Is Building a Tribe That Important?

6 Responses to “Is Building a Tribe That Important?”

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1. Linda Wolf (Insanely Serene) says:

   January 29, 2010 at 2:22 pm

   Patti,

   Fascinating topic, and one I’ve been very focused on myself. I have a visceral reaction to the term “tribe” – it feels off to me. The original definition of tribe is very primal, a group of people who have a common cultural or ethnic heritage. More recent definitions, including Seth Godin’s, call it a group of people with a shared interest or lifestyle, a leader, and a way to communicate.

   My issue with the term tribe is that I feel it limits us. Tribes have boundaries, exclude those who are different. Originally they did this for survival reasons, but today focusing on difference tends to have a negative or judgmental connotation.

   I don’t really think there is a term that works better, except perhaps community, but it’s not really the language that is the real issue for me, it’s the intent behind it.

   Personally, I am looking for the right “audience” for my blog, those who relate to what I write about, and it’s not going to be everyone. And I want to be inclusive. I guess I just don’t like labels. I agree we need more leadership, but I think everyone of us can be a leader in our interest area, or about our passion in life. I don’t relate to language or intent that separates us from each other.

   Ok, so this may not have been the most coherent comment, but I appreciate the opportunity to explore this topic. It’s one I will be writing on myself as well. Thanks, Patti.

   Linda
2. David Stillwagon says:

   January 29, 2010 at 4:32 pm

   It seems very important to build a tribe or a regular following especially people who comment frequently on your posts. I have a few blogs and the one that does the best is the one with the most comments from folks that read my blog on a regular basis.

   David
3. Jackie Lee says:

   January 30, 2010 at 10:19 am

   I just tried to read Seth’s book Tribes. Tried in that I could not even get through it, it was disjointed and difficult to read. However ~ the concept of tribes I like very much. The type of tribe that Seth describes ~ you as the leader building a group of people who believe in the same thing as you. What makes this different than “building an audience” is that in a tribe there is lateral assistance. So it’s not just you disseminating information it’s building a group of people not only you can help, but who can help one another. It’s about building loyalty within the group instead of trying to grab everyone you can find. Of course the tribe grows because people always talk about that which they are passionate, and word of mouth is one of the best growth tools ~ especially in a time of social media.
4. John Zemler says:

   January 31, 2010 at 11:56 am

   Thank you for asking about this.
   I read a few more than a dozen of the Amazon reviews about Seth Goldin’s Tribes. The ones who really loved it had difficulty articulating what they liked about it, except for a single example. That example was also used as the only informative moment in the book by the negative reviews.

   To the point of your question, blogging communities pretty much do the Goldin-Tribes thing already. We read those who give us content and ignore those who are in it for seo and ads.

   But does that mean the good, useful, come back and read again blogs actually “lead” us? No, they don’t.

   Blogs find and keep and audience (community?) as long as they are useful and will whither when they do not. I read a handful of blogs because I experience good content from them most of the time. When that shifts to poor content most of the time, I abandon them. But none of these “blogs” led me anywhere.

   I don’t need or want to be led anywhere. I gave up on traditional leading when I finished my time as an Army commander. Now I prefer to inform, to teach.

   I find the term tribes a poor choice. It sort of reminds me of a bunch of white guys who go into the woods and bang drums for a weekend and then call themselves shamans. They get the official shaman certificate – if their check cleared.

   If tribes come to mean good service, honest people, no scams and so forth, in an internet environment then that would be a good thing. Words do change meaning over time, especially as regards technology. Perhaps the semantic range of tribes will shift to that over time. In the meantime, we bookmark useful sites and avoid poor sites, and comment on the excellent sites.

   Semper Pax, Dr. Z
5. Interior says:

   February 1, 2010 at 4:15 am

   Perhaps yes, building a tribe is important so that you get to know your good and regular readers more closely. A popular writer always has a loyal reader following and having a tribe will helps in establishing the link in a better fashion.
6. Jude says:

   February 3, 2010 at 7:52 am

   i would agree on what interior said.. that would be a great connection between you and your reader.

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