How to Organize Spontaneous Decentralization
By Anthony von Dessauer
Short answer, GFY. Hundreds of anons with fully loaded Go Fuck Yourself launchers don’t take lightly to those who attempt to wrangle them. When you find yourself in the midst of beautiful chaos, your only option is to ride the wave. In a year of Stackchain I’ve participated and “organized” community events great and small. All of the energy that drives the success of those events is voluntary. No one works here, no one is “In Charge”, the only reward is participation, and everyone does what they want to do. So how do you organize in an environment that doesn’t like organization?
Identify The Flag
This is going to be a messy process, like a chaotic field of battle where torrents of energy clash into each other and then fall apart in real time. A Flag that is visible and understandable to everyone involved is very very important. The Flag guides us as a whole, lets everyone know what they are working towards and can be a kind of an authority in a referential way when things seem to be off track. In Stackchain our flag has always been “Have Fun Stacking Sats”. So for example if things get off track myself or someone else has always been able to point to our flag,
“Hey guys, are we Having fun Stacking Sats?” This simple statement has resolved many conflicts or framed problems in such a way where solutions are more readily apparent. Because this is the core of why everyone who participates in Stackchain is here, it serves as a central truth that we can all agree on.
So how do you identify The Flag in your particular chaos? Keep in mind, you can’t create The Flag, because no one is in charge. So if you think you’re going to set an agenda for a decentralized group of anons to do what you want, that is not going to happen. That’s not how this works. You have to discover it. There is a reason that everyone involved has decided on their own to come to this place and time to contribute. That reason is the flag. When you discover it you’ll notice that people are eager to rally around it and that inspiration flows towards it. At the point of discovery you may even feel like you’re in charge, but you’re not; you just discovered The Flag and now everyone is rallying around you. You serve The Flag, The Flag does not serve you.
Once you have discovered The Flag, make it as visible as possible. Articulate what it is in the simplest and most expressive terms. It’s like a motto or a brand. It defines purpose. When you are doing this right, everyone will be into it. That’s how you know you’re on the right track. Then, plant your flag everywhere, LFG!!!!
Getting the right people involved.
As I type these words it seems super obvious that you need the right people for the right job. But achieving that in an environment where everyone is a volunteer and has other things to do is a herculean task. It involves building and maintaining relationships, putting your ego aside, paying attention not just to what people can do, but what they need, and seeing things for what they are, not what you want them to be.
If you’re reading this article you are most likely a motivated Bitcoiner. Stackchain is full of these. And I’ll admit that I am very fortunate to have found myself surrounded by talented and motivated people. I’m not sure if there’s a trick to accomplishing that. If there is, I couldn’t tell you how it’s done. I am extremely blessed to be here in this place and time. I will say this. A leader is a servant, especially in this environment. I can’t meme for shit, I can’t put together a beat, I’m not wealthy, I can’t code my way out of a paper bag, but I’ve participated in amazing things that have involved all of those things. Why? I got the right people involved.
It starts with relationships. Long before anyone has an idea to build or do anything, finding the right people for the right job starts with relationships. Relationships are all about trust, and trust is all about history. You are about to ask someone to contribute their time and energy to do a thing – you are asking for them to contribute “their” hash. What have you done for them? If you can’t answer that question then good luck convincing them to participate in anything. If you can answer that question and the answer has a long storied past about all the experiences you’ve shared with that person, then are you really asking anything from them at all? Or are you just asking them to continue participating in the journey of your already established relationship? Not really asking anything aside from, “Would you like to do this with me?”
Once you have found the person to contribute in the way that contributions are needed, your job has only just begun. This person and their skill set needs the clearest roadway possible to do the work they need to do. Get out of their way, and get everything else out of their way. Supply them with what they need and ask nothing more of them than what they have offered. You are not directing them, you are watching them work, you are listening to their needs, solving their problems, you are celebrating their genius, you are comforting their anxiety, any direction from you is in helping them realize their potential. Resist the temptation to be a director. You invited them to express your idea, now it is their idea. Let it go and watch them be amazing.
That being said, relationships are not always sunshine and walks on the beach. And in a decentralized open environment like Stackchain, you have no control over who enters the chat. Some people are not team players and others just like to see the world burn. Always check your ego at the door, take a breath, and use your brain when the trolls arrive. And they will arrive. If you are building anything of value, the rentseekers, thieves, and haters are paying attention. Give them the least amount of energy you can, smile and direct your attention on the people contributing, push through. And let’s be fair, this applies to you as well. I’m not going to write a long piece on how to conduct yourself in a relationship – entire books have been written on this. But I will say this, be honest, do what you say you’re going to do, be on time, be accountable, don’t be an asshole, brush your teeth, eat your veggies. This might seem basic and unnecessary to say; I almost considered cutting it out as obvious and redundant but it’s pretty critical. Be the type of person you want to spend time with.
Each contributor is a cherished victory building the beautiful thing that is being built. Be a cheerleader, congratulate frequently, express gratitude and appreciation, participation is the reward so make it rewarding. The beauty of decentralized creativity is you never know how anything is going to turn out, but with the right people it will almost always exceed your expectations.
The bravest step of all
The first step. You have to put yourself out there and it may not be all that comfortable. In fact it rarely is. If there is organizing to be had, someone actually has to do the work. Someone has to stand at the front of the class and be the publicly vulnerable one. And if it’s not you, then who is it going to be?
While there are a lot of people who like attention (me, if you’re reading this please give me attention,) no one likes being publicly vulnerable. But that’s how this works. I can give you a perfect example. In the process of writing this article I watched a movie about sea shanties and instantly thought,
“A Stackchain Sea Shanty would be dope as fuck!”
I wrote some bars, recorded 40 seconds of myself as an example, sent it to Loko who thought it was a good idea, then dropped the video in a couple of our stackchain chats. Then waited. Surely all of Stackchain has been waiting for an opportunity to sing in a Sea Shanty? In my head I envisioned all the characters that we see onchain and how all our voices would come together in an epic melody like one of the international youtube collaborations. Stackchainers around the world singing joyously about “What shall we do with a new Stackchainer?” It’s going to go viral and probably be the catalyst for hyperbitcoinizaion. It will become an anthem of freedom! I am a genius!
Then after a few minutes I checked the chat. A few positive responses. Some funny shit talking, oh look, Happy even added some lyrics!
“Ok, good,”
I thought. My Opus is developing nicely. “Time to go to dinner, I’ll check back later.”A few hours later, it’s buried in the chat. No follow up from anyone else I DMed about it.
This is how dreams die.
Rejection.
OMFG!!!!! There’s a video on the internet of me singing 40 seconds of some dumbass sea shanty I pulled out of my ass. I can’t sing. Did I even check to make sure I shaved before I did that video? There was probably a whole piece of spinach in my teeth or an enormous booger dripping out of my nose! I’m a complete and total idiot, I’m going to die from embarrassment and they are going to play that video at my funeral.
If you ever wanted a tour of the inside of Anthony’s head, that’s pretty much it. But it illustrates perfectly how this goes. Most attempts at trying to organize something new, go like that. It just doesn’t work. No matter how brilliant of an idea a Stackchain Sea Shanty is. But you have to put it out there. You have to be available.
On the flip side of the coin I can give you the example of this very Magazine that you’re reading. The idea itself didn’t come from yours truly, but from our guys George and Psyduck. And I can confidently say that Psyduck followed the path I’ve laid out above.
He found The Flag, Bitcoin and bitcoiners are sorely underrepresented in print content, especially in print content that claims to be about Bitcoin. There’s lots of content directed at plebs as a marketable demographic, but how much content is actually representing bitcoiners? How much content is directed at what Bitcoin means to us?
Psy and George have also been contributing members of Stackchain. The both of them have a history of service and an established record of trustworthiness. If either of them ask me for something I know I’m not being taken advantage of and I will be supported. So when Psyduck bravely stood at the front of the class and asked for help, I raised my hand. He put himself out there, holding The Flag, and now you’re holding a copy of Stackchain Magazine in your hand.
When I found myself in the midst of beautiful chaos I didn’t know that my only option was to ride the wave. When attempting to organize spontaneous decentralization, all I was doing was supporting a deluge of creative energy and helping it express itself. People are amazing and do amazing things if you support them. Some of the most satisfying accomplishments you will ever achieve in your life, just come down to helping other people be great.
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Note from Stackchain Magazine: No Bitcoin (or inferior monies) were exchanged for this article. Anthony is poor AF if you’d like to make him less poor you can tip him via LNurl at valitnikov@sathoarder.com. He might name his first kid after you. But first he’ll have to ask his first kid if he wants to change his name.