chrisbrogan.com - Latest Comments in What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

tojosan — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:06:36 -0000

These are good community basics, well applied by NIN. How quickly we overlook thins like this. Heck, even for a personal brand, making it easy for your fans to find each other and connect and share is key.

What about your brand Chris?

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Lee Jarvis — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:19:41 -0000

NiN have always been pushing the new music business model forward, and I've always been a fan of Renor's actions (many a blog post here - http://www.leejarvis.blogsp...).

Nice of you to bring his good work to an audience here, Chris, and it could certainly be applied to many a business or community in other areas. If there were a few more influential people in the music industry who thought the same as Reznor then maybe it wouldn't be in such a mess right now!

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Jonathan "not the cookie lady' — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:43:51 -0000

Sweet niblets, Chris! How many great realizations can you sneak into one post?

I have to agree, as much as some recent noise is being made about how minimally important the leader is to established organizations, I'm still not convinced. My personal experience starting, running and trying to hand-off companies and observations (spelled "Apple, Nike & Starbucks") tell me otherwise.

And, yup, I'm really excited to see how apps that enable likeminded people to spontaneously congregate will change the dynamic of tribe-building and afford crowdsourced deputization of local tribe sub-leaders.

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Mark Dyck — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:01:04 -0000

Thanks too for sharing a learning from Tribes. Leaders really do need to lead. I'm involved in a couple communities where my role is to politely jab, cajole, nudge and otherwise get people in the group to interact and build things. Without the leader actually leading, it fades.

I used to wonder whether the community was 'worth it' if it didn't take off on its own accord, without leaders keeping things moving. These days I'm thinking more that the leader is a required part of the equation.

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Kristi Hines — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:33:55 -0000

Nine Inch Nails has always been a step ahead of the game, in my opinion, of rallying their fans together on the internet. Long before forums were popular, they had a very unique forum, and then they had their access site. So it doesn't surprise me that they have come out with this. They are great at keeping fans up to date with the latest technology.

~ Kristi

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Rodrigo Jaroszewski — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:24:19 -0000

I believe that the NIN case is really one to study throughoutly. Reznor said himself he makes way more money doing shows than selling albums, so all of his efforts are obviously directed at making his public grow. While most bands would make sure they shut down projects like http://thisoneisonus.org (a community-created DVD), they actually increased the ammount of material people have available to work with.

Increasing the band's exposure with minimum expendure is what's making NIN thrive. They couldn't do it without this tribe Trent created around him.

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Drew Griffin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:14:08 -0000

Chris,
Thank you for your thoughts on Tribes. I just started to read Seth's book myself. I am interested in the brightkite / location based app myself for a Tribe I am leading. How can I get that done? Looking forward to reading your Blog daily, and will forward to all of my colleagues. have a great weekend.

Drew Griffin

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Leviathant — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:42:44 -0000

It's not a tweet-up per se, but I know a few of us who are using the NIN:Access app in the Philly area are getting together for drinks tonight.

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Bill Gibeault — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:35:13 -0000

Chris,
I enjoyed reading your post as well as the ideas of others who contributed. Great Stuff ! Love the community check list as it provokes more creative thinking on my part. An important component to building any great community is storytelling. Sharing your own personal story to start this post drew a YEA! from me. Finally love discussion on LEADERSHIP. Technology is cool, a critical tool etc. but in the end we are trying to influence and in some cases lead people. That involves emotional intelligence part of transformational leadership. Thanks
Bill

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

contrapuntist — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:53:25 -0000

For all the things going wrong within the music industry, NIN has been THE beacon of light that every music executive should be paying attention too. Just another good reason why I love NIN.

Love it, and what a great post!!

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

John (Human3rror) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:42:51 -0000

Great stuff here Chris.

You should check out our Group Blogging Project that we're doing covering Tribes: http://churchcrunch.com/200...

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Guest — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:28:56 -0000

Empowering fan-to-fan interaction is exactly what I want my art to lead to, my way of taking over the world, connecting people with their music, their culture, and their humanity.

Peace.

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Robin Walls — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:12:05 -0000

Great post Chris.

My husband was showing me their app last night. It is very sleek and well thought out. I imagine we will see similar apps hitting the mobile market soon. This one is brilliant.

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Nicholas Chase — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:01:57 -0000

Chris,

Reminds me of the story about the band, Linkin' Park and their web success.

Mike Shinoda at BlogWorld Expo 2008 Keynote with Timothy Ferris and Rohit Bhargava stated that Twitter and MySpace were the cause of Linkin' Park receiving a recording contract with Warner Brothers Records.

Mike stated that their fans put so much pressure on Warner's they had to sign up the band. He also stated that you can now distribute your own music and do not need a recording contract at all!

NOTE: (They named the band Linkin' Park after Lincoln Park in East Los Angeles CA, and Lincoln Park had already been taken!).

Great story about NIN, a talented band using technology to connect with people, a theme you have consistently forwarded, it's about the people!

Respectfully,

Nicholas Chase
www.twitter.com/nachase

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Maikel van de Mortel — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:45:33 -0000

Chris,

Some great insights you are sharing with your own tribe. Love the checklist and think you are spot on. Keep up the great work.

@MaikelvandeMort

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Anja Merret — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:33:19 -0000

This is powerful marketing stuff. The music industry should be sitting up, taking note and being even more scared.

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Jess — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:15:01 -0000

I agree. NIN has been ahead of the curve for a very long time with many innovative community building efforts. What makes them different isnt really the tech, like you said, but its the care they have for their own community and how they want to foster it to grow on its own.

I've been thinking about NIN, the music industry and its death, and social media. Here's a couple posts. http://jesskrywosa.wordpres...

If the music industry hopes to survive it needs to think this way. It cant continue to manipulate artists, contracts and consumers to wring every last cent of profit for themselves. Its not a secret that artists have had a bum deal, but by creating these mobile and social communities, Reznor has brought to light the manipulation of the consumer - something the less powerful or savvy artist may have no control over.

Its great that someone like NIN, with such a cult following, who dont have to be thoughtful of fans are really the ones taking on this type of politics. Tori Amos is another example, but more focused on innovative limited offerings (comic books, art, etc.).

And that was my music industry soap box. Sorry! As always, loved the post. :)

@jesskry

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Jamie Lee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:15:02 -0000

If Chris Brogan were a rock band, I'd be a groupie. :)

I can relate to the feeling of trying to get a community to stand on its own ... to set it up with the members and tools needed to keep it self-generating ... and then to watch it fizzle out like a pathetic little campfire in the middle of a "Survivor" hurricane. So sad. So frustrating.

Your shared realization that each "tribe" or community needs a leader is especially enlightening for me. There are some user-generated communities that take on a life of their own, but for the most part a community isn't something you can start up and walk away from - it's an extension of your passion and it needs to feed off your passion to stay alive.

Some other things I would consider when starting a community:
* Research where potential members of your tribe might be hanging out now - get a feel for what's already available to these people ...and what's missing
* Create an "elevator pitch"-like summary of what your community is all about. Although this can be modified as your tribe and reason for existence evolves, it's important for you (and "your people") to have a clear vision of what your tribe is all about - it helps to make the group more cohesive.
* In addition to the URL, set up a twitter profile and maybe a facebook page - both places can be great ways to recruit and keep in touch with members.
* Think about ways you can give back. If you're about equestrian sports, maybe help support an equine rescue; if your about literature, maybe support a literary grant program. Giving back is a great bonding tool for groups large and small ... and it's good karma and a great use of social tools. :)

These spill over into the "encourage participation" area, but have bearing on your community set-up.
* Make it EASY for people to engage - consider polls and other "quickie" response items to get people involved right away.
* Make sure you have a way to RSS (or otherwise publish) community activity to people's readers and/or email ... and then encourage them to use it.

And now I'm going to shut my trap. ;)
Thanks for another great post, Chris. Have a GREAT Friday!

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Simon Pleasants — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:36:10 -0000

Hi Chris,

English prog rock band Marillion have been doing something similar too. Check out the Marillion Convention idea where the band comandeers an entire holiday camp site (such as Butlins) for their devoted fans to enjoy a whole weekend of performances: http://www.marillion.com/

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Mary Eppele aka StarryNightDiv — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:59:51 -0000

Chris Brogan SO rocks :)

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

jacstar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:30:16 -0000

Check out 12for12k for the ultimate tribe:

http://12for12k.org

Everybody wins.

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

siobhan bulfin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:02:15 -0000

thanks Chris. You sure have a tribe now and it's successful because you empower it everyday with a post of value with insights which stem from an inquiring mind, unblinkered vision and a desire to draw the best out of your readers and enable them to succeed despite their means.
Bravo to you. And amen to technology which has allowed us to access mentors, information and opportunities our parents could only have dreamed of.

Siobhan Bulfin
Wellington, New Zealand

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Brandon Chesnutt — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:53:36 -0000

Chris,

This is awesome list of tips for those seeking to build, empower, inspire and grow a new community. It is also a great complement to the advice you gave me at #module09: gather and collaborate, learn everything you can and then embed that knowledge within other groups.

We have a lot of passionate people here in Detroit with a lot of great ideas. Hopefully by the next time you pay us a visit, our own "roadmap" will be in place.

And I'm glad you checked out the NIN app! When I first saw the demo, I knew it would be something special...and not just because I love Nine Inch Nails.

One other thing to note: the app is FREE!

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Jacquelyn Pierce — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:47:24 -0000

Great stuff Chris, thanks for the insight! Fundamentally people want to connect and are motivated by like-mindedness or pain. It's the human element that gives us the true high of connection. Technology should be the vehicle not the destination.

Re: What Nine Inch Nails Knows About Tribes

Andrew Lightheart @alightheart — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:41:11 -0000

One of things that stand out here is the need for a community to care about each other.

And (noticing my Twitter Tribe - which isn't everyone I follow) that can grow from regular contact with people.

I also agree that some leadership can be really important - people are so busy that there needs to be some forward-moving energy to keep momentum going against the natural inertia of daily life.