If You Build It, They Will Come(benlandautaylor.com)
444 points by barry-cotter 1 day ago | 178 comments
tl;dr: The fastest way to integrate into a social group isn't just attending events, but organizing them—demand for social activities almost always exceeds supply, and organizers naturally become community leaders. Most people treat communities as consumers, assuming events happen automatically, but they only exist because someone did the unglamorous legwork. Modern social alienation is partly a free-rider problem: too many consumers of social fabric, too few producers.
HN Discussion:
  • Personal recognition of having been a passive consumer, validating the article's framing
  • Organizing events is emotionally vulnerable work that requires intrinsic motivation without expecting reciprocity
  • Firsthand confirmation that event demand vastly exceeds supply, creating business/social opportunities
  • Questions why grassroots social institutions of prior generations weren't passed down to youth
  • ~Better strategy is developing useful skills/hobbies so community forms naturally around you