All of direct_feedback's Comments + Replies
I found it to be a pleasant read, thanks. I always like clear distinctions between concepts and I feel your article does this well. The article also seems to include several partially implicit recommendations. I feel these recommendations should either have been made more explicit and more structured or should not have been there.
In various parts of the article you make a connection between the effectiveness of a community building organisation and them receiving money. To me it is unclear whether you are recommending that more money should be allocated
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6y
Thanks a lot for this, much appreciated! This gave me the chance to clear up some things for myself. It’s hard to get direct_feedback. ;)
There are two key points I tried to get across with this post and that I should have highlighted more clearly:
1. Propose new language to talk more productively about network and community building; and
2. Present and illustrate reasons for why I think this lingo is needed and closer to reality.
Regarding your points:
I) Effectiveness and receiving money: I would want to encourage people who are able to/want to invest significant amounts of time into EA work to figure out what kind of direct, non-”community building” project they could start/contribute to (without significant downside risks) before they start building a local group or alike.
Most of such work will likely look similar in many places: offer career coaching to the most promising people you can find. Being able to coach people requires you to stay on top of things. 1-on-1 discussions leave plenty of room to avoid negative impact and learn quickly.
I could see community development happening in a more meaningful way through such outcome oriented work than through "starting a local group and organizing meetups". Such concrete work helps to a) develop individuals’ expertise much more directly and b) produces the outcomes that can prove alignment to the larger network with fairly tight feedback loops. Later, they can figure out their comparative advantage and, with support, tackle more risky prospects.
To have the time to do that though, one has to have money. My recommendation here wouldn't be to simply pay more people to have this time. I could e.g. imagine that the "network development organisation" offers “EA trainings” to promising individuals. If completed successfully, people receive a first grant to build up their community through such direct work. Grants get renewed based on performance on a few standard metrics that can be built upon over time.
Some o
Amazing. Love your reply (all of it). Your second point in the beginning made me realize that your definitions are meant to match your observations (not some hypothetical construct). I like the paragraph "I could see... Risky prospects" because it makes one of your recommendations really explicit and therefore makes it easier for me to understand what you think ought to be and what is. And on top of that I like the recommendation. So thanks.