Friendsourcing and FriendHelp

February 11, 2007 · Comments

Helpful When I wanted to know where to go next in San Francisco after dinner, I asked Chris Heiser (friend of Jim Kirks from the Clip Show). I didn’t ask Google. When I’m looking for someone to help with some work, I usually ask a friend like Whitney Hoffman or someone else I know and trust. I don’t go to Monster of even Craigslist. Yes, this works exactly like the old days, when you’d ask me for a recommendation and I’d give one. Only somehow, in this world of automated empowerment, I think the value of humans has come back even stronger.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this except to say a few things. The other night, I said to Jeff, “I wish I could share my googling with my Twitter list, so they’d know what I’m trying to accomplish, and they could jump in.” That’s friendsourcing. And when I need help, I am looking more and more to a blend of humans and machines. True cyborgs.

As for FriendHelp, my new favorite podcast that I’m involved with is the Slackercast, and for this reason alone: it’s a group effort, and we all have something to do with it. It makes the load lighter.

I’m thinking of relaunching New Media School soon, but only if I get lots of “instructors.” That idea was suggested to me by David Tames, one of the most brilliant video/film guys I know. He wanted me to fill the “school” with about 30 instructors and make it a daily show. I just never had the time to execute. Maybe I can friendsource the project? Hell, that’s how I made Grasshopper work at all. It’s still being run by friends and superstars. (Speaking of which, I owe Kevin some audio, and I want to work with Becky McCray on a relaunch of the Great Big Small Business Show- in my free time.)

Does this resonate? Does the idea of friend-powered searching make more sense? Do you reach out to friends for help that otherwise you’d search for in job-placing sites? Has the web back-slid just a little into being secondary to your human-powered relationships?

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  • New media school - YES!
    Friendsource - all the time ( more on this on my blog later)
  • Thank you! I am sincerely flattered! And I think it is all about friendsourcing. We get to the point where there is so much to do, and time is becoming our most valuable resource. So learning (and trusting) to be able to outsource to friends becomes a necessity and a strategy to keep sane.
    I took a lesson from some other podcasters and I am going to have an intern this summer to help me with the "I really should's" like filing and dealing with show archives, that I never seem to get to. This teenager will learn a bit about podcasting, web site management, and other things she wouldn't learn in school, and I get the free help I need for a few weeks this summer. I can't wait!
  • I've been thinking about this too and it resulted in a question to people I don't know that well, who I might want to work with:

    "What's your Blog URL and flickr name?"

    For me, I'll be quick to work with someone I've gotten to know online. It's like online nepotism. I'll hire friends before strangers. Makes sense.
  • chris I'd love to be involved in your new media school. Let me know if there's any way i could contribute.
  • Friendsourcing definitely resonates, and because of social networking my circle of friends and professional colleagues has enlarged and goes way beyond geographical boundaries.

    I'd like to know more about the New Media School, and since I follow you around on Twitter, I'm sure I'll be hearing more about it.
  • count me in for some new media schoolage. i think setting it up like an actual school with classes people can sign up for would be neat. new media professors can manage a small group of people for a designated period.
  • Devil's advocate: sometimes working with friends creates its own brand of complications. Make sure there are clear boundaries set, so the working relationship and the friendship don't become entangled. That way, if one person starts slacking on the work end, it can be dealt with in a way that won't disrupt the friend end.
  • Steve Brogan
    Justin makes a good point. In a lot of QA sessions that I have experienced the idea is to not look to find fault with a person, instead look at the process and what the person was trying to accomplish. If there is slacking, then the process is failing, not the person. This can help make it easier with all involved. Just my 2 cents.
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