Read any internet marketing book or blog and the basic tenant espoused by the latest ‘thought leader’ is that in order to build your brand and have a sustainable business you need to build your followers. You need to create an environ of supporters, not arbitrary individuals who merely purchase your product—they need to believe in your product and your company… and you as a leader.
Seth Godin, in his 2009 TedTalk The Tribes We Lead, does a masterful job of threading together the idea that the Internet is place for outliers to find each other, and to come together to create a sense of place. But he takes this idea a step farther and suggests that for those who wish to, these groups are an opportunity to become a leader. One need only find a wayward tribe on the Internet, and weave in a cause that the tribe will get behind… and Bob’s your uncle.
Now, that may seem a bit extreme, and indeed there is much to Godin’s talk that I appreciate. My latent anarchistic tendencies appreciate his suggestions to “create a movement. Something that matters”. And in today’s world we need that more than ever. But why must everything be turned into an opportunity for leadership? For monetization? For increasing market share?
Let’s stay with Godin for a little bit longer, and return to tribes. Before he suggests we coopt these online tribes for leadership, he explains:
“…thanks to the internet, thanks to the explosion of mass media, thanks to a lot of other things that are bubbling through our society around the world, tribes are everywhere.” – Seth Godin, TEDTalk – The Tribes We Lead
As social beings, humans have an inherent need to be together—to find like-minded people to be around, to support and be supported by one another.
There is something uniquely simple and lovely in finding a quiet, safe corner of the Internet and connecting with a few other wayward souls. Sometimes, unlike the band, a motley crew is best without a front man. Goodness lives in the strangest places.
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