Online tools and places have changed enormously over the past ten years, not least with the development of personal blogs to complement community forums... to the extent that these have been labelled 'old skool'. One old tool that has survived and grown is the mailing list, with systems like Yahoogroups and Smartgroups offering anyone free add-on facilities far more sophisticated than we enjoyed in 1994 (calendars, file stores, polls, picture galleries and so on).
I'm finding lists less inviting these days, with more than enough mail, and the shift of many hitherto list contributors to blogging. I'm unsubscribing, or checking the web interface occasdionally. But what new? Enthusiasms wax and wane. Here's a reminder from that earlier age.
The Natural Life Cycle Of Mailing Lists by Kat Nagel, December 1994
Every list seems to go through the same cycle:
Initial enthusiasm (people introduce themselves, and gush a lot about how wonderful it is to find kindred souls).
Evangelism (people moan about how few folks are posting to the list, and brainstorm recruitment strategies).
Growth (more and more people join, more and more lengthy threads develop, occasional off-topic threads pop up).
Community (lots of threads, some more relevant than others; lots of information and advice is exchanged; experts help other experts as well as less experienced colleagues; friendships develop; people tease each other; newcomers are welcomed with generosity and patience; everyone -- newbie and expert alike -- feels comfortable asking questions, suggesting answers, and sharing opinions).
Discomfort with diversity (the number of messages increases dramatically; not every thread is fascinating to every reader; people start complaining about the signal-to-noise ratio; person 1 threatens to quit if *other* people don't limit discussion to person 1's pet topic; person 2 agrees with person 1; person 3 tells 1 & 2 to lighten up; more bandwidth is wasted complaining about off-topic threads than is used for the threads themselves; everyone gets annoyed).
Finally: Smug complacency and stagnation (the purists flame everyone who asks an 'old' question or responds with humor to a serious post; newbies are rebuffed; traffic drops to a doze- producing level of a few minor issues; all interesting discussions happen by private email and are limited to a few participants; the purists spend lots of time self-righteously congratulating each other on keeping off-topic threads off the list).
OR
Maturity (a few people quit in a huff; the rest of the participants stay near stage 4, with stage 5 popping up briefly every few weeks; many people wear out their second or third 'delete' key, but the list lives contentedly ever after).
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As well as moving off lists, I'm finding that my blog-reading habits are changing. Instead of scanning the feeds from many, I'm concentrating on a few people who offer real insights and inspiration, and others than provide a scan of a particular field (but will they keep it up...). And I'm making an effort to update my address book, get out and meet more people... really.
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