Social success on our own terms??!!

is that even conceivable!

 

Creativity can be Popular

Creativity can be Popular comes as the third pillar of the master plan: Creativity Should be Social.

 

What is dual promotion?

Included as an ancillary subversive notion of outreach is Creativity Can and Should be Popular, individual outreach under legitimizing context of collective outreach, all as conceived to better facilitate individual networking, social embedment and social stimulus struggle, metaphorical tail figuratively wagging proverbial dog, ulterior objective taking priority over ostensible ongoing recruitment to Creativity can and Should be Social. Because creative people love to share their work with one another, therefore, here on FoolQuest.com, self promotion is encouraged! Just so long as it also remains topic relevant. Indeed, seeking for common ground as in the promotional exchange strategy that has been dubbed: dual promotion, engages the creativity to relate ones own passions to those of others. After all, the greatest and most noble mission of all self-promotion, remains in sharing ones greatest gifts in order to advance the wellbeing of others.

Indeed, How to Self-Promote — Without Sounding Self-Centered recommends, in order to make a better impression, dual-promotion, the time-honored practice by successful politicians, of one way or another also commending the work of another, admired influences, collaboration partners, colleges, even, to be most gracious, competitors, all among others, whenever boasting of one's own accomplishments.

Moreover, it has been opined that for social success in any social life, putting it idiomatically: in order to be more interesting and impressive to others, to get a social life, first get a life: An imperative to engage into any fuller or more interesting situation, because such, presumably, will be hoped to occasion and inform propinquity in ongoing networking, social connection and interaction. Creativity Can and Should be Popular, not strange and socially awkward, interesting but unconventional and often actually injurious to social standing. Hence the outreach proposal: Creativity Can and Should be Popular, social engineering of informational social influence or: social "proof" towards legitimization and maximization of the draw and appeal of Creativity can and Should be Social as proposed, actually in order to aid and  socially support participating individuals in thereby becoming more interesting and impressive to others, thereby improving individual social life, standing, networking and connection, with ongoing recruitment and expansion of Creativity can and Should be Social, as actually a secondary priority.

Everyone who loves brainstorming, innovation, and creative solution finding, imagines a dream job at the much renowned IDEO design company. But just in case any such prized position remains tantalizingly beyond reach, Creativity can and Should be Social is an entirely feasible proposal for an intentional creative solution finding social circle engaged in collaborative fiction writing and  innovative new venture creation (pre-)incubator). One might expect that as well as fulfilling intrinsic motivations, association within any similar creative corporate culture of helping the likes of IDEO would also enhance access to more optimal social embedment, extended networking, contacts and the cultivation of quality relationships. Likewise, Creativity can be Popular raises the question of how best intentionally to maximize such social benefits for collaboration among equals on the part of co-founders in Creativity can and Should be Social.

An outreach herein is further proposed, called: Creativity can be Popular, under the premise that if participation in an intentional creative group or social circle as herein proposed, Creativity can and Should be Social, indeed comes to be perceived by any wider public to produce more gratifying social interaction, then others will be attracted to join in and participate. The question of Creativity can be Popular then will be: how best to leverage Creativity can and Should be Social not only for recruitment, but more importantly in order to improve for participants, individual interpersonal networking and new relationships.

Problem statement: Networking may be the most effective and congenial way to acquire new contacts, especially when others make all the introductions for you, and indeed in a highly functional social circle of true friends wherein others offer introductions in according to one's own best interests, rather than as in any bullying cult-like dysfunctional clique pressing introductions in accordance only with any malignant collective ulterior agenda of manipulation, exploitation and relationship control and exclusion. It has been observed that in order to become popular, it will be necessary to already at least appear to be popular, even by lying about ones existing social life. Similarly it may be recommended that social outreach for whatever purpose, so ineffective individually and alone, will be far more effective when undertaken together in groups. This is applicable not only for meeting new people socially and romantically, but for all manner of public relations and recruitment outreach. Indeed, outreach work of Rotating Moderation has been highly efective in deployment of activist teams of two. One possible explanation of the greater efficacy in social outreach of groups over the lone efforts of individuals, might be, at least in any part, the phenomena of informational social influence or: social "proof." But all of this presents a catch-22, a double bind, unless one is already blessed with the requisite social support and resources. Otherwise, how are the requisite social support and resources to be acquired by the lone individual, and at what demeaning and laborious purpose defeating cost to autonomy, dignity and integrity? The design challenge at hand, is of open and transparent purposeful community providing requisite social support and resources to the individual, helping one another. To this end, different concepts applicable separately or in combination, will be detailed, each in turn. 

To reiterate, social circles can be toxic and exploitative, especially those cliques of bullies and cronies. Alas that we do not all find ourselves enjoying the great benefit and privilege of embedment in a truly friendly and supportive social circle. In such a culture, not only do other network for each individual, but they do so without exploitative ulterior agenda and only with the preference, advantage and wellbeing of whomever they are bringing together. That way no one needs to hustle in order to meet new people. Friends do it all for you! And so, how might such an ideal social circle be set into motion intentionally? Answer: "One for all, and all for one;"  In the process of learning about one other, in order to be able to network effectively and productively for one another, participants must engage with one another, even on a regular basis. As a side effect, the social circle would branch and expand, bringing resources and recruitment to whatever enterprise of said social circle. This is how associates within business networking organizations drum up business for one another.

Automated Sociometry is remains only one among many innovative proposals on FoolQuest.com, yet to be developed and implemented, for meeting all manner of social needs and mitigating all manner social problems. automated Sociometry remains a proposal suspended in the most embryonic first concept stage of development, far from implementation. Already in practice in Israel, Rotating Moderation, in simplified Parliamentary Rules of Order and variation upon the Dialectic of Socrates, is a method for group moderation, a workshop of sorts, an outreach no less than a portable instant democratic social institution, to be implemented in planning, problem solving, decision making, education, learning, study, and other group sessions. Most saliently Rotating Moderation, has been highly effective in outreach by roaming pairs of activists. Also, Rotating Moderation maintains an open agenda for everyone, rather than any conditionality of ulterior collective agenda or priority.  

In marketing, even the tiniest percentage of consistent response at all per "eye balls" or people exposed to a message, will be considered excellently successful. And only a very small percent of responses in turn, are ever lead to closing sales or recruitment. And this goes for shaking hands and exchanging business cards. In some cultures there are actually rituals that actually seem designed for just such frustration and inefficiency. -For example, an annual tribal festival dispensation for extramarital encounter, via a ceremony so arduous, competitive and complicated that for the most part it ends in humiliating heartbroken exhaustion. And leave us face it: the majority of social outreach of any kind, is similarly unrealistic. -the interminable rat race of eking out meager small talk on the social minefield. A man once posted online, a tabulation of the considerable time and money that must be expended upon online dating, before even arriving at "a cup of coffee" and the first unsuitable face to face encounter and mutual rejection. There is no calculation of the sheer aggravation. Its a numbers game: It may take thousands of business cards exchanged, a life utterly consumed in toil, all in order eventually to make even the first connection at all. A sore travail! Where's the fun? And it’s much the same networking for any other purpose, personal, professional or other. Can there be no better way? We are each and all abandoned each to our own devices.

Many people seek to meet their needs in life by answering whatever call of recruitment. Because all manner of groups or pursuits are always recruiting. The problem is one of conflict of interest: Typically, recruitment serves recruitment needs first, and individual needs as a distant second at very best. That is why, in the immortal words of George Carlin: "Most people work just hard enough not to get fired  and get paid just enough money not to quit.” And so, how to actually to turn that miserable paradigm on its head, and let the proverbial tail figuratively wag the metaphorical dog?

The notion of Creativity Can be Popular, in all defiance of common sense, is for the ostensible recruitment byproduct of benefit to the individual, actually take priority over the ostensible purpose of recruitment needs in the first place. allowing recruitment to become the socially plausible pretext for a better mode of interpersonal networking and outreach.

Anyone toiling in Human Resources, Public Relation or outreach of any kind might ever come to wonder: Here I am proselytizing, reaching out and spreading the word and advancing the cause, but who is there doing as much for me and for my own interests? Imagine an enterprise actually designed also as a respectable mechanism and social pretext: Public Relations outreach for the rest of us! -A benefit hitherto that only the rich have been able to afford. Many jobs only jam the most incompatible people into hostile social environments and bullying. But some kinds of work actually help in drawing innerspring new people together in the course of that activity, and forging beneficial relationships. deliberately maximizing those benefits would help improve the authentic well being of participants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love bombing de-weaponized?

Toadying social cognition becomes intuitive, but creditable Menschlichkeit is passionately deliberative. When the going gets tough, nerds study the problem! Don't "take a hint." Don't capitulate to social cues of peer pressure. No longer be confused and left alone out in the cold, either. The design exercise probortunity before us: What are the means of production and communication of social cues? And how to take control of the means of production and communication of social cues, in better service to the individual? The individual strives at the mastery of social cues in every communication or interaction with anyone else. But we are all limited when abandoned to our own devices. Self-reliance then, is not the answer. There are no magic words for picking up chicks! When we find ourselves directly or indirectly under the power of social cues, generally we contend with collective rather than individual social cue origination. It should be obvious, then, that in order to achieve any different results, we must work together, and do so without reliance upon prior conducive social conditions. In other words, we will just have to collaborate strategically as rational agents, on purpose. What a concept! In a word: autonomy. We must rise above heteronomy to whatever that which we might ever hope to master.

Alas that autonomy, sweet reason and due diligence may bring to bear fairly little influence in real world responsiveness and hence day to day real time decision making. Dr. Robert B. Cialdini’s six universal principles of persuasion exploit common tendencies in decision making, short cuts or rule of thumb that are all fairly heteronymous: Reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency (small commitments leveraged into larger commitment), liking (from sharing anything in common), and lastly, consensus.

As things stand, there are all manner of draws for recruitment into any sort of group membership just as with individual relationships, methods either forthright or devious, appealing honestly or dishonestly to all manner of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic reward can incentivize most anything. But intrinsic motivation is more uniquely relevant to circumstances. And the most primary intrinsic motivation remains love. Hence any exploration of recruitment may do well at all to touch upon love bombing techniques and procedures.

Love bombing, as it is called, is the endeavor to influence another by overwhelming demonstrations of attention and affection. What then can be learned from what is known about love bombing? Make no mistake that love bombing indeed addresses the most dire of human need. But love bombing is cynical and pernicious Behaviorism, manipulation, control and exploitation, feigning of interest and friendship, wherein the deluge of seemingly unconditional affection quickly turns to neglect or even punishing scorn and back again, all in order to promote disorientation and induce ever further and deeper dependence and compliance. -Nothing whatsoever to do with love at all, as it turns out! Indeed, love without respect can be so toxic. Therefore, some have attempted to transform and redeem love bombing, to devise an honest, good a true mode of love bombing. But is a benign de-weaponized love bombing even conceivable? Like all Behavior Modification, love bombing is itself motivated by the lust for power, and reinforced by subject compliance only. But what if the basic motivation really were love, pure and simple: altruism and power for good, a true and pure gift with no strings attached? What if the reinforcement, the reward, was simply to share the happiness of the beloved?

Love bombing works so well, some have tried to use its powers for good. In 2010, British author and psychologist Oliver James recommended love bombing as a technique for parents to get their troubled children to behave better. A reporter for The Daily Express tried the technique with her son and reported: “It’s not rocket science that showering a child with affection will impact positively on their behavior but what surprised me was how much my behavior changed. Love bombing enabled me to see my child through a fresh lens, my disposition towards him softened and he seemed to bask in the glow of positive attention."

—  Why Love-Bombing in a Relationship Is So Devious  

See also: attunement play

 

Yes, what greater intrinsic value can there be, than positive attention, than love itself? And what question can there be more noble than how to love? One problem remains, that in order to remain genuine and free, affection becomes difficult actually to plan tactically or strategically. And that leaves a gap. To love, people don't just overwhelm one another indiscriminately with unbounded affection. Oh, that works between humans and dogs, and arguably that makes dogs so much wiser and more beguiling than humans! By contrast however, human beings, if  only we can be genuine, engage and form attachment, relationship, with one another. Uniquely to human intelligence, relationship between strangers arises only as a byproduct of purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication. And being after all desires, purposeful interaction can indeed be deliberate, and substantive communication can indeed be intentional. Moreover, night tautologically, peak experiences may be somewhat overwhelming. Also perhaps at all less potentially intrusive. Remember: Happy people talk more seriously! In the words of Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”

 

 

Is FoolQuest.com a (would be) cult?

All manner of so-called business opportunities, particularly Affiliate Marketing pyramid schemes and the like, are often somewhat cult like. And indeed, along with highly original serious collaborative fiction writing, drama and Science Fiction, FoolQuest.com also strives at recruitment into a unique process of entrepreneurial new venture creation. Meaning: business or project startup from scratch. Caution then can be understandable, but best without leaping to undue conclusions. So often is said, that the greatest risk is to risk nothing ever. Indeed, that life is a gamble. The problem remains indeed, that even rationality itself, any due diligence at all, presents a risk of getting sucked in. Safest therefore remains never even to engage at all. Even at whatever opportunity cost. Indeed, that life is transaction, indeed at best at all equivalent exchange. And that gambles are for suckers!   In truth, all good things sound like a cult scam, because frustrated desires are what cults and scams exploit. Indeed, ever fraudulent and misguided, cults of every stripe are everywhere! And just about anything, even however salutary and sensible, can and has indeed been turned into or has evolved into some or other bizarre lunatic cult of one kind or another, one way or another. And despite how, conversely, all manner actually of good ideas may remain salvageable from even the most flagrant cult distortion. Does then FoolQuest.com advance, even in howsoever delusional and Quixotic overreach, any aspiration of recruitment effort according to whatever conceivable cult ideology? Let us review:      Any position whatsoever, may be made to seem stronger by denouncing all competing ways of thinking. And FoolQuest.com certainly remains critical of many competing approaches. One feature of cults remains that of highly peculiar alternative ideology running contrary to mainstream thinking. Arguably, FoolQuest.com, ever vice-signaling and flouting taboo, advances even more than one among multiple peculiar and hopefully at least interesting and original alternatives running contrary to mainstream thinking. Another feature of cults indeed from antiquity, remains successive levels of initiation, ever plumbing ostensible profundity of obscurity and even stealthily building up into ever more secret revelations of startling and fantastically conspiratorial ulterior position and intent.      By contrast FoolQuest.com strives at both depth and transparency. And yet alas, for many, fails! And arguably, for all to many, any prospective path of trusting initiation herein, into culture of helping, remains present invitation into the deep dark mysteries of fully engaged Dialectical miscommunication competent conversational adequacy in collaborative miscommunication repair, with Active Reading and Listening striving towards the achievement of Intersubjectivity being: the closer correspondence of message as received and understood, to content as actually intended by the sender. Alas, for many precisely this seems difficult, far fetched and esoteric among those mysterious secrets understood only by those sage adepts of the Rationalistic West! And a consistent hallmark of the cult experience, remains in just going with the flow in hopes it will all begins to make any more sense later on. But it never does. Because cults are so dishonest. And the crucial difference with FoolQuest.com remains in that question is invited, with every effort at explanation, all from the get go. Embracing also, the practice of controversy and Socratic Dialectic, the welcome and appreciated exchange of criticism among equals, in any ebullient contest of argumentative and free critical thinking so essential to any capable and autonomy supportive culture of helping, sharing eustress of creative tension in brainstorming and solution finding.   Because in no anomaly whatsoever, but entirely common place: Mistakes are the Essence! And new ideas are frequently demanding and obtuse. Only shopworn and well familiar old ideas are certain always to come across effortlessly. The mainstay of science and philosophy was once the cutting edge. The well familiar great concise ideas upon which we all rely, are often, historically, the product of brilliant minds in lifetimes of boiling it all down, volume by volume, page by page, line by line, word by word. Because, easy to do but difficult to do well, writing is rewriting, hard work, and never a waste of time. Indeed, in the words of Henry Ford: “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.” But to always get it right the first time, say very little and dare nothing new. Just spout cult platitudes!     And yet, the most derisively closed minded, paranoid and hostile, may implicitly dismiss FoolQuest.com as merely more of ever the same crankery, megalomania as so laughably incompetent at even the most routine propaganda manipulation. And such sadly abusive bullies, flamers and trolls, as a matter of principle, reject and deplore all civility of rational discourse. And their engagement ever remains maximally toxic, as a matter of policy and intent. And thus safe from ever getting sucked into anything, except their own inane glorification of petty hostility. For such remain the malignant lessons of the Anti-Socratic, replete with prevailing anti-intellectualism (hostility and mistrust towards intellect, intellectuals, intellectualism, and deprecation of culture whatsoever) but perhaps more precisely designated as: anti-intraception (a discomfort or opposition in very principle, toward the subjective, the imaginative, the tender minded). Real debunking by contrast, must become more serious and competent, not to mention of course: just a lot more civil. All not to digress.       Another frequent and typical feature of cults remains that of hostility towards mental health professionals and treatment. And even though FoolQuest.com remains staunchly favorable towards psychology, psychodynamic psychotherapy and treatment, at the same time, FoolQuest.com skeptically deplores so called Behavioral Medicine as already oppressive, invasive and destructive, never mind as conjoined with neurochemical Reductionist biopsychology ever replete with overwhelmingly powerful and ever more dangerous psychoactive pharmacopoeia. And so, perhaps, a split decision.        Also, cults are well known for actively cutting individuals off from their support networks. But it may turn out more difficult to argue honestly that FoolQuest.com harbors any such malignant blanket intent of wholesale Relational Bullying, systematic indoctrination and brainwash, under conditions of mind control. The closest that any recommendations of FoolQuest.com has ever come, remains in the recognition of the existence or occurrence of toxic relationships and headgames, even as a regrettable deficiency indeed of mainstream society and mindset sometimes named: heteronomy, being the relative deficiency of autonomy. Thus indeed therein may be professed a certain divergent gnosis. But that goes for just about any difference of opinions.      Another feature of cults remains that of tendency towards any assumption that all other options are exhausted. And FoolQuest.com expressly advances the general cautionary view of the range of conventional life options as fraudulent and futile. And yet, clearly individual options and their suitability, will vary. Our question then remains: What defines a cult? What is or is not cut-like? And does the very notion of FoolQuest.com at all qualify? Is this very website if not merely ludicrous, actually dangerous, and to what or to whom? Or else, is anything about FoolQuest.com, anything featured herein, right for you, gentle reader? Any questions? Any objections? Any takers? You are all invited! Dare we take action? Let's talk!              Post to the for others to weigh in, orif it's private.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We am Bizarro uncult!

What would be the very opposite of a cult?

Is  FoolQuest.com a cult?! Cults are often known for creating a shared, closed and even antirational perception of reality. And admittedly FoolQuest.com does indeed operate from a particular and perhaps contrarian worldview. A would be cult seeks to set the leader and his/her inner circle up as the only link to paradise and metaphorical keys to the kingdom. Whereas FoolQuest.com strives in opposition to the pervasive cult of socialization, that ubiquitous exhortation to a certain heteronymous pipedream of conformity as the key and the only key to life. Indeed there are a plethora of infallible gurus to who the faithful flock, great leaders purportedly achieving such miracles and wonders of popularity and social success, unbelievable promises of positive thinking and the power of faith that we have all so long been conditioned to accept uncritically. The exhortation rings out: Surely the great payoff is just around the corner! But actually, how fulfilling is such sanctified drudgery intrinsically?

Cults demand ever greater open ended sacrifice. Indeed typically, cults are often known to keep the faithful too busy for critical thinking. Beware: There are two opposite perils to fruitful collaboration. The one is passive hostility and foot dragging, especially on the part of a purported participant who has made themselves crucial or authoritative, while the opposite, all the more cultlike, remains the quick and sudden stampede into intensive action.

In remarkable group cooperation, cult members often employ all manner of seductive techniques of often false friendliness in order to socially include and thereby to groom prospective new members and also to help retain current members. Alas that such friendship is more often superficial. As soon as a cult members realizes that their efforts are failing at cult recruitment, they often shift their attentions elsewhere, quite uninterested in anyone as a person whom they might ever honestly seek to befriend, support, better know and understand, but only as a potential convert, agreeable and compliant.

But imagine the uncult, a cult as on the crazy mixed up Htrae, the topsy-turvy Bizarro World, where everything is done in reverse of Earthly norms. Whereas on Earth, for some reason people remain distant and disconnected from one another, often more comfortable relying on group participation for propinquity, the Bizarros in their chaotic lives, readily form strong attachments even at random, but remain challenged at group formation, except by surreal imitation of the clubs and organizations of their Earthly counterparts. Lonely Bizarro uncultists in concert like squadrons of wingmen,* are known merely feign cult recruitment, pretending to be cult zombies, simply in order to network and meet new people make more friends for real! What me am say: Let's be Bizarro uncultists! Let's turn cult recruitment on its head.

As will be more fully detailed, this might be accomplished by helping one another to network more effectively with intentional social support and to project greater popularity!

*A wingman or wingmate is a pilot performing a support rôle during a combat mission, in a plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation. By analogy, a masculine wingman or feminine wingchick has come to denote the rôle of a friend in support with approaching sexual or romantic prospects. Of course social support and logistics remain no less helpful in all manner of outreach and networking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you a Bizarro Joker?

Get a grip and help reverse the insanity!

Imagine actually being targeted for something nice just for once. What fun!  

What is counter-Peripeteia, the reversal of a reversal? Bizarro or Zibarro? Zibarro has come into being as the creation of Bizarro Joker. But they have become separated. And like some other worldly Diogenes, Bizarro Joker is ever seeking high and low for lost Zibarro. For just as Bizarro Joker is everything that the Joker is not, likewise Zibarro is everything that the Bizarros are not. Whereas the Joker in promulgation of his own deranged Zen mastery, wreaks malevolent havoc and mayhem across the land, seeking to promote his own demented brand of enlightenment by driving his fellow human beings as mad with anguish indeed as the Joker himself, the contrarian Bizarro Joker beholds before him a world of confused and misguided Bizarros, mockeries of our best selves, and only yearns to help bring evolution and transformation of Bizarrokind into Zibarro epiphany, calling out to all within earshot: Wake up to the proverbial elephant in the room!  And so: Bizzarro cult or Zibarro uncult? After all, in the comics, the antics of the Bizarros are deranged, arbitrarily foolish, pointless and irrelevant; whereas the proposed contrarianism at hand comes in relevant subversion of dishonest, irrelevant alienating and Existentially Absurd convention.

Socrates famously declared that "An unexamined life was not fit for any human being." And there ever remains much before us to reflect upon, important matters all too often taboo and blithely accepted by the masses. One serious problem with any loner being genuine and trying to meet new people naturally, is that any single contact, no matter how enjoyable, promising or productive, all too often just won't get the ball rolling. Greater autonomy would engender better capacity as ones own social director (so to speak) with better operant habits of initiative and follow through, reciprocally. But that is not how we are brought up. Absent such habits, social groups are likewise habitual in order to sustain interaction. Therefore, an alternative and somewhat unrelatable if not actually cynical strategy of social skills sometimes recommended, may be first either to seek entry into whatever another's peer group or else to finesse new people into ones social circle, before only then attempting to befriend them. All so much easier said than done, of course! As with networking and exchanging introductions, it means that you need already to have suitable friends in order ever to make new friends. Social context as of social circles, serves to sustain contact unobtrusively, until any self-sustaining connection finally arises. 

The paradigm example of systems encroachment, is the product that arrives "some assembly required." The customer accommodates instead of being accommodated, and this becomes intrusive. It starts out as anything minor and trivial, but becomes ever more extensive and demanding. And what is the very need of ever more dexterous and arcane social skills, other than a blithely accepted systems encroachment of monumental proportions? By contrast, excellence in customer service of one kind or another, is crucial in any enterprise. A common deficiency in interactions between strangers and new groups, is when procedural instructions followed still accrue no response and no result. Perhaps interaction somehow just pitters out. Or a long drawn out nigh bureaucratic process ends unproductively, exhausting all options provided. Or stumbling blocks and hurdles bring the individual to exasperation. Another problem is when needed or desired assistance is inadequate or nonexistent. But the simplest obstacle is when inquiries and even offers of volunteerism are not responded to at all, effectively ignored, simply because no one is actually assigned the responsibility. Instead, what if case worker teams were to be routinely and explicitly assigned? And the "Bizarro" Peripeteia: What if the entire process were actually a pretext for the vo lunteer services of a capable social director or facilitator getting on the job training, all just as a pretext for networking and making friends?

Throughout the ongoing mission of the Unmet Friend Outreach, initiative in the provision of intentional reciprocal social support, all inquiries should not only be adequately responded to, but maximized in their opportunity to charm, interest and engage. Again, making introductions and forging relationships will be key to genuine and operant outreach, transparently. Simply in order to sustain engagement with interested partners, for every interested prospect, there should be assigned a proactive social director supervised and supported by a committee, a circle of friends, playing the roles like unto social director, customer service, recruitment and asset handling, all as a pretext to meet new people and make new friends. Their mission would be to provide support in order to sustain interaction, and to initiate new introductions and new interaction, even to ask small favors and draw projects into satisfying further participation, substantive communication and purposeful social interaction. No matter what ostensible larger purpose, job one must be individual satisfaction. And always to continually follow up. For such is the way of the contrarian Bizzaro uncult, always precisely the opposite priorities and operations of what cults do! And cults only epitomize prevailing heteronomy. But perhaps the greatest "Bizzaro" (or Zibarro?) opportunity, in the provision of intentional reciprocal social support, will be actually to join in, aid, abet and assist, in the projects and endeavors of others, even reciprocally, and not just to recruit into established collective enterprise. We should always be looking for constructive and interesting new projects. People love to talk about whatever they themselves are already interested in. Actually finding support for whatever their own projects, would be positively elating. Of course, proposals need to be evaluated, first of all in order to provide cogent feedback. Involvement cannot be open ended. And some ideas need to be rejected outright. But they should not simply fall through the cracks. Indeed, openness to outside criticism and suggestions is always paramount to relevant agenda setting and revision.

Of course the Unmet Friend Outreach to begin with means continually making the first move and following up. Collaboration in Unmet Friend Outreach as conceived, must entail networking, sharing and exchanging introductions and consultations and then following up. Thus may be created an intentional social circle to sustain interaction long enough for minimal bonding to put new people onto speaking terms naturally with the beneficiary of Unmet Friend Outreach. The process can be entirely transparent with ever intensive request for ongoing feedback.  Participants may be prevailed upon simply to remain approachable and genial.tential convert, agreeable and compliant. Let's not do that! Genuine friendship is never so conditional, especially, for that matter, in befriending and defending the bullied. See: code pink.

Hence, beyond merely extending indeed tailor made invitation, the social engineering design challenge of Creativity Can be Popular and the Unmet Friend Outreach, is all about providing intentional reciprocal social support, for individual social outreach, by contriving requisite social context, indeed as to be provided by Creativity Should be Social, actually social context of purposeful interaction entailing substantive communication. Because friendship such as friendship arises only as a byproduct of purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication, and not by struggling to fit in with desperate willful positivity and the emotionally isolating lonely boredom of ever more dreary small talk.

In such "Bizarro" Peripeteia, reversal of all prevailing heteronymous socialization norms, happy people talk more seriously together, freely, and with less small talk, deliberating Dialectically, purposefully and substantively, in controversy, with civility as autonomous equals. Happy people thrive and are more productive and likely to choose creative activities and cooperation. It is readily observed that the people who find it the easiest to make friends and forge new connections, commonly live better rounded and richer lives to begin with. Happiness comes in meeting ones needs for capable interaction and agenda setting with responsible others, in true spirit of friendship and honesty, making progress every day as a real mensch. But heteronymous social skills, exactly to the opposite, are predicated upon even somewhat dishonest bland agreeability, and boring, secretly lonely and interminably unhappy small talk.

 

Customer satisfaction of the individual end user in social participation, often tends to be of such precious little concern. On the contrary, the individual, unappreciated, in order to earn ones stripes, may be expected to pay ones dues and/or put in one's time, (or is that just doing ones time?) into whatever collective toil. Just the reverse, Bizzaro uncult, in systematic protocol, in helpful perseverance to members and even prospective recruits, must actively solicit input.

The norm is that in business life people interact and follow up capably, but in personal life far more important to them, they are far more lackadaisical. Surely this is another Earthly madness very much in need of "Bizarro" Peripeteia! Lending social outreach not only purpose and content, but any businesslike context, may help in bringing to bear work related executive function and responsibility, to bear also upon individual social pursuit. 

Connection and influence, one to one, especially towards new contacts, utter strangers, can certainly be daunting. And then there is the most laborious self promotion, ongoing outreach and cultivation of presence and connection within any community, so completely undermined by bullying and backbiting. What is best is the great good fortune to be included in networking that is friendly, reciprocal, with professionalism, and free of dysfunctional exploitative ulterior agendas.

Another approach is that of ever innocuous caution, social dexterity and standing in social circles, may be seen as key to the achievement of status, social and romantic success. But do you want a friend who is good at meeting expectations just  in order to fit in, or do you want a friend who relates to you personally? Is it unrealistic expectations that cause loneliness, or entirely realistic needs unmet that leave us so lonely? When realistic needs cannot realistically be met, then  society is failing and change is long overdue.

Planning Is an application of narrative. Comprehensive well rounded business business plans consist of interlocking veritable short story collections replete with authentically plausible and accurate concrete specifics, with background information, even an occasional vignette, and task interdependencies, coherent meaningful, trackable, delegated and scheduled.  Hence the proposed intentional immediate social circle of Creativity Should be Social is conceived of two related endeavors in collaboration, one more abstract: creative fiction writing co-authorship and imagination, and the other more concrete and entrepreneurial: that of an interdisciplinary embryonic "kitchen table" inception stage or phase think-tank, steering committee and (pre-) incubator for innovative new venture creation and (pre-)incubation tasked with feasibility study, implementation strategy, logistics and action agenda as per point #4 of the the present design exercise in the social engineering of optimized social stimulus struggle. 

To quote Dr. Samuel Johnson: "If a man does not make new acquaintance as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone." Indeed, to quote Mark R. J. Lavoie, "Life dies inside a person when there are no others willing to befriend him.” Community support is a tremendous advantage in networking and building new friendships, and the mean spirited communal sabotage that is relational bullying is deadly and isolating to the targets of bullying. In contrast to the usual employee sore travail or the circumstances of students left to their own devices and worse at the mercy of serial bullying, one compensation in the academic life of the tenured professor, the rest of the experience for better or worse notwithstanding, is how activity is structured to keep academics in continuous circulation, socially, and provide a continuous stream even at all of quality contacts. This is because heteronymous institutions of what passes for higher learning, well understand that it is only by these relationships and exchange of ideas, that whatever residue of autonomy sustained as academic freedom, that sustains any relevance for their morbidly conservative and outdated establishments. The challenge before us herein is to reproduce and similar beneficial effect socially, for participants in our endeavors as proposed. But exactly how might said similar benefits be achievable, as it were, foraging in the wild, for the rest of us and with neither the burdens nor the advantages of academic privilege?

Creativity can be Popular is conceived of as ancillary to Creativity Should be Social which is, without recapitulation in detail, already conceived and by design to leverage and realize the squandered essence of creativity as a preferable mode of social interaction to all that is more pedestrian, dysfunctional, common and readily accessible. Creativity can Be Popular, as herein conceived, is to further socially leverage and extend the other two collaborative endeavors integral to the Eudemonistic master plan of Creativity Should be Social, being: collaborative fiction brainstorming and an innovative new venture creation (pre-)incubator.

Whereas Creativity Should be Social is predicated upon individual entry and participation, the the Unmet Friend Outreach of Creativity can be Popular is conceived of as more proactive. Creativity Should be Social is something that should already be found appealing to prospective participants, via online exposure and transparency of uplifting interaction and innovative work product engrailed. Additionally, Creativity can be Popular is conceived of as a plausible umbrella for participants in Creativity Should be Social to reach out, network, and draw in others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The social engineering design challenge of Creativity can be Popular

Everyone who loves brainstorming, innovation, and creative solution finding, imagines a dream job at the IDEO design company. But just in case any such prized position remains tantalizingly beyond reach, Creativity can and Should be Social is an entirely feasible proposal for an intentional creative solution finding social circle engaged in collaborative fiction writing and  innovative new venture creation (pre-)incubator). One might expect that as well as fulfilling intrinsic motivations, association within any similar creative corporate culture of helping the likes of IDEO would also enhance access to more optimal social embedment, extended networking, contacts and the cultivation of quality relationships. Likewise, Creativity can be Popular raises the question of how best to maximize such social benefits for participation by co-founders in Creativity can and Should be Social.

The "Bizarro" design challenge of the Unmet Friend Outreach indeed in reverse of every Earthly norm, of PR for the rest of us, remains the social engineering of an intentional social interaction and outreach, serving individual need under the umbrella of collective purpose. Imagine the sharing of individual personal passions transformed from an awkward idiosyncrasy into a plausible and effective social pretext for outreach and networking. Imagine that the stage has been set: Everything has been orchestrated just to make you important. As the word gets out, you become suddenly more attractive, interesting and intriguing, than ever before! At last, a real conduit instead of just another obstacle course or social minefield. That would be a revolution in social life as know it! The traditionally higher priority of going about whatever business in service of whatever needs and agenda of whichever collective endeavor or enterprise, engages participants in social interaction with outsiders as well as internally to whichever collective endeavor or enterprise. For an individual participant, this process impacts personal life, at all beneficially or often even howsoever detrimentally, deepening upon the situation.

Demonstration of impressive scope and breadth of knowledge and information may help convey expert authority, even as garnered only from personal research. But one simplest appeal to authority is the mere mention by a colleague of ones credentials and expertise. And anyone can be given an impressive title in description of whatever their rôle and contribution. And anything one does well may be acknowledged as expertise. In the words of Anthony Hall “A true friend is someone who says nice things behind your back.” By such the very least of intentional social engineering design, appealing projects of personal passion can be supported, exalted and effectively promoted to serve even authoritatively as an impressive and  systematic Social '"Proof"  (informational social influence) to draw interest and motivate not only new connections and participants, but improved more effective and productive cultivation of peer validation and social capital in order to forge all manner of desirable and beneficial personal relationships. Throughout all of our endeavors as detailed herein, let us seek to promote our endeavors and to recruit new talent and expertise, both into participation in the ongoing fiction writer's bull session, and also onto our management team(s) in new venture creation, and to cultivate strategic partnerships.

Epistemologically, perception is interpretative, often via mediation by others, assigning meaning internalized by the individual. And regarding social reality, this often becomes self fulfilling, especially by consensus and also because an individual's behavior may be influenced by another's expectations. Social reality is created, negotiated, and changed through process of social interaction. Humanity's self-invention necessarily, consistently and inevitably, remains in no small part, a social enterprise. As the saying goes: "If Mohammed will not go to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed." Obviously, it is easier and more reasonable for a person to travel to a mountain, that the other way around. But as faith, it is said, can move mountains, going out of ones way is by far the more impressive, even intimidating in some benign sense. After all, its often mostly theatre: Social reality is, first and foremost, Absurd, a great put-on supported by mass consensus. Therefore Albert Camus recommends approaching the world as no more that the setting for living out ones own ongoing dramatic performance. But can there be more to life than such grand gesture? In the words of Kurt Vonnegut: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”  Is it possible actually to hack social reality in order to legitimize innovative new beginnings with no prior standing? Social reality, unlike objective physical reality, is malleable to approval, disapproval and perception, in short, to Public Relations and propaganda. Indeed, plausible and extroverted social pretext will all be essential.

But more that this, Creativity can be Popular, an exercise in intentional or applied constructed social reality and even PR spectacle, is predicated upon the hypothesis that perceived social attractiveness of participants will actually be enhanced, unleashing latent charm consequent as progress becomes evident for all to see online. This will further result in painlessly improving participant social standing and raising profile. The concept is of leveraging the effect towards attracting all manner of advantageous and desirable social connections and opportunities, and in outreach of business to business and professional interaction. We can free ourselves from all need of running in the conventional social rat race!  -Or so we may hope. A range of projects promoted, should be fun and appealing, and that should be maximally utilized to make each participant more interesting and attractive. -And as a better means and pretext of social outreach and networking, individually, than the rat race as usual affords. This painless strategy of applied social psychology must also more pleasurably validate and facilitate the sharing of passionate interests instead of routinely expected banal and awkward small talk.

A necessary guideline in the Unmet Friend Outreach, no less than in all close collaboration, is to bear in mind task interdependency and to be dependable and responsive to others as you might hope that they would be for you. Reciprocity may then become self reinforcing. Or so we may hope. Reciprocal social support among participants within social circles providing ongoing social "proof" (informational social influence) is to be brought to bear in order to make the individual participants own interests, input and work, all more interesting and respected, and the participant themselves to seem more interesting and attractive and also to reinforce expression of interest in the beneficiary of Unmet Friend Outreach and whatever they have to offer as motivating Unmet Friend Outreach to begin with. Back in the 1970's after the draft ended, the United States Army introduced an interesting new advertising slogan: "Today's army wants to join YOU." An intriguing "Bizarro" topsy-turvy turn of phrase and a fine sentiment even as forgotten lip service, but what would that be really like, for any collective entity to come forward and join the individual? It might mean for the group to engage and come forward in service to whatever agenda of the individual beneficiary of Unmet Friend Outreach, with service and benefit to each individual participant taking priority over ostensible objectives of collaboration.

And it all has to be fun to do, not just another frustrating chore. It also has to be fun for the beneficiary of Unmet Friend Outreach, a real blast! And there should also be tangible and desirable networking results and productive interaction for all concerned. At all times, there should be welcoming invitation to all manner of fun and productive get-togethers and events, all coming down, once again, to creativity and innovation as the preferable mode social interaction, because Creativity Should be Social. That remains the social engineering design challenge of Creativity Should be Social, no less applicable to Creativity Can be Popular. PR outreach often becomes crucial to expansion if all goes well, the work is productive and the needs of whatever endeavor increase. Effectively supporting and assisting participants in reaching out to involve others, should also help further enhance the participant's own sense of engagement and attachment. But can corporate outreach as well, be cultivated in order to leverage creativity into a preferable and effective mode of interpersonal networking for every purpose first and foremost to individual benefit, and not just in corporate interest? That is the social engineering design challenge of Creativity can be Popular.

After all: It is the binding strength of individual interpersonal attachment which affords true and worthy social cohesion, and not the other way around as we have all been indoctrinated. Therefore let our social circle first strive to maximize value to each individual, before pressing any individual struggle for collective approval. Especially considering the risk undertaken in Entrepreneurial projects as proposed, because initially at least, we will be working on spec., in hopes of future profits as equity partners. 

Imagine then, as a sort of collaborative life hack or put-on, an intentional mode of social "proof" (informational social influence) and support actually contrived to foster a more hospitable social environment, making those very unconventional, unrelatable and stridently opinionated passionate interests into a promising path to confident popularity! Individual perception alone cannot become objective reality. Realization depends upon execution. And yet, intersubjective perception does control social reality. And the theatrical legerdemain of that communal spectacle is called Public Relations. Social reality is manifest of tacit agreement often extorted by intimidation. But the evocation of a playful spirit by strategic elicitation, can dispel intimidation at least momentarily. Still, on a more serious note, under a pact of reliable collaborative artistically and entrepreneurial, as already detailed in the master plan, others can also be made aware that one is treated with respect and become more likely follow suit. This in turn would facilitate stronger and broader interpersonal networking.

Transactional Analysis exhorts the individual to desist from and to escape headgames, destructive Ulterior Transactions, and to rewrite one's life script. Which is all well and good. In facilitation thereof, Transactional Analysis offers a plethora educational texts and also remedial treatment in Transactional Analysis groups. But in the end, the individual is still abandoned to one's own devices. In fairness, not playing headgames is essential to honest engagement in interaction with others likewise not playing headgames, and also of course, for fending off the snare of headgames by devious and dishonest headgamers. But even the healthiest life script might benefit from a healthier social environment. Social support remains among the strongest known predictors of individual success. Any healthy and constructive Transaction must draw in appropriately susceptible partners no less than do the most degenerate headgames.

Any life script in execution, functional and operant or dysfunctional and inoperant, one way or another ultimately demands close collaboration, and benefits from Setting The scene with supporting cast under some plausible premise. A stimulus is an experience such as might elicit some or other response. A social stimulus is such as occurring in the context of interaction between people. Stimulus struggle is the never ending quest to obtain and maintain the optimum degree and kind of stimulation, including social stimulation, from the environment, for staving off boredom and loneliness, respectively.

We are all motivated by appetites for social stimuli and interaction, and suffer in any deprivation thereof. We are all motivated in social and intellectual stimulus struggle, by appetites for social stimuli and interaction, and suffer in any deprivation thereof. Foreseeably, social context that frames how individuals ever engage and relate to one another, expressively and responsively, will always greatly influence any conceivable outcome of happiness, satisfaction and therefore productivity and success in all human interaction and endeavor. And yet instead of being tended to conscientiously, such crucial groundwork has been pervasively neglected all of our lives. Again, social support remains among the strongest known predictors of individual success. This proposal is a call to action beginning with brainstorming exploration and feasibility study of any prospect of meeting our underserved needs via the social engineering of even immediate scale intentional community.

So when you ask your cab driver what he does, and he tells you about his screen play, or your waitress replies that she's an actress, is this at all the less honest or actually the more so? In short: Ought one to identify with circumstance or with aspiration? And which one is more relevantly assayed, in taking the measure of an individual? Social reality is typically already constructed by others. How does the individual most effectively reinvent themselves? And where are the resources? Alas, we are each and all abandoned each to our own devices.

To reiterate, and Fairy Tales notwithstanding, social reality is constructed, not objective. A housecat has never actually pulled on a pair of boots in order thereby to become accepted as an influential man like Puss In Boots. And a naked Emperor can conceivably command sartorial acclaim only because courtiers need to guard their privilege and livelihood. And yet, consider how the newspaper Spare Change is so simply and brilliantly contrived at legitimizing hitherto threatening and disreputable panhandlers into respectable newspaper vendors under First Amendment protection. And there is no deception: The transparent gambit of Spare Change has been so effective, because of public approval and sympathy for the values of such a pro-social enterprise, and because the politeness of the obvious ruse deflates the nervous sense of pressure all around, and makes everybody concerned so much more comfortable by just going along with the benign charade which then enters social reality. So: How likewise, can even the most awkward and lonely stalker be repackaged and recast in some more appealing guise or rôle? How similarly, might the even hitherto annoying and socially inept sharing of passionate personal interests, schemes and dreams, be rendered proper and acceptable, even attractive and appealing; all in order to become fulfilling, and productive, even successful and profitable? Can there be contrived any equivalently premised staging replete with supporting cast?

Just imagine intentional construction of business life not only for whatever ostensible business purpose, but as an explicit priority, actually tailored made as the entertaining  though proper and acceptable ulterior pretext for individual personal social utility, needs and embedment, optimally facilitating individual participant social stimulus needs, outreach and networking all as an intentionally cultivated byproduct capitalizing upon all of the usual efforts to cultivate business resources, recruit new talent and groom strategic partners, all so crucial to collaborative success.

Social "proof" (informational social influence) refers to how people tend to look for cues from others that they see, what to do in unfamiliar circumstances, how to relate to others, and whom to trust. People cue up the way that they see other doing. Indeed, in retail, the earliest adopter of shopping carts, had to hire models to use them, for their real customers to imitate! Unruly commuters on the trains, even imitated more orderly conduct displayed to them on advertising posters. And more to the point in the matter at hand, the telephone secretary briefly extolling the experience and credentials of her superior, before transferring the call, actually increases sales.  People often imitate one another, in who they responsive to favorably. And people promenading together, may thus appear more convivial and popular to others they encounter together. All of this can even work online, with participation on websites and message posting forums. And one strategy for outreach via email, is in seeking to make the beneficiary of Unmet Friend Outreach feel included, by Cc:'ing others howsoever already involved. And then, without fail, those others must join into the discussion, substantially, but also to help woo the prospect and address whatever their concerns. Never leave one another hanging! Because new people may also tend to imitate unfavorable apathy. They will also tend to be put off by bickering and confusion.

In the striving of Existentialism to blunt the terrible despair of Nihilism, Camus makes much the following recommendation in response not to our Epistemological condition of uncertainty, but rather to the Absurd and the certainty of the clear objective reality of mortality, of ever imminently impending death and oblivion. (Camus, of course, fails to consider Emortalism. But I digress.) In 'The Deconstruction of Reality : What Modernism and Postmodernism Say About Surface and Depth' author Ken Sanes expounds:

"Some of these theories of postmodernism then take an additional step, arguing that since life (or much of life) is a fiction or since fiction is all we can know, we should join in the drama ourselves and live a life of play. In effect, they recommend that we treat life as a symbolic arena for the acting out of fantasies. In place of merely discovering that reality is a construction, they would have us consciously take over the process of creating it, inventing selves, subcultures and alternative "realities," as forms of social experimentation."

Quoth the Bard: "All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts" Indeed, we all play roles in social reality, image in the great masquerade of life, the great put-on of mass complicity wherein a convincing performance depends largely upon the back-story and supporting cast, even with no dishonesty whatsoever regarding objective reality.  It's all about constructing plausible cover. Given that this is inevitable, it is only responsible, instead of being swallowed at the mercy of a process escaping our control, serving instead agendas of whatever vested interests, instead let us strive honestly towards pleasurably engaging and meaningful presentation of the quest undertaken, with intentional construction of optimal social "proof" (informational social influence), image making, and conducive situation and setting replete with a supporting cast, as it were. -An intentionally and carefully crafted optimally favorable social reality. Others will be drawn to participate when presented with clearly better gratifying interaction already in progress.

If you could contrive, design and tailor make a business or a positioned specifically in order to be, if not merely more popular, than even as a stalking horse to best and truly serve you in building your personal brand, improving your own networking, prospects, social life, support and embedment, and better to abet and fulfill your own intrinsic social stimulus struggle, what would you wish for and what might it look like? It would help you to be interesting and attractive. It would stimulate or initiate and direct interaction such as optimally to reciprocally engaging, pleasurably and meaningfully. It would optimize not only pretext, appeal and conversation for reaching out to qualified quality leads for prospects in personal social life and networking, but integrating optimal and reciprocal social "proof" (informational social influence), image making, and conducive situation and setting replete with a supporting cast, as it were, even available upon demand, just by placing a quick phone call own central casting! There are all manner of professional friends for hire, not just for the lonely or as specialized supportive consultants in tricky social situations, but simply for appearances sake towards instant positive reputation and social persuasion, in professional or romantic life. Real friends and colleagues do as much for one another, in mutual admiration and even as quid pro quo. Alas, people are often eager to associate with winners and loath to be seen with unpopular lonely luzers for fear it might rub off. One can either thus scramble to grub up and hoard social capital like a miser, or invest it -casting ones vote, as it were- according to one's own values. Social hangers-on to the popular and influential, often find themselves mistreated as expendable. But demonstrating the power to enhance the social standing of others, is what will draw people in. In an intentionally and carefully crafted optimally favorable social reality, whereby, as in the fable of 'Puss in Boots,' pretense can become objective reality. Social reality is indeed nigh magical, either like unto a curse, an evil spell across the land, or an efficacious ritual of transformation and redemption. -Like money, a wonderful servant but a terrible master.

Make no mistake: The intentional duplication of observed patterns of success, particularly in networking, recruitment and teambuilding, therefore will require, among so many other task interdependencies and social support, an explicit reciprocal commitment and responsibility to networking, openly and reliably both to make and to respond to introductions, as part of reciprocal support and promotion. Because that is what nurtures popularity in two ways: Firstly, suitable and successful introductions build social circles to generate popularity and secure social embedment. Secondly, the ability to make suitable and successful introductions creates demand and therefore confers popularity, indeed even upon the least deserving or appealing. Moreover, personal introduction are often more congenial, inclusive and accepting without the chilly conditionality of punishment and reward systems in heteronomy to conformism, so typical of simply attempting to induct a prospective member into a group wherein newbies often find themselves so intimidatingly friendless.

In short, let us deliberately strategize and contrive to find every way to cultivate every collective process of collaborative endeavor and enterprise, to prioritize an ulterior social engineering purposes of more effective and fun individual social life, networking and even image building or Public Relations actually building up and promoting the individual participant as much as whatever collective entity or endeavor, thus maximizing such important benefit to individual human social needs along with all benefits and influence of functioning social embedment, all too often so poorly served as things stand.

Having even however many friends who remain strangers to one another, results in social invisibility and disorganization.  In the words of Arthur H. Vandenberg: "It is less important to redistribute wealth than it is to redistribute opportunity." But to be included socially in the redistribution of opportunity, requires broader based acquaintance. The problems that may be cited in effectively making introductions between other people in order better to invest in oneself, are that the introducer has both other parties at an informational advantage, already being acquainted with each of them and why to bring them together in the first place. After all, both are typically busy people. And they may each feel awkwardly pressured and put on the spot, though the last thing intended. The solution given is by politely offering the introduction, clearly and concisely explaining its value. And above all, to avoid wasting anyone else's time with useless and even actually detrimental introductions. Because introducing an unreliable contact, partner or associate, to a valuable contact or prospective contact, will tend only to alienate the latter. But every caution still might not help. Actually, all parties must be of the right sociable disposition by habit. None can be suspicious, cagey, reluctant or lackadaisical. Otherwise, free time, reliable full explanation of the benefit, reciprocally, no matter how crucially important, and even not feeling pressured, simply will not help.

Most awkward and ineffective are instructions: Call so and so, and tell them I sent you! Instead of pitching the introduction in any positive light, the introducer often seeks, even somewhat halfheartedly, to foist upon another, sheer imposition of whatever burdensome obligation of time and effort needed on behalf of the one they introduce, who thereby comes off as yet another nameless nebbish or drone. Surely such is the kiss of death!

In order best to encourage networking, a clear value proposition is requisite. Otherwise, others may tend to play their contacts close to the vest, instead of sharing them more freely and enthusiastically. It helps remain clear why one makes an introductions for anyone, indeed to be at all acquainted with all parties. The ideal introduction is the one that one could actually desire. Indeed, a quality introduction might as well be truthfully reflected in a glowing terms highlighting their best abilities, with the pleasant surprise of sincere flattery: “This is our senior (field) strategist (name), the greatest innovator I have ever worked with. (Name), meet (other name), one of the most thoughtful people you could ever hope to meet, and who's legendary acumen and dexterity in (field) would be a great asset to our project.” Even pending success, good solid groundwork towards lofty ambition can still be touted. “(Name) has researched the most promising (nouns) for (whatever other purpose and other participants).” Be a good wingman and help reinforce interpersonal bonds: “(Name) only says such nice things about you!”

It may only be polite to ask permission first, before making introductions, unless there is some previous understanding or any hurry. But after obtaining permission, then the best introductions, are synchronous, a message to all parties being introduced to one another, readily affording any or all every opportunity to follow up with the other(s), always clearly citing the referral source. But no one can follow up on an introduction that they have not been copied on. So always press the request explicitly and confirm that the referral source will Cc: every one, especially you.

Another common obstacle may be the somewhat cliquish antipathy or prejudice cross-discipline, the very kiss of death for innovation and Entrepreneurship which are by nature, interdisciplinary. And many are prone to kneejerk sacrifice of opportunity whatsoever, for fear to be associated with a target of bullying, dread of peer pressure and even being themselves becoming ostracized by association. Whereas, networking and creating circles of acquaintanceship in common, may engender accountability for dishonesty, exploitation, abuse, as well as sheer incompetence, all typical of bullies.

Oh, woe betide us all in our sore travails! For unless you are one of the lucky ones with an interesting job, conventional business life affords all manner opportunity and the rationalizing pretext for people to seek out and approach one another and afflict one another with the most deadly boring humdrum. But it may be hoped that fun and interesting activity similarly facilitates fun and interesting Unmet Friend Outreach, sharing passionate interests, even making that proper and acceptable. Whereas the average employment enslaves the employee to whatever oppressive collective agenda, the innovation of  Creativity can be Popular also to the furtherance of the ulterior purposes of individual personal social life, via  service in better facilitation of individual social outreach and networking under the ostensible and already elevated purpose of involving others into fun and interesting collaborative endeavor.

Reclamation of the most ordinary interpersonal well being: Remember how gifted students amongst their own true gifted peers, are found suddenly and mysteriously no longer to require the great boon of indoctrination called: socialization! indeed, doesn't it make far more sense by far, instead, for the gifted, rather than dumbing down just to get along, instead to be better appreciated and valued for including, accommodating, indeed: assimilating and opening a richer and more genuine social, emotional and intellectual life and growth to others? What does anyone strive towards that is truly more important? Good influence under exposure to the virtues and talents of others is not just an ancient ideal, but an obvious and fundamental healthy expectation or norm. So, how has it come to to smack so of the grandiose? Because of needless heteronomy to vastly lowered expectations on every front. 

Not oppressively desperate willfully positive upbeat unthreatening bland agreeability, but honest engagement, is the crucial draw for promotion and recruitment of the best and brightest into chancy innovative new venture creation. Until capitalization if not profits, autonomous individual satisfaction is the only pay. Fun elicits the perception of meaningful value, and talented people are value maximizers.

 

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