168 - How to Build your Real-Time Community Space with Daniel Liebeskind (Part 2)

06/08/22 • 39 min

Your perspective matters! Click to send me a message.

Community is on the rise. It was just a few episodes ago that I spoke with Anamaria Dorgo about facilitating communities, but in this episode I’m looking further into the future.

What do communities look like in the metaverse? Can we connect in digital spaces? What needs to change or emerge for us to find community in virtual or augmented reality?

Daniel Liebeskind is just the person to address this question, as the co-founder and CEO of Topia. In such a nascent industry, Daniel is as experienced as anybody. Topia launched in 2020 and is at the forefront of world-building and virtual communities.

Join us for a conversation that touches everything from facilitation and design to NFTs and decentralisation.

Find out about:

Why every community builder is a facilitator, even if they don’t realise it
How prioritising accessibility helps us build stronger communities
How Topia combines play, co-creation, and purpose to create communities in the metaverse
Why your members need to bond with your platform as well as each other
Why the best virtual worlds prioritise form and function ahead of visual beauty
What tutorials and onboarding look like in a metaverse space - and why they’re so important

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Questions and Answers

Part two
[01:13] What's the perfect size for a space? Is there such a thing?
[04:28] What are the tech obstacles - especially around bandwidth - to platforms like Topia
[07:31] How far away do you think we are from your initial vision of virtual reality worlds
[11:13] How do you handle issues of overwhelm - as the builder of the tool and a user, too
[15:21] Can non-visual thinkers build worlds, too?
[23:12] Would a world without constraints be a world that fails?
[29:09] Do you have a favourite exercise on Topia?
[31:29] Where do you see the opportunity with NFTs within online community building?

Links

Topia’s website

Connect to Daniel:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter

Support the Show.

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Your perspective matters! Click to send me a message.

Community is on the rise. It was just a few episodes ago that I spoke with Anamaria Dorgo about facilitating communities, but in this episode I’m looking further into the future.

What do communities look like in the metaverse? Can we connect in digital spaces? What needs to change or emerge for us to find community in virtual or augmented reality?

Join us for a conversation that touches everything from facilitation and design to NFTs and decentralisation.

Find out about:

Why every community builder is a facilitator, even if they don’t realise it
How prioritising accessibility helps us build stronger communities
How Topia combines play, co-creation, and purpose to create communities in the metaverse
Why your members need to bond with your platform as well as each other
Why the best virtual worlds prioritise form and function ahead of visual beauty
What tutorials and onboarding look like in a metaverse space - and why they’re so important

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Questions and Answers

Links

Topia’s website

Connect to Daniel:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter

Support the Show.

Previous Episode

168 - How to Build your Real-Time Community Space with Daniel Liebeskind

Share your thoughts about our conversation!

Community is on the rise. It was just a few episodes ago that I spoke with Anamaria Dorgo about facilitating communities, but in this episode I’m looking further into the future.

What do communities look like in the metaverse? Can we connect in digital spaces? What needs to change or emerge for us to find community in virtual or augmented reality?

Join us for a conversation that touches everything from facilitation and design to NFTs and decentralisation.

Find out about:

Why every community builder is a facilitator, even if they don’t realise it
How prioritising accessibility helps us build stronger communities
How Topia combines play, co-creation, and purpose to create communities in the metaverse
Why your members need to bond with your platform as well as each other
Why the best virtual worlds prioritise form and function ahead of visual beauty
What tutorials and onboarding look like in a metaverse space - and why they’re so important

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Questions and Answers

Part one
[01:20] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator - if you do?
[02:05] What was the trigger that moved you to found Topia?
[04:17] Did you learn anything from your family taking over summer camps that applies to your work now?
[06:36] What challenges did you encounter when trying to create communities - or facilitate the creation of communities - online?
[13:27] Can the space you've created facilitate itself, so new members don't get lost in the world you've built?
[19:59] Would you agree that online communities that emerged since 2020 have been very centralised in terms of power?
[23:00] How do you create a social contract- shared rules and behaviours - for communities? [24:48] Do you have any best or worst practice examples?
[27:37] What have you built into the tool to facilitate the sense of occupying a world together?
[32:40] What would you say are the minimum requirements for somebody to facilitate in a Topia space? Where should they start?

Links

Topia’s website

Connect to Daniel:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter

Support the show

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Next Episode

169 - Facilitating with the Awareness of Cultural Background with Cynthia Umurungi

Share your thoughts about our conversation!

Cynthia Umurungi is a storyteller who gives a human voice to African organisations and businesses.

Her voice is one I have wanted to share on this podcast for a long time - and not only because I have underrepresented voices of African heritage so far on this podcast. Cynthia’s work delicately combines storytelling and creativity with deep empathy and insights.

In this episode, we explore the challenges of facilitating in a culture that isn’t your own, how team dynamics change across cultures, and how Western ideas of facilitation can falter in a non-Western workshop.

Broaden your horizons with this incredibly insightful, energetic episode!

Find out about:

Why cultural undercurrents in the room will determine your workshop’s effectiveness
How to interpret shades of silence and find the thin line between thoughtful and tense
How language and translation affect our sense of safety
The need for openness and ‘no foolish questions’ when speaking in a second language
Why clear language and expectations reduce your risk of unpleasant surprises
How to use a ‘story wall’ to encourage creativity, sharing, and ice-breaking

Don’t miss the next episode: subscribe to the show with your favourite podcast player.

And download the free 1-page summary, so you can always have the key points of this episode to hand.

Questions and Answers

Part one
[01:50] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator - do you?
[03:21] What have you learned about managing group dynamics from working in radio?
[04:58] What is your process for creating a safe environment in a radio interview and is it similar to how you work as a facilitator?
[09:16] Does the idea of 'active listening' come through differently on the African continent?
[12:01] Do you address cultural nuances and expectations directly with a group or do you let it emerge naturally?
[15:28] Can we even accurately translate the word 'vulnerability' into different languages?
[22:08] Are there role models you can point to across cultures who aren't Western?
[28:54] How do you deal with power imbalances and flatten the room?
[35:49] My experiences in Namibia, Burkina Faso, and South Africa showed me that dancing is a more natural cultural expression than in, say, the Netherlands. Can you use these cultural insights to flatten the room?

Connect to Cynthia:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter

Support the show