The Post-Modern Guild
Something special is going on with the wellspring of magic and talent happening inside our guild.. The pandemic has caused many of us to reappraise what's important, and where we derive value in spending time.
Thousands of smart, passionate people around the world have joined our Guild hungering for a different type of organization and group, beyond their companies, communities, families and industries. The Guild is their "fifth place" of sorts.
Members have sought a kinship with people of mutual professional interest inside the guild to function as: a global trust network, a place of shared learning, a community of interest and craft-building, and a hub for building commercial ventures & societal value. Without much cajoling, the average of our Guild members is motivated to spend 6.8 hours each month in support of the Guild.
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When we started out, we wanted the right governance and had heard about online communities, expert networks, co-ops, ecosystems, and DAOs, but we asked 'why not bring back Guilds?'
The Revival of Guilds
The film industry, real estate agents, lawyers and some arts, medical and engineering professions still organize themselves along the lines of a Guild, online gamers have now joined them. Heck even Star Wars and Dune have bounty hunter and Spacing guilds. Perhaps they are a portent for things to come - something broader as a movement indicative of the liminal times we live in. We explore four historically relevant forces that are at play driving this fervor for guilds again.
Force #1:
Failure of Modern Institutions Matched with Connecting Technology
Feudalism fell away with the Enlightenment, and royalty with the rise of the modern nation-state, Sometimes institutional change happens glacially, and sometimes they move suddenly. Gutenberg's printing press was the logjam breaker that helped quickly democratize knowledge and ushered in broader sweeping changes.
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Fast forward, and now emerging technologies and new forms of digital connection are the tools that are exposing (and sometimes creating) the cracks of industrial era capitalism, tribalized & polarized governments and supporting, complicit establishments like media, news and NGOs, paving the way for something new and less archaic.
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With the current cycle of mistrust and the foresight that half the people in the Western World are soon expected to be working in gig, freelance or contract roles, people are realizing the need to rally together and not lean solely on central institutions for their future welfare.
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Many are making the gambit that online communities (not corner or oval offices) are more likely to produce better solutions and models of work, ensure financial security, downweight occupational risks and provide flexibility.and forums for applying people's skills & crafts.
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Guilds have a role to play in building COMMERCIAL VALUE
Force #2:
Big Centralized
Incs. and Orgs. Don’t Have the Best Ideas Anymore
During the Middle Ages, government and religion were intertwined. One could not easily be separated from the other.. Guilds rose in a time period when this bond loosened. Agreed-upon belief systems shifted, leaving people to organize trade and skill networks themselves, where gaps were created.
When belief structures change, eventually so do governance structures. Here we are again.
Winner take all, bigness is being displaced. Fortune 500s are being eclipsed by startups. Big utilities and resources are going off-grid and regenerative. Banks and insurance are being DeFi-ed. Space is generating broader attention beyond NASA. Formal education and degrees are being disrupted by new learning forums and certifications,
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Smarter ideas & intelligence abetted by decentralization are now winning. More nimble rallying forces are providing lifelong training, referrals to knowledge,. innovative breakthroughs & answers to today's biggest challenges and next wild card scenario Grey Swans,
Guilds have a role to play in building EDUCATIONAL VALUE.
Force #3:
New Modern Artisans & Craftspeople of Thought & Skill are Seeking Community
Community has always been the social glue that holds humankind together, giving people hope, psychological safety and an anchor in times of trouble. Ding! That sets us back in our current world...your safe harbor just might not be your tribe or local community anymore.
The paradox is that just as the world of the 1500s was getting bigger (and less flat) and people felt connected to a much broader world than imaginable, community took on value but was much more local and amorphous.
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In our recent pandemic, the world become much smaller again. Scientists and medical practitioners rallied together during the COVID to stare down fake news and infodemics. reflective of a re-emergence of guilds and platforms helping organize, rally and protect truth, safety, professions and workers.
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Critical thinking pros, soft skill experts, change agents and creative makers & virtuosos are now held at a premium.
We've identified 50 shades of them. These people are seeking out online communities that are filling a valuable social role and collaborative void. They are replacing family, local and tribal lines, with a co-creative prescription of new functions that guilds can now perform.
Guilds have a role to play in building COMMUNITY VALUE.
Force #4:
Closed Structures Warding Off People from Knowledge & Resources are Now Anachronistic
Just as the initial rise of Guilds was associated with people travelling much greater distances and spreading ideas, trade and exploration around the world, opening up new vistas. We are seeing the same metaphorical opening up of the world.
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People are looking further out - powerful global networks. multi-sided platforms, on-demand marketplaces and new Metaverse realities are being tied together by purpose, optimism and humanity.
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Self-organizing communities are rallying to bring back endangered species from. extinction. Technology hobbyists are helping places of war conflict with inventive uses of drones satellite data and mapping software.
Climate change and mental health are looming time bombs that are engendering communal attention and citizen breakthroughs.
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Knowledge wants to be free, a quasi-guild Wikipedia has built the world's most successful knowledge compendium for all to access. YouGov engages millions of people on understanding their beliefs and behaviours.
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Resources need to be accessed. GoFundMe has raised billions for causes. Kickstarter has raised billions for smart ideas. Change.org are mobilizing millions to causes.
Guilds have a role to play in building SOCIETAL VALUE.
Grey Swan Guild
We may have lucked into Guilds by our early naming convention. When somebody mentioned it back in April, 2020, we liked the sound of it. I mean who doesn't want to be part of a guild? We'll admit calling ourselves a league, a network, or a community was on the table. Now that we're called this, by understanding better the traits of a guild, and realizing why people join us, makes us realize we are truly a guild, sharing commonalities with the best of them, not just in title but in spirit
