The other reason I'm going to be busy next year

[jducoeur]

You know how things come in threes? It's that way for me on the project front. I've already mentioned Strange Boston and the upcoming heralding work. But there's one more yet.

A few months ago, the SCA's Board acknowledged that there are a lot of issues that the club is facing -- ongoing arguments about things like a fourth peerage, a slow but extremely worrying decline in membership, and so on. Fortunately, this time around they didn't fly off the handle and panic. Instead, they recognized that, honestly, nobody *really* knows what the people in the Society think about all of this. Sure, there are loud arguments about it all, but that tends to reflect the most extreme positions. And there have been some previous polls, but they've mostly been wildly unscientific in a variety of ways. This time around, they're being more principled about it: a "census" of people involved in the Society and how they view it.

So they asked for people to get involved in this project, and I volunteered. I heard back a couple of weeks ago that I'm going to be on the committee in charge of the thing. It's a pretty small group, and IMO pretty well-selected, but we're already talking about how to make the process appropriately open. Indeed, I'm encouraged by everything about the project -- among other things, the Board has explicitly stated that they want to get a clear idea of the thinking of both the members *and* the non-member participants, the hardcore and the fringe, the newbies and the old hands. All the signs are that they're going into it with the right attitude: seeing it as an opportunity to learn, without too many preconceptions about the end results.

That's just starting up now -- we're still at the "introduce ourselves and start brainstorming" stage. But I expect that I'll be looking for input and ideas here from time to time, as well as probably some assistance when we need to gear up and make the thing happen. So you'll be hearing more about this over the course of the next year...

Comments

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

That sounds very hopeful.

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

I agree with cvirtue that this is encouraging. Furthermore, my fear that it'll descend into the usual BoDdish stepfordism is considerably lessened by the knowledge that you'll be there. Thanks for stepping up, and good luck.

[jducoeur]

Thanks. So far, this project seems to be very carefully avoiding the usual groupthink -- indeed, in my initial conversations, we've already spent a fair amount of time trying to tease out the dimensions of variety that we should be seeking out here...

[umbran.livejournal.com]

I would expect the groupthink to emerge not in data collection, but in data analysis. When people have to actually deal with data that may or may not match their preconceived notions is where you'll see the strengths and weaknesses of the team.

[jducoeur]

Yep -- I suspect you're correct that this is a trap that we'll have to be careful about...

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

15 Years Late.

Meanwhile, over on the Grand Council list, the new SCA Marketing Person is asking questions (and asking for questions).

It would astound the hell out of me if he was not involved in this project.

[jducoeur]

[Going off to look at the GC archive...]

This is Sir Brand? I can't swear to it -- I don't see what his chain of command is -- but I have no reason to believe he's involved at this point. Wouldn't surprise me if we wind up communicating (indeed, we probably *should* do so at some point, later on), but I see no obvious connection...

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Yes. Sir Brand.

Unfortunate name for a marketing guy, yes? :-)

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

I think this is a grand idea, and it if works in with a good marketing plan, so much the better.

Having Justin on it, in my opinion, is an excellent step.

[pale-chartreuse.livejournal.com]

This is good. I've been hearing several quiet, productive noises lately. I am hopeful.