Day 106: The Future of Show & Tell
About a month ago, I sent out this email to the initial cohort of seven people who’d join me in starting Show & Tell:
The day of reckoning is here.
I’m going to use today’s post to think about the future of Show & Tell and use it to get feedback from the community as well.
Show & Tell Overview
For those unfamiliar, Show & Tell is a micro-community of makers I put together for people to share their work and help each other out. It has two components:
- A Slack channel where we post updates on our projects, ask questions, and give feedback
- A weekly demo session where we share what we’ve been working on and get feedback
The Channel
The channel has been a great way to casually chat with friends about everything ranging from website copy to legal questions, and I think the fact that it’s private makes it easier for people to share their thoughts without worrying about it sticking around for eternity on Twitter. I’ve benefited a ton from having a community of smart and thoughtful people to think through things with, and I highlighted some of their contributions in this Twitter thread.
The Demos
The demos complement the channel quite well because it’s a low-stakes environment where we riff on ideas and have a synchronous counterpart to the channel where names and handles turn into faces and people. The only downside of this is that we haven’t been able to find a time where everyone can join (conflicting schedules, different time zones, etc.), so some members haven’t been able to join.
The Vibe
The aspect that I’ve loved most about Show & Tell is just how tight-knit it feels. Because there are only a handful of us, everyone knows each other and it feels like everyone’s willing to help each other. If anyone in the group asked me for a favor, I’d pretty much stop what I’m doing to help them out. I think this is something precious that’s often lost when communities grow too quickly to hundreds or thousands of members. I’d like to keep the intimate vibe that makes it feel like you’re getting advice from a group of friends.
Show & Tell Cadence
There are two models I’m considering for the future of Show & Tell:
Continuous
Under a continuous model, Show & Tell would run indefinitely with a weekly scheduled demo session. While the consistency of this would be nice, I think it’d be susceptible to a loss of energy over time because it could easily become just another routine in people’s lives.
Periodic
Under a periodic model, Show & Tell would run for a fixed period of time and then end. It’d be more like a special program rather than a lifetime membership. For example, Show & Tell can be a 4-week program that runs every other month or once a quarter. This approach seems like it’d have much more enthusiastic participation because (1) people would voluntarily join when they have something that they’re actively working on and (2) because it’s limited with a start and an end date, it’d be easier to commit whole-heartedly.
Right now, I’m leaning toward Show & Tell having a mix of the continuous and periodic cadence: The Slack channel can run continuously year-round, but there would more directed 4-week blocks where we also have weekly demos. I’m imagining that for these blocks, people come in with a concrete project + goal that they have in mind so that it’d be easier for other members of the community to help them as well.
I’d like to write more, especially about whether to invite more members and the process/criteria for doing so, but I’m getting absolutely wrecked by allergies today and I’m having a really hard time focusing. So I’ll leave it here for today.