Why swarms are better than fads

The difference between a fad and a swarm is useful for seeing why a swarmish network can have such a long-term sustainable impact.

People often get themselves into situations that they try to get out of. Addictions to alcohol, drugs, food, even (gasp!) video games are patterns that we create for ourselves and then find difficult to break. Often, in the midst of one of these patterns, we will be told about some sort of “instant solution” which, if we just do something (which often seems initially strange), will solve all of our problems.

These “fads” are often viral because they spread from word of mouth—sometimes helped along with a feeling of secrecy. (“This is what the mainstream media and the multi-gazillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry don’t want to know you!”) They often introduce a particular “teachable behavior” which is promised to solve all your problems if you will do this just once a day for 30 days.

This situation can also be found in church ministry, evangelism, and missions. (You knew that was coming, didn’t you?) We have the “fad of the month” Sunday School program, evangelistic method, etc. “Just present the Gospel in this way,” these fads will promise you, “and you, too, can have a successful megachurch with thousands of adoring followers.” (Leaders, you know, aren’t leaders unless they have followers—and greater leaders have more followers, who follow them longer.)

The problem with a fad – whether it is a solution for smoking, drinking, eating, drug abuse, or whatever – is that it tends to be presented (and used) as a one-shot miraculous cure for the situation you are presently in rather than the process (or path) that got you there. It is rather like ending up in a dead-end cul-de-sac and then asking for the Enterprise to beam you up and send you to where you think you should be.

Swarms take an approach that is longer, but more sustainable. And there are addiction-busting programs which are swarmish: Alcoholics Anonymous and Weight Watchers are both prime examples. Let’s look at some of the differences to highlight why swarms endure and grow:

• Plausible Promise: typically the promise of a swarm is a “realistic” promise which does not offer instantaneous gratification but rather a long-term enduring solution that capitalizes on small wins. AA for example looks at what’s necessary for sobriety for a certain period of time. WW looks for weight loss that can be maintained.
• Teachable Behaviors: a fad typically gives you a behavior which you do over a short period of time (e.g. a week, or 30 days) in order to accomplish something within that time (e.g. “lose that pesky 10 pounds”). But a swarm offers you teachable behaviors which can be repeatable for the rest of your life. Swarms are about building good habits, not miracle cures never to be repeated.
• Repeatable Processes: in the same vein, a swarm will achieve its highest success when it integrates the behaviors it teaches into larger strategies, and holistically shows you how to integrate behaviors and strategies into your life. Such habit-building takes time but is enduring, because you actually change what you do and never go back to the old path.
• Measureable Milestones: most swarms are going to offer very specific milestones on the way to a larger goal, and those milestones will be realistic. For examples consider AA’s 12 steps, or WW’s initial 5% goal. “Small wins” are an important part of switching behaviors.
• Community: fads are typically viral but secretive. There isn’t an enduring community around a fad. Swarms offer a long-term community with established success stories and “steps” to get you into the community and into success which capitalize on small initial wins to increase your motivation. What’s more, and most important, these communities can be multiplied quite easily by any existing member. AA chapters, for example, can be started with just 2 people: someone who has successfully been in the program and someone who wants to be. It’s important for a swarm that communities can be cheaply multiplied by people who have benefited. (Think of church planting movements with new churches being started by existing believers, and compare to an AA group. Church planters can learn a lot from Alcoholics Anonymous or other such groups.)
• Collaboration: you might hear about a faddish activity from someone, but are you going to admit you’re doing it? You probably won’t be doing it together. But swarms are always collaborative. There is a strong motivation by being part of a larger group, especially a group that is mixed between those who have achieved success and are going on to greater success, and those who are new.
• Openness: Swarms develop lots of resources around a particular goal. For example, one of the reasons WW is such a successful program is that they offer massive online collections of recipes you can use, with each recipe specifically scored in the WW system. So, you don’t have to purchase expensive food (a limiting factor) or eat a zany diet. You can even search for what you have in your refrigerator. This kind of shared information increases the likelihood of success.
• Adaptability: Swarms are constantly experimenting and building up knowledge about behaviors. AA has been used in all sorts of environments. WW members are constantly suggesting new recipes, and any recipe can be automatically scored based on its ingredients. People at meetings share information about strategies for succeeding. This kind of community collaboration and improvement isn’t possible with an isolated fad. It promotes the construction of good habits.
• Influence: Because these kinds of communities build up records of success and a substantial knowledge base, they quickly become very influential in the broader community of the world. I’m sure you can think of instances where this is the case.
• Multiplication: Here is the key element: swarms enable the multiplication of building-good-habits. Habits, once ingrained, are sustainable. A community collaboratively assists a new member over the initial difficult “hump” of building those good habits, and becomes stronger for the new success story. Each new success enables the community to multiply and extend its influence. Fads don’t get this kind of cumulative word-of-mouth vote of confidence, they can’t point to consistent, yearly success stories, and they don’t have a community of people who will show you how to integrate it.

This is a big reason why I’m so bullish on swarms and decentralized networks: they are cheap—you don’t typically have to pay staff. They are enduring. They help good habits to form. They don’t just change the current situation—they change lives. And changed lives will change every situation they touch.

Given a choice between writing a faddish book or starting an enduring swarm—start the swarm!

Tagged as: Swarms