Orbit requests and how do we make friends
Beeeeep,
Taylor, remind me never to start a voicemail after having just eaten a cracker and not had a drink. It didn't go so well, I had to hang up and start again.
But I just got off a phone call with Tova. And for anyone else listening, the theme of today are orbit requests, and how do we make friends?
And I feel sad that my conversation with Tova would have been a great podcast episode but alas, that wasn't the case.
So I just wanted to share this theme of how do we make friends? Because for anyone else listening, that's really the theme. And I think in a previous world of social media, that is predominantly asynchronous, is predominantly about status and ego. What does it mean to  connect with people that can build more meaningful connection, authentic connection [with]?
I had this interesting exploration about what is it about the four of us as a team? And how do we build friendships? And how do we maintain and sustain friendships just organically in our lives? And how does that show showing up in the product in positive and negative ways?
Like what? What's the bias? So I'm just really excited to see how that happens. And be really grateful that I think the four perspectives that shape the product with with the community are what's creating something that feels really special.
I onboarded, a new member to the community this morning. And it was just really touching to see how much he cared about finding his people, people that were going to allow him to be seen that we're going to meet him on his wavelength. And I'm very energised about how do we we make things better? For that journey?
Someone arrives in groove? And how do you find your people? And how do we normalise it? And I think specifically today, I asked myself the question of how does the role of the orbit request play into this? Because it's something that I enjoy receiving, when there's great context that someone's found me. I want to feel permission to reach out to people that I find and discover on the platform, and I'm interested in connecting with. And I know that's a really resonant theme from Groovers new and ones that have been around here for a little bit longer, too.
And I think there's an opportunity without getting too meta, or principled about it. But actually just shifting the behaviour of, hey, I'd like to connect with you. And being active and thoughtful in that. And finding times to meet in the groove. And really be more intentional, but not too formal or serious in, in finding people that you really want to groove with.
So yeah, there's a lot. There's a lot going on in this in this time. I'm curious if anyone else listening has thoughts on it, that they want to share about? How do you build friendships? And maybe I'll just share? Taylor, as you know, just as a reminder, maybe it's an opening question. You know, for me, I've always been intentional about finding people that I want to spend time with, and being really nourished by diversity in my social circles. And bringing different people together. That's that's been the way that was really the way I was raised, and continue, continue to foster my life.
If I'm hosting a dinner party. I would love people that are going to feel safe enough and respectful enough of each other, that there's coherence on some core values of being a good human, and also some difference in perspective. On other parts of our identity, and I'm pretty active at going and doing there.
I hunted down one of my best friends. I know that's an extreme thing to say. But I have a really close friend who I think you've met Tal. And I really was like, I really think this person is someone that I would love in my life, and I created social opportunities. I asked him to hang out. And we ended up becoming roommates a bunch of years later. And I'm really grateful for that. It's convenient that my wife likes him as well. So he's a good friend of ours and and I continue to have that pattern.
So I'm curious, how does that show up in positive ways and negative ways in the product? curious what's alive for you in response to that? And how being intentional about how we build relationships can make Groove a place that really meets people's needs, around building connection and building relationships. And managing the relationships of your friends that maybe outside of Groove you don't have a context for. To continue to make Groove the special place that we will fill it is right now.
