This is why “build a 10% better mousetrap” is a legitimate goal, but “build a 10% better web portal for artists” is not. The 10% improvement means nothing if the community accuses you of being a greedy selfish bastard who only cares about money and not about art, and they blacklist you and everyone who cooperates with you. And yes, if you understand how the game is played, the initiators of the backlash are those who profit from the existing system. But you can’t say this out loud; it would only prove that you care about the money. So both sides will keep arguing complete bullshit, trying to get the confused people on their side. The important thing is to get confused high-status people on your side, because then the rest will follow.
Certainly have noticed a similar dynamic where people take pride in & applaud blind faith in the project & founders, and those who profess to be in it for love of community & not money are rewarded socially. Very cult like behavior, which of course is perfect for the leaders & ideal for that startup’s “customer base”, so I definitely applaud the founders for doing their job exceptionally.
Lately I’ve been fascinated by these group dynamics, and how power & influence lie among any given “scene”. Joined 3 vastly different scenes lately, which have vastly different norms, nearly 0 overlap, and norms/status symbols that aren’t even on the same axes- it’s been fascinating on my end to constantly context switch & pick up on what the differences vs commonalities are in these totally different communities.
I bet there’s many axioms or essays out there about navigating the rules of social scenes, but so far only one leaps to mind for me.
Well, if you figure out something, I would be happy to read a post about it. I usually understand these things only after it is too late to do something about it. Would be nice to get faster at understanding it.
Wow, this part really resonated with me:
This is why “build a 10% better mousetrap” is a legitimate goal, but “build a 10% better web portal for artists” is not. The 10% improvement means nothing if the community accuses you of being a greedy selfish bastard who only cares about money and not about art, and they blacklist you and everyone who cooperates with you. And yes, if you understand how the game is played, the initiators of the backlash are those who profit from the existing system. But you can’t say this out loud; it would only prove that you care about the money. So both sides will keep arguing complete bullshit, trying to get the confused people on their side. The important thing is to get confused high-status people on your side, because then the rest will follow.
Certainly have noticed a similar dynamic where people take pride in & applaud blind faith in the project & founders, and those who profess to be in it for love of community & not money are rewarded socially. Very cult like behavior, which of course is perfect for the leaders & ideal for that startup’s “customer base”, so I definitely applaud the founders for doing their job exceptionally.
Lately I’ve been fascinated by these group dynamics, and how power & influence lie among any given “scene”. Joined 3 vastly different scenes lately, which have vastly different norms, nearly 0 overlap, and norms/status symbols that aren’t even on the same axes- it’s been fascinating on my end to constantly context switch & pick up on what the differences vs commonalities are in these totally different communities.
I bet there’s many axioms or essays out there about navigating the rules of social scenes, but so far only one leaps to mind for me.
Well, if you figure out something, I would be happy to read a post about it. I usually understand these things only after it is too late to do something about it. Would be nice to get faster at understanding it.
I’d love to, would you be open to being a “beta reader” for my post? Appreciate the encouragement!