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1. precom+(OP)[view] [source] 2023-03-18 16:47:13
Most tight, close-knit groups originate from shared mythos. These can be family, proximity, "same school year", "same college", "friend of best friend", etc. Online, you can find people that are interested in some niche topic (or elaboration of some popular topic to an absurd degree) and engage with them. Small newsletters are also a good way to get people talking. What most people don't do is return attention, aka reciprocate positively. This could also mean you'd have you write about unrelated things or maybe try to build a "business relationship" that would then progress if you invest some time and hope for the best.

It's a really bad time to try and get the attention of someone more famous / notable than you, though. Sure, you can go on $platform and talk to them, but it's really not the same when they have a gorillion other messages. Same goes for people in large communities that are a "guy" there, known for something. Extremely high-return investments but you're likely going to fail.

Some people try to start youtube channels / info streams and then entice people to join their forum / server. While this does seem to work, it only brings in quality people AFTER the community is fully formed and rigorous laws are in place. The initial stragglers are usually the recently excommunicated looking to try their hand at the same shit somewhere else.

If you really put some effort into a topic and blog about it, you're likely to get some high-quality responses even if you only pose a question to someone that's partly interested. I've found this to be a really great way to separate the folks that are actually interested from those that aren't. You'll usually get people around your own level this way and IME this is the best approach.

It takes a lot of effort to make people clock in regularly to your online circle, and it's better to establish digital / irl face-to-face contact after a good interaction. It builds trust and because we're wired to judge people from their facial reactions rather than text, it also sobers conversation / tempers over potentially divisive topics. Works well with cerebral / "deep" people. Doesn't work with people that only come online to blow steam / enact a persona, so it's a good filter.

TL;DR: Touch grass (digitally), make friends (digitally)

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