I just finished my first week of Purple Space, “a community of practice for creators, entrepreneurs, and line managers” founded by Seth Godin.
Like any new community, things got off to a somewhat awkward start…feeling a bit disoriented and sheepish. Who is who? Where am I supposed to sit? What is normal here? How am I expected to engage? Do I want to be here?
Today was a big inflection point. Seth organized a “Round Robin Chat” this morning, which consisted of about 50 people who were split into pairs for 5 minutes. There were 5 rounds, interspersed with a bit of commentary from Seth. The whole thing lasted less than an hour. I’m feeling inspired.
It’s a really simple container which can be easily implemented by Zoom. I found this “speed dating” format to be really energizing. In 5 minutes you almost always end up getting cut-off mid-sentence when the breakout room ends. This might sound frustrating but it’s super fun. There’s a cliff-hanger. It’s hard to get bored in 5 minutes. You’re left curious about what could have been if the interaction were longer.
Afterwards, I couldn’t help but think of how different the round robin “set and setting” was than most professional gatherings I’ve been to. The juxtaposition that immediately came to mind was a community/conference/company “happy hour” - there might be some conversations you’re really trying to get out of, someone you’re anxious/excited about approaching, someone you really want to avoid, that new person who joins in late and now the whole story has to be told again, someone buys you a beer and now you feel like you have to talk to them, someone offers to buy you a beer and now you feel like you have to drink, and on and on…
The Zoom round robin is less organic, more mechanical. There isn’t the opportunity to go very deep. But that’s what’s fun about it. Who goes first? How do I present myself in just a minute? How can I help someone in just a couple of minutes? Who wouldn’t want to learn about the intricacies of alpaca fur for five minutes?
Aside from just being a great way to meet five new people in the online community, I left feeling inspired to create community. I couldn’t help but recall of the different types of events I’ve hosted in the past. Remembering that skill, that possibility, that muscle.