We’re No H1N1… But We’re Spreading

December 6, 2009 in Being An Innerpreneur · Follow Me on Twitter

Spread the Disease

I’ve been tracking a few things.

I’ve been Googling “Innerpreneur” since June 2008 or maybe before… but I didn’t start collecting data on the results until this year, 8 Jan 09.

When I first started Googling the term, the first 10 or so pages were about the Ron Rentel book, Karma Queens, Geek Gods and Innerpreneurs.

On January 8th of this year there were 8070 results on the web for “Innerpreneur”.

When I checked again, just right now (December 6th – 4:12 EST), there were 40,300 results for “Innerpreneur”.

That’s 500% growth. How you like them apples?

The results for “Innerpreneur” are no longer just about the book anymore either. They’re now about the soul of the matter, they’re about us. Our businesses and our dreams.

I’ve been following your links. I’ve been learning about you. And it’s been a wonderful pleasure to meet each of you. Our voices are beautiful.

We’re starting to talk and connect.

You’re talking with me. And I am so grateful for each connection. But you want to talk to each other too.

How do I know? The forum. Since I launched it in August, it has sat empty and quiet, apparently not a visitor in sight. No one wants to connect, it seems. Except the most visited page on this site is the forum. Since I launched it in August, there’s been 33,205 visits to the forum. So I know you’re interested in talking to each other.

We’re starting to develop services and products.

You’ve been telling me about them. From educational workshops, to coaching, to newsletters, you’re shaping products and services to fulfill the needs of our niche. That them there is the beginning of a sustainable community. We’ve got a marketplace growing.

We’re a serious force for shaping a more meaningful capitalist culture.

So you want to talk. And you want to do business together. How can I help us to do that?

Help spread the disease.

I can create an online community for us to connect in… but I need to know your dreams for it. What would you like to do with other Innerpreneurs?

Share media? Buy and Sell? Chat? Hold events?

Help me help us.

photo by: placbo

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  • g
    >What's your perspective on the whole thing?

    The scene-of-crime clue is that lots of visits/little action ratio - which indicates people can't be bothered. Or, less likely, that they don't know what to do or how to go about it.

    The usability isn't that bad - although using phpBB might have advantages of being more commonly used (and hence familiar to users) with better features. With few members, now would be a good time to be doing any such move.

    Yeah, it does need a host - and better, multiple 'voices' from core participants.

    And regular seeding with starter posts can help/be essential at the outset. (Yes, that does 'cut into' blog posts - but the interaction should/can be very different).

    Overall, you have the problem of much of the web - low engagement. People readily latch onto things, but rarely fully interact.

    It's the 'curse of the tribe' thing - which hampers much genuinely worthwhile interaction in favor of useless 'applause' from follow-my-leader types who'll happily tweet/retweet, take an rss feed, comment on weblogs, slap on an 'I'm proud' badge... and do little else.

    Reaching them in a manner by which they feel 'enthusiastically compelled' to participate is essential.

    A good move would be to first get the ongoing involvement of the those who might be more interested than others... including those who regularly comment and/or tweet/retweet your stuff - most of whom are notable by their absence from the forum.
  • I totally hear you, gulliver. I know we've chatted about engagement
    many times in the past. Being "enthusiastically compelled" is
    absolutely the key. And I've got no idea, at least not today, how to
    do that. Perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree entirely. People don't
    need my help to connect, and to think they do is touting my own horn.
    I can help by continuing to collaborate with people who identify and
    supporting them through my writing and coaching and be happy with that.

    I keep getting my mind stuck on how helpful it has been for me to meet
    everyone I have via this blog and I want to help foster the same for
    others. Ah, but wait, I already do that by helping people to get their
    businesses online... shit, okay, well there we go;) I see where my
    thinking is getting stuck.

    Thanks for sharing your perspective.
  • g
    >touting my own horn.

    'Can't shrink your way to greatness...' if your stuff is something in which you believe strongly, and you're doing it with good intent and to the best of your abilities - then why the **** not do all you can to foster awareness-of and engagement-with it? (Others might think of this as 'marketing'.)
  • This is an interesting point: do people really want to talk to each other?

    gulliver's use of the phrase "enthusiastically compelled" has also got me thinking.

    What, exactly, are we suggesting we want them to be enthusiastically compelled to do?

    Most of us are too busy to talk just for talking sake, and we're all flying round trying to keep up with everything that's happening on the web for fear that we're going to miss something vital (I'm thinking of a post you wrote about the pressure to be constantly connected, and one that Andrew Swenson wrote about the Paradox of Constant Connection at wordpost.org). But when we use the web that way (e.g. flying onto Twitter to post a quick link to our site, or skimming through our feed reader to see who's posted today) we reduce the potential effectiveness of connecting more deeply with other like-minded souls.

    There has to be a purpose or a reason for connecting, and it has to be a strong one. This is where it gets tricky, because we're all running on our own agendas and we all have different concerns at any given time.

    I think a well-run forum can create or find common purpose.
    Tara, I think people do need your help to connect. And I think, if there are people that are willing to be heard, you could start bringing their voices in, through more interactive blog posts.

    The question I keep coming back to in my mind is, what do they/we all really need?
    How can we help each other most effectively through connecting more authentically?
  • More interactive blog posts is a great idea, Sam, that I can definitely develop and use. Thank you!

    And you posed some great questions... I've been thinking and rewriting my answer for the last 30 min... your two questions are the absolute heart of the matter. If we can find a good answer to them, I think we can develop a way to connect that is genuinely engaging.

    I'd love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts below;)

    'The question I keep coming back to in my mind is, what do they/we all really need?'

    That's the thing, Sam, I'm not sure. I can answer that for myself though. What I have benefited the most from is when I talk one-on-one with other Innerpreneurs and we listen and support each other and brainstorm.

    I feel like what I need might be as simple as a place to find other Innerpreneurs to meet locally... or those looking to 'hook up' and brainstorm and/or support each other online via chatroom and/or forum.

    I also need professional help... and good business resources... Maybe a directory-type function is needed too?

    'How can we help each other most effectively through connecting more authentically?'

    What if we just show up to the conversation as us, not as a business owner with an agenda to get business. If we show up to the conversation wondering what we can give and how we can learn from the other person, rather than how we can benefit our self and our agenda, I think we could really very effectively help each other in ways we can't yet realize.
  • g
    Viewing from the sidelines, in considering the comments from Sam and Tara, there's clearly a potentially at-least-worthwhile collab to be explored - certaily with a directory project, and also a revised and appropriately positioned-and-branded forum/exchange.

    Objective is, as always, 'something which expands awareness of Innerpreneuring, and helps those so-minded to develop better enterprises'.
  • I think that sounds like a sensible idea. I appreciate the input, g.
  • g
    >do people really want to talk to each other?

    Hell, ****-no - that's why Twitter has only thirteen users, and nobody ever comments on weblogs anymore.


    >There has to be a purpose or a reason for connecting, and it has to be a strong one.

    Yeah, maybe. And people of course connect for various reasons... among which is 'idle chat' - which can be pleasurable, worthwhile and for many in a keyboard-and-screen dominated era, 'real interaction'.

    Alongside this, the best (most used and rewarding) forums are likely those 'practical' ones oriented around 'how do I...?', of which Sitepoint has always been a good example, along with others focused on automobile marques/models.

    So then, whether to offer useful action-oriented interchange, or simply to talkabout stuff, that's the 'point & purpose' of forums - and participation need have no stronger drive than 'I want to'.

    If it's not worked thus-far it's because you haven't yet gotten it right - so either leave the thing alone, as-is, to atrophy... or kickstart it by doing what you sensibly can. And, if it then doesn't work... oh well, you tried.
  • silly me, discounting the value of mere idle chat ... but then, why aren't people doing that, even on Twitter? it all seems very purpose-driven to me, and mostly self-purpose driven.

    can we collaborate with others just for the joy and creativity of it? do people know how?

    I think we're all spread too thin, in life and the web.
  • 'I think we're all spread too thin, in life and the web.'

    Oh yes! Oh yes! I couldn't agree more.

    'can we collaborate with others just for the joy and creativity of it? do people know how?'

    I think we know how to collaborate with others, we just don't know where to start with them, maybe. It's moving out of the 'I'm creating for me' thing and moving into a thought train of 'how can I synergize with this other person and create something that is a reflection of both of us?' It takes mutual trust and commitment to a shared goal... and that takes time to develop. But once it's there, I do think some very cool things can happen.
  • g
    33,205 visits... 14 members?

    Hhhmmm... that suggests people aren't 'interested in talking to each other'.

    Why?

    There's a constructive point to be had from that stat.
  • And thank you for the book recommendations. The Cluetrain Mainfesto was as great as you said it was. And I recommend you reading Inc. Your Dreams, if you haven't already. Rebecca Maddox has a beautiful explanation for Innerpreneuring.
  • g
    >Rebecca Maddox has a beautiful explanation for Innerpreneuring.

    Which is...?

    ;-)
  • Through self-realization, discovering the work that you love and
    committing to shaping a business based upon that vision.

    Okay, that's my explanation of her explanation but whatever. The book
    help to clarify my thinking on the subject, so thank you.
  • gulliver, I would appreciate your thoughts, seriously. Why do you
    think people aren't interested in talking to each other? Do you have
    ideas for how we can better connect and support each?

    My thoughts were that the forum is dead because it needs a host and I
    am a lousy, absentee one. No posts = no fun = no forum life. Plus it
    has poor usability.
    What's your perspective on the whole thing?
  • michellebarryfranco
    Like Laura, I'd love to chat and collaborate on events (online events, even?). I see your space as something of a "pulse" on the innerpreneur community, especially after this lovely post!, and would love more of that kind of "state of the innerpreneur community" information. Maybe a place where we can contribute to the knowledge base so you don't hold the whole burden... The forum is a great idea. I just posted my story there and would love to engage in more conversations in that way, too.
    Thanks for your commitment to the innerpreneurial spirit, Tara!
  • Michelle,

    Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
    Chatting and events (online, in person) were Laura's votes as well. I
    think that makes perfect sense too. I'd love to make the place self-
    sustaining once it's built too... that the members would be engaged
    enough to contribute to keeping it going...

    How do you see sharing knowledge with each other? Through articles,
    videos, etc? Or through a wiki? Or just through our interactions with
    each other?

    More questions for you but I so appreciate the brainstorming! Thank you!
  • Would LOVE to chat, create events and would be thrilled to see who else is out there in the NYC community willing to do the same. Count me in, Tara!
  • Awesome! Thank you for the feedback, Laura. This is so helpful so know
    what would be of value to you. You're ideas have got my mind whirring!
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