Since putting the idea for Burgeon Collective out into the world, it's been great to connect with people who've got in touch.
So far, we've had a few offers from people willing to act as guides, and many more people interested in accessing expertise and support. That's an early observation, but an encouraging one.
People are finding Burgeon through posts and word of mouth. We're beginning to build a network, and the first participants have created their Burgeon Introductions.
Now comes the interesting bit: seeing what happens when people start using it.
The next step is for participants to review one another's profiles, identify people whose experience might be useful to them, and explore having a conversation.
Afterwards, we'll ask them to journal their experience. What did they bring to the conversation? How did they experience it? What happened afterwards? What would they find useful to explore next?
We're not just testing whether two people can find each other. We're trying to understand how people access the experience and expertise they need, what happens when they do, and what else might become possible.
Where could this lead?
Burgeon Collective can facilitate individual expertise-sharing conversations and develop beyond it into a wider network where people can find expertise, learn from peers, discover collaborators, build teams and access the support they need as they pursue their missions.
But we don't want to design all of that in advance.
First, we need to understand the people, their needs and their experiences. Then we'll bring what we've learned together, explore different possibilities with the community, and test what might work.
Over time, we’d like to develop a clearer model for how the network could operate, and make a case for funding that would help us reach many more people.
For now, we're starting small, learning by doing, and building from what we discover.
The exciting thing is the people who have expressed interest in the network are helping to shape it based on what works for them. 🌱
