Making Connections #4: On Movements
I think a lot about community and culture. How subcultures form from niche groups of individuals, misunderstood by broader society but united by a common cause.
Through a charismatic leader and regular interaction, bonds form within the group and each member starts to define their identity through membership of the community. That community gives the individual a sense of purpose and a close connection with others who see the world in the same way.
Through considered cultivation of the network, strong and weak ties between individuals help solidify the movement. The strong ties bond the in-group, and the weak ties to friends and relatives help spread the message and open the door to converts.
These subcultures ebb and flow on the outskirts of mainstream culture, but one day there's a catalyst and the community is thrust into the limelight, and almost instantly their unique beliefs become part of the collective consciousness.
In the past, this happened with the women's and civil rights movements. Today it's happening with environmental activism.
For decades on the fringes of society, the acceleration of extreme weather events provided the catalyst. Today the leaders of corporate capitalism proclaim the community's core messages, united behind the figurehead of Greta Thunberg.
Once in the mainstream, the community finally has the power to effect large-scale change, reshaping the world we live in.
So how can startups curate their own communities to foster loyalty and accelerate organic growth?
When investors talk about product-market fit they often describe having a small group of raving fans:
"I care far more about some type of flaming intensity in a very small pocket than I care about that you’ve launched in 40 cities. If you have something that looks fantastic and repeatable, so it’s a system, a launch system, then we can put venture capital behind that and scale it like crazy." Bill Gurley
So how do you foster that flaming intensity?
Build a valuable product
Get people talking about it
To spread the word, start by articulating your vision for the future and bringing together the people who believe.
Communicate your purpose
What do you believe that isn't yet mainstream?
What are you for and what are you against?
Define the category your product will dominate.
What Greta Thunberg is doing today advocating for the environment and against the fossil fuel industry is exactly what Marc Benioff did twenty years ago when he built a movement advocating for the cloud and against software.
Put in place a charismatic leader.
The CEO usually serves as the leader of the movement — think Emily Weiss at Glossier, David Cancel at Drift or Steve Jobs at Apple.
Sometimes celebrity endorsers can take a leadership role — Michael Jordan did this at Nike in 1985 with the launch of Air Jordans and paved the way for sports stars around the world to become the face of consumer products.
And sometimes those are combined. Today’s celebrities understand the power of their status and have begun launching their own products — Kylie Jenner, Rihanna and Lady Gaga have all launched beauty brands in the last few years.
Use structure to help the community connect with each other and spread the word
For the community to thrive, followers need to connect with each other, not just with the leader, and over time be empowered to spread the word themselves.
Connecting with each other can happen both online, in Whatsapp groups and Slack channels, and in person. Lululemon offers free yoga classes and running clubs. Pet brand Wild One opened dog parks at its pop-ups to bring pet lovers together. British boutique gym 1Rebel runs singles nights for members to meet "people like us".
Followers spread the word by wearing swag and advocating for the community in their own social groups.
In a world of abundance, where we can find countless products to solve our problem, we make decisions through emotion.
The sense of connection and purpose from a loyal community evokes that emotion and builds long-term relationships between brands and their customers.
Over time the community grows and the company grows with it, and for the most successful companies that subculture eventually becomes mainstream and your product becomes obvious to mass-market consumers.
Of course, software should be in the cloud.
Of course, make up should look natural.
Of course, meditation is good for you.
Books
How Music Works by David Byrne
A wandering investigation of the evolution of music as culture and as a profession, and how technological advances have guided that evolution, written by David Byrne of Talking Heads.
On the topic of community and connection this week, here are some wonderful passages from the book:
"There's something special about the communal nature of an audience at a live performance, the shared experience with other bodies in a room going through the same thing at the same time, that isn't analogous to music heard through headphones. Often the very fact of a massive assembly of fans defines the experience as much as whatever it is they have come to see. It's a social event, an affirmation of community, and it's also, in some way, the surrender of the isolated individual to the feeling of belonging to a larger tribe."
"I go to at least one live performance a week, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. There are other people there. Often there is beer, too. A century of technological innovation and the digitization of music has inadvertently had the effect of emphasizing its social function. Not only do we still give friends copies of music that excited us, but increasingly we have come to value the social aspect of a live performance more than we used to."
"I'm beginning to think of the artist as someone who is adept at making devices that tap into our shared psychological makeup and that trigger the deeply moving parts we have in common."
Online Writing
Inside America’s legendary audio gear factory
An inside look at home stereo company McIntosh. This article is a behind-the-scenes look at McIntosh’s intense focus on quality for every component of their stereos — even down to printing their own circuit boards. It’s also a reminder of how giving consumers a deep understanding of how your product is made and the dedication of every employee can be the most effective marketing there is.
History is only interesting because nothing is inevitable.
Morgan Housel uses original sources from the Great Depression to demonstrate how unpredictable the future can be.
"We only think something is inevitable if it’s obvious. And things only look obvious when everyone’s talking about them and predicting them."
Can we have prosperity without growth?
I was first introduced to the idea of "degrowth" in Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth. This article explains the arguments of economists who advocate against GDP growth as the primary measure for success in society.
To understand the other side, I recommend Stubborn Attachments by Tyler Cowen.
When Documentaries Make You Question Everything
For those looking for something new to watch.
"Watching these movies, we become more keenly aware of how meaning is created, and how the perspective of the person shaping a story can insinuate itself into what might otherwise seem like raw reality."
The sound illusion that makes Dunkirk so intense
“Named after cognitive scientist Roger Shepard, the sound consists of several tones separated by an octave layered on top of each other. As the lowest bass tone starts to fade in, the higher treble tone fades out. When the bass completely fades in and the treble completely fades out, the sequence loops back again. Because you can always hear at least two tones rising in pitch at the same time, your brain gets tricked into thinking that the sound is constantly ascending in pitch.”
Podcasts
This is what honesty and openness and vulnerability sound like. One of the most successful authors in the world candidly discusses writing, feminism, depression, alcoholism and what it’s like to live with cripplingly low self-esteem.
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