or even heard of. 3. Include a web address or contact email for each. 4. If you can find it, include a full postcode. (This makes it easier to organise the directory.) 5. Lastly, empty your head. Include any details you know, like venue, cost (if any), numbers, or area. And give me your opinion about each group - what works, what doesn't. Note: The object of the exercise is partly to unearth self-run groups that aren't part of a chain. But include any groups you've tried or heard of in your area. (2) Help write a blueprint. Who died and made me King? The second thing I want you to help me do is come up with a blueprint for the reader-run reader meet-ups. The meet-ups started happening about a year ago, (Brick No55). And I wanted to give you as much autonomy as possible, and fewer rules than Fight Club. But, after a year, I think it's time to work out what works, and what doesn't work, and come up with a blueprint for future meet-ups - not a dogma dictated by me, but a blueprint written by you. If you've ever run, or attended a reader meet-up, I'd appreciate any ideas. Again, just hit reply and type. Bric-A-Brac (1) OOO. I get to see more "Out Of Office" automated replies than most people. But now I have to write one myself, I can't see an example that feels human. Can you? (2) MEOW. Rachael Wyatt saw this link in Popbitch last week and it made her think of Brick No149, "How To Use Photos" (3) TWO. www.thisisbroken.comis two this week. (4) WOW. A Holiday Reading List from the archive. Remember to sign up: back to top |
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