Why I think we should build communities that transcend technology

E206: Act Two launches this week!

🧭 In this edition:

• Act Two - I’ve signed up for a new learning experience with Will and Dan. Learn why I think it works for me

• Visiting some of the wonders of the world taught me something about building beautiful things that last

• Our parenting question in this Digital/AI moment: How do we model community-building for our next generations when AI can give them all the answers, but not support them with the encouragement and wisdom that comes from tried, tested and trusted relationships?

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Act Two is a new community of learning

I’ve joined Act Two’s first cohort - a new learning community for creatives.

There are three main reasons it works for me:

• I am a peer learner. My best (solo) work has seen the light of day thanks to the support of encouragers in my various learning communities - The Podcasting Fellowship (my 50-episode podcast ‘Tilt the Future’), Writing in Community (my first book ‘Contours of Courageous Parenting’ published 2021) and Write of Passage (my 206+ edition Substack launched 2021), to name just a few.

• Brain Trust - where ‘trust’ is a homonym. I want to be surrounded by people whose diverse interests and passions expose me to new concepts, forcing me to stretch. I trust these partners to push to deliver the best that we are capable of delivering, encouraging each other and holding each other accountable, in a way that transcends what I get from my know-it-all but hallucinating AI-assistant.

• High-quality experience design: I’m a victim of Will Mannon’s intense attention to curriculum and experience. I first became a groupie when I joined Build a Second Brain. I followed him into Write of Passage, where Will was the glue behind the scenes that took that class from CBC (cohort-based class) to an Eras Tour-level ‘experience’.
  It is the scale difference between absorbing facts in a community college class and experiencing knowledge acquisition at an Ivy League institution, where every part of the journey - from onboarding to alumni events - is carefully curated.
  If you were part of the ‘WoP Crew’, you will know that Dan Sleeman‘s attention to detail is an integral part of the black box that made each WoP class and edit an engaging, seamless experience for the students, who were putting their emotions and words on the line each day. While many of us may know him for the deft way he throws AirTables together, he has an (Australian) history of curriculum creation, too.

You do not have to be a WoP alum to join this group -just someone who enjoys company while they create. This is going to be fun!

Do you want to test-run a session on Tuesday August 26 and see if this community is a good fit for you?

Enrollment ends August 29. Click here to sign up:

If you joined, what project would you choose to get off your back-burner?

How will you … Tilt the Future in your favour?

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Architecting things that last

What do these buildings have in common?

As I travelled many of the world’s architectural treasures, I’ve been paying attention to things that endure: technologies and techniques that transcend eras and outlast trends.

Standing in the Temple of Diana in Nimes, France last year, I found myself staring up at the exquisitely detailed insets in the portico, marveling that “someone took so much care and put so much detail into something that would hang 17 meters/55 feet above my head?”¹ Born into a just-in-time world, I contemplated the selflessness of builders who built for the future - for others - the stonemasons who lay foundations for buildings knowing they would likely not live to see the finished product. How do we take pride in designing and building something that will last for centuries?

One brick at a time.
Each builds on the last, forming a solid foundation, one that can stand the “test of time”.

Can we do the same for communities? How do we protect human connections and build communities that are human-consistent and technology, era & empire independent?

One relationship at a time.
I think this is what community building has in common with the buildings we travel to see.

Could this, then, be the architecture of lasting community?

My thoughts are evolving into a deeper, longer yet-to-be-published essay on the importance and value of surrounding ourselves with a Brain Trust, particularly in a moment when AI is expanding into our lives at a speed we may not be ready to embrace.

Over the past 200 weeks and 200+ issues, we’ve gradually been laying the foundation for a community of activists—people who wish to impact their own lives and the lives of those they care about.

Thank you for becoming a member of Tribe Tilt. You have self-selected into a powerful, wonderful group. This community believes we can make a difference in the people and places that are precious to us, that we have hope and agency within our own lives, which ripples through to others.

Let’s talk "}…{`

As parents and elders, how do we model community-building for our next generations in an age when AI can provide them with all the answers (data/knowledge) - and some hallucinations - but it can’t support them with the encouragement and wisdom that comes from tried, tested and trusted relationships?

Did certain ideas or concepts stand out for you this week?

Let’s do that human thing and start a conversation:

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Welcome to Tribe Tilt!

Stay healthy. From there, all else becomes possible.

Until next week …

Karena

Would you like to join our Tribe Tilt?

1.

Other essays that discuss the power and value of community:

High Quality Connections: Three Circles, Three Learnings = Robust Social Support + Flow

Celebrating, Gathering and Community