Identifying amorphous social groups or networks to satisfy personal networking needs

As I sat and listened to the ambitions and dreams of somebody I met whilst on a weekend away in my camper van at a musicians reunion recently, it crossed my mind that many of the things we find most difficult in life are involved with finding what we are looking for within amorphous or open ended social groups or situations and perhaps this is why finding my idea of bohemia is so difficult.

For example, finding a job is difficult. I involves searching potentially an extremely large body of opportunities, often depending on whether one is willing to travel to the next town, next country or even world-wide. Advertisements convey something about a job but never the mass of detail which is what the job is really about.

Finding love, friendship or marriage is typically one of the most difficult things we do in our lives and perhaps one of the most important. But the size of the potential population of people who may match our conscious or unconscious criteria could be absolutely huge, perhaps even 50% of the population. Cutting the size of the challenge down by specifying like-minded activities such as 'likes playing tennis' or 'non-smoker' may help but, again, it is difficult to search within a group when the group is so badly defined or amorphous.

On the other hand, it is extremely easy to find something specific such as a commercial product, for example a car or a can of beans. Our whole society and its price mechanism is based on solving these specific needs.

So, how does one go about finding people who would make my bohemia? If they are all congregated in a club somewhere with advertisements aimed at increasing membership of the club, it would be easy but this is not likely to happen.

Could one put up a big sign, perhaps through the Internet, saying 'like minded people gather here'? In theory, this would work, as long as the advertisement was very large but most private individuals not having high public profiles would have difficulty getting many people to look at the advertisement and this probably applies even using the new social media web techniques.

In my local area of West Somerset, England, I have for a long time suggested Local Authority regeneration plans should be made in discussion with all local small businesses and not just a small few who have been identified and are considered (rightly or wrongly) representative. The Local Authority is reluctant to do this, probably for a variety of reason but, arguably, and possibly reasonably, because it is very difficult to identify a group called 'small businesses in West Somerset'. It's not impossible but many of the small businesses are hidden away in their homes and so the information is not going to fall off an Exmoor tree and hit them on their heads so, given resources etc., it won't happen.

The problem is that the characteristics of the population that forms 'jobs I would like to do', 'people I would like to date, love, marry' or 'small businesses with whom I would like to network' are vague and the constituents of the population are undetermined and probably changing all the time.

Expand the search to groups of people who have the same ideas, beliefs or emotional needs and the problem expands probably exponentially with no improvement in techniques or methods with which to do the search.

So 'whence my bohemia' becomes a slightly different question. Rephrased, it may better be described 'whence is the system by which I can identify my bohemia?'

Although perhaps that leaves me no further advanced in my networking search ... and is of little help to that person in the camper van who is seeking something that is very difficult to define. But perhaps these thought processes are a start!

Bye for now

Rob
(Online author and reluctant philosopher)

Serendipity may be the secret to creative 'Black Swan' thinking but, sadly, not in my social gatherings

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, described in the Sunday Times colour supplement this weekend (1st June 2008) as 'now the hottest thinker in the world' suggests that seeking diversity in our activities and relationships, by, for example, going to cocktail parties, can 'maximise the serendipity around you' to produce positive outcomes for creative 'Black Swan' thinking.

Taleb obviously doesn't go to the sort of social gatherings that I attend. Down at the tennis club or in the pubs or clubs where I play my music, moving the topic of conversation onto anything more complex than the plight of the England football team or the number of immigrants that are taking our jobs (usually described as excessive) endangers me being ignored completely - or mugged.

What strikes me most is that this is not a recent phenomena. My interest in discussing theoretical earth changing possibilities has been constant throughout my life and so has the disbelief most people express when I try to raise these issues.

At the dinner table last Christmas, I was told off by my wife in no uncertain terms that I was being 'inappropriate' for wanting to debate bird flu.

When I raised the subject of the Mars landing and the search for extra-terrestrial life at my tennis club yesterday, they didn't even know that the expedition was taking place and almost immediately continued talking about football and Andy Murray's prospects at Wimbledon.

Taleb makes one other suggestion to enhance serendipity which is to live in a town where, presumably, there are more cocktail parties to choose from.

Common sense suggests he must be right with this observation. However, when I was at London University in the late 1960s, parties were about chatting up the girls. Discussing reversals of the polarity of the earth's magnetic field or the consequences on human thinking when extra-terrestrial life is discovered (even if only microbial) only led to raised eyebrows ( I did try, honest).

Last May, Taleb published The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. It looks like an interesting book and has hit the best selling lists around the world. Good for him. I bet he gets invited to lots of interesting parties.

Sadly, the chances of me being able to talk about it with anybody in my social circles is about as likely as a 'Black Swan' event about which he talks so interestingly and persuasively.

So I lift my lonely esoteric glass to the blogosphere and say 'Cheers!' At least I can rant away to you lot - and thank you for listening - but it is not the same as the real world rant with fellow bohemians that I really crave.

(Which explains why the picture above is not of swans, black or white, but instead is of ducks!)

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - online author and seeker after dreams of utopia)

Bohemian creative life and people who love creativity in West Somerset, West Country, UK

Perhaps bohemia and the bohemian life can be discovered wherever we are. I have an interesting story to tell about how a creative group of people can spring up from almost anywhere.

Originally, envisaged as a sort of cultural and arts drop in centre at Williton, the West Somerset Creative Project has just been established to bring together people who love creativity, the creative arts and all things creative in West Somerset, West Country, UK both online and in real world locations all over West Somerset and I attended their steering group meeting last Monday.

Art and artists, photography and photographers, authors, writers and writing, poets, dancers and dancing, music and musicians, craft and crafters, drama and theatre lovers and many more creative people are welcomed to join in and get involved with this community driven project.

If you are interested or involved in creative activities of any sort in any of the following towns, villages and hamlets, or in the coutryside nearby, the people over at West Somerset Creative Project want to hear from you.

• Alcombe
• Bicknoller
• Brompton Ralph
• Brompton Regis
• Brushford
• Carhampton
• Clatworth
• Crowcombe
• Cutcombe
• Dulverton
• Dunster
• East Quantoxhead
• Elmworthy
• Emmetts Grange
• Exebridge
• Exford
• Exmoor
• Exton
• Hawkridge
• Holford
• Huish Champflower
• Kilve
• Luccombe
• Luckwell Bridge
• Luxborough
• Middlecombe
• Minehead
• Monksilver
• Nettlecombe
• Oare
• Old Cleeve
• Porlock
• Sampford Brett
• Selworthy
• Simonsbath
• Skilgate
• Stogumber
• Stogursey
• Stringston
• Timberscombe
• Treborough
• Upton
• Washford
• Watchet
• West Quantoxhead
• Williton
• Winsford
• Withycombe
• Withypool
  
• Woodcombe
• Wootton Courtenay

It's a community led organisation that is looking for helpers so, if you live in or visit West Somerset, why not pop over to their blog and leave your details as a comment under your activity of interest to keep updated.

Perhaps see you over there :-)

Bye for now

Rob

Can bohemian friends create your bohemia anywhere?

For as long as I've been wondering whether there is a place out there where artists, authors and musicians rub shoulders in a sort of creative, mind bending paradise, I've always had the image of a place in my mind; somewhere like Montmartre in Paris or England's Sidmouth during Folk festival week.

However, I've often felt my search may ultimately be ill fated. Everywhere looks so much the same, these days. National retail chains rule the roost in almost every cloned Britain high street. Production line people, the hard working product of production line schools, pour themselves daily into overcomplicated tin cans to transport them to spend their lives on the production lines of modern industry and commerce.

However, over the weekend, it occurred to me that perhaps we can all find our own bohemia through our friends. Perhaps half a dozen really good writing friends who really gel together could be enough. Or, half a dozen musicians who could blend their musical notes perfectly into mine to constitute a really great band.

All of which seems rather more accessible than finding a halcyon dream place which rocks all the time.

Of course, if there is a place which is as bohemian as Sidmouth in Folk Festival week throughout all of the year, I would love to hear of it.

Bye for now

Rob

Eccentric or bohemian - my 'Last of the Summer Wine' experience

So there I was wondering where my true bohemia of artists, authors and musicians might be hidden away in some far off place when the doorbell rang.

It was an old guy (yep, even older than me) who lives nearby and has a very old motorbike. When I say very old, I mean really very old, as in early 1900s. It's his hobby to tinker with things and make them work and old things need more tinkering than new things so buying old things keeps him pretty happy.

His latest acquisition is an old motorbike from the time before starter motors were invented. To start this motorbike means running along and then jumping on it at the right moment and engaging the thingummy to the whatsemecallit. (I'm not really technical on mechanical things, in case you hadn't noticed). Which is all very well, if you are young, fit and athletic. Not perhaps ideal for old geezers in their 60s and pulling a pension.

Anyway, so I said "Hi how's it going?" and he said could I press a button on a device in his back garden while he did something on this old motorbike.

It turned out that the device I had to press was mounted on an old converted electric mobility scooter which used two large batteries to turn two rollers. The idea was that the motorbike back wheel rested on the two rollers and when I pressed my special button, the rollers rolled around and the old motorbike would start without him having to push it along the road.

Well, it didn't. He sat on the motorbike on top of this rolling road. I felt scared as to whether I might be electrocuted by all the bare wires that were waving around. Bravely, I pressed the button wondering what would happen if the motorbike kicked into action and the back motorbike wheels started to drive the rolling road. The rollers turned around. More scary thoughts from yours truly who normally thinks picking up a pen is an adventure. More wobbling from my friend balanced on this old motorbike on this lash up rolling road.

But the motorbike wouldn't start.

Fifteen minutes later, he decided he needed a mark 2 version so, to get him started, I pushed him on this old motorbike down the road.

Fortunately, it started before I was too far in the direction of the next town and I retired back to the safety of my office and laptop while he roared happily off into the distance.

All of which brought to my mind the English sit com 'Last of the Summer Wine'.

So is eccentric the same thing as bohemian?

If it is then perhaps where I already live is actually quite bohemian. In addition to inventive old motorbike enthusiasts, there are artists (probably), musicians (I know quite a few because I play music with them) and a small writers circle (which I've never introduced myself to). So why am I looking further afield?

I dunno. To me, there is a difference. Quaffing coffee in a packed meeting place with friends who want to talk about metaphor and transliteration just grabs me as more interesting than risking life and limb around a rusty old motorbike on an improvised rolling road.

Am I wrong?

Bye for now

Rob

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My first bohemian community but it's closing down

Boasting high ceilings and light-filled studios, the top of Carnegie Hall in Midtown, New York have housed artists, writers, and musicians for over a century; now, it seems that they have to move out. According to the New York Magazine:

The studios are in the process of being gutted and remodeled by the Carnegie Hall Corporation (the building is owned by the city, but the corporation is its primary tenant). According to a CHC spokeswoman, the spaces will be converted to “educational facilities” for young musicians.

So it seems that the studios will continue to have an artistic life, even though they will no longer be artists' homes.

This is the first bohemian community I have found in my researches. Unfortunately, it is closing down so I must continue my search for bohemianism.

Bye for now

Rob