Don't Get Lost Online!

Build Your Online Tribe in 5 Steps!

Author

Lennox Saint
April 19, 2024

Prefer to learn by listening? Check out the podcast episode of this Lesson here.

You’re isolated in real life and lost online.

It’s common. It’s also deadly.

Loneliness:

  • Accelerates ageing

  • Makes cancer deadlier

  • Weakens your immune system weaker.

💡 It’s as lethal as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

But here’s the good news.

There are others online, just like you, waiting to connect.

What makes me so sure?

I was you!

I felt lonely for having niche interests.

But then I learned this weird thing about the internet and built my tribe.

Here’s how you can too.

The Dark Forest Internet: Why You Feel Lost Online

The Fermi Paradox

💡 There are trillions of planets where life could exist, including 4 billion right in our Milky Way galaxy.

  • So where are all the aliens?

This is the Fermi Paradox.

  • It highlights the strange contradiction between the high chance of alien life and the fact that we've never made contact or found evidence.

The Dark Forest Theory of the Universe

  • In the second book of the Three Body Problem series, The Dark Forest, Liu Cixin gives us an answer to the Fermi Paradox.

  • The Dark Forest Theory likens the universe to a dark forest, where civilisations stay hidden to avoid conflict, like animals in a forest going silent to evade predators.

  • The theory suggests that if a civilisation draws attention to itself, it might attract predators and risk destruction.

  • Therefore, civilisations either perished or learned to remain silent to survive, leaving the universe eerily quiet.

The Dark Forest Internet (DFI)

“This is also what the internet is becoming: a dark forest,” according to Yancey Strickler in his 2019 article called The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet.

It describes large platforms on the internet like Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc as a dark forest with two types of predators.

1. Fake predators

Fake predators are bots, marketing automations and growth hackers posting shitty listicles, productivity tips and dramatic clickbait.

Fake predators have an ulterior motive.

  • Almost always, it’s to sell you something. Which makes the DFI feel inauthentic, sales-y, lifeless, automated and devoid of actual humans.

2. Mean predators

Mean predators antagonise others in the DFI.

  • They’re the cyberbullies, the haters, the trolls, and the critics who tear you down without any constructive feedback.

  • They’re the ones who forget there’s a human with feelings on the other end of the screen.

Why You’re Lost Online

In the DFI, a smoke signal = any piece of content published on the internet.

  • A YouTube video, an IG story, a TikTok, a reply on Threads, a LinkedIn article. Anything.

💡 You feel lonely because it’s hard to find real friends.

  • Fake predators send out signals and sell you stuff.

  • Mean predators wait for you to send out signals and make you feel like shit.

Here’s a simple solution.

Community Caverns: The Antidote to Loneliness

Community Caverns are underground caves beneath the Dark Forest Internet where like-minded people gather to share interests, have genuine connections and retreat from the predators on the surface.

  • Examples of Community Caverns in the DFI include Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, Skool, Circle, Kajabi, Mighty Networks and so on.

They’re the antidote to loneliness because they provide:

  1. Protection from predators

  2. For the benefit of the tribe

1. Protection from predators

It’s hard to beat loneliness if you feel like everyone’s out to get you. This is what it’s like on the surface of the DFI.

But it’s a different story beneath the surface in Community Caverns.

Gatekeepers impose requirements that must be met in order to gain access.

  • This could include things like an application process, a subscription fee, or a shared interest.

These requirements are HUGE deterrents for predators. It’s simply not worth their time and money when they can easily hunt on the surface.

So in the absence of predators, it’s not dangerous to receive or send signals anymore.

  • All of a sudden you can safely consume and create content without being attacked.

2. For the benefit of the tribe

💡 You join a Community Cavern for protection; you stay for the benefit of the tribe.

Let’s say you’re part of a Community Cavern for content creators just starting out on their journey.

  • Each member has the shared quest of creating better content.

  • The journey becomes a gamified experience.

  • Together, you learn, test, share knowledge, and support each other.

  • It’s a predator-free zone encouraging genuine connections.

Nothing sustains motivation better than belonging to the tribe. It transforms a personal quest into a shared one.

James Clear

So Community Caverns are where you find your tribe in scary DFI.

The question becomes: how do you escape the former and join the latter?

The Spelunker Strategy: How To Build Your Online Tribe in 5 Steps!

A spelunker is someone who explores caverns.

The Spelunker Strategy is a 5-step plan to evade DFI predators, find Community Caverns, combat loneliness, and build real online connections.

1. Explore the DFI

You can't find gold with a metal detector if you remain in the same place.

The same applies to finding your tribe in the DFI; you need to explore.

  • This means you must try out a bunch of different platforms and see which one(s) feels right.

    • If Instagram feels lonely, try Threads by creating an account.

    • Initially, just see what the vibe’s like without posting.

    • If you like what you see, stick with Threads. If not, continue exploring other platforms.

2. Send smoke signals

Start sending smoke signals in your preferred area of the DFI.

  • This means you start posting content on your fave platform.

The potential tribe members smell the smoke from their underground Community Caverns and come to the surface to check it out.

But DFI predators also smell your smoke…

That’s why this is the scariest step of the escape plan; you’ll probably get:

  • Annoyed by the fake predators pretending to be tribe members.

  • Scratched by the mean predators trying to stop you going underground.

But — trust me — it’s worth it. Remember, we’re curing loneliness here. It’s no easy feat.

3. Choose 1-3 trees

The DFI has thousands of trees.

  • Each tree represents a topic or niche that attracts people interested in it.

Your job is to pick 1-3 topic trees you like hanging around.

  • These trees might be close to each other in the DFI.

    • Like resistance training, nutrition and mindfulness.

  • Or they might be at opposite ends of the DFI.

    • Like aliens, copywriting and pogo sticks.

The easiest way to choose your topic trees is to send lots of smoke signals.

Eventually you'll see which trees have the people you like interacting with the most.

After you choose 1-3 trees, it’s time to…

4. Start spelunking

Explore Community Caverns (online communities) under your topic tree(s) where your potential tribe members originate.

  • Join 1-2 communities per topic. And make sure they’re on guarded platforms like Discord, Slack, Circle and Skool — so predators can’t get in.

    • Some communities might be specific to one topic, e.g., resistance training.

    • Others might cover multiple topics, e.g., self-improvement, online business and mental models 😎

  • Initially, observe without participating to see which one you like the vibe of, just like you did while exploring the DFI.

5. Participate in your favourite cavern(s)

Choose 1-3 favourite Community Caverns, engage actively, and leave the rest!

Choose and engage

  • Trust your gut when choosing online communities.

  • Make a commitment to engage in discussions, share insights, and form relationships.

    • You've already found a safe space within the DFI that promotes authenticity.

    • So you don't have to worry about fake or mean predators.

💡 Remember, join a Community Cavern to survive, contribute to thrive.

Leave the rest!

  • Don't hesitate to leave communities you didn’t vibe with.

    • Being part of too many makes you feel overwhelmed and lost, which is exactly what we’re trying to avoid!

That is how you avoid getting lost online and build your tribe in 5 steps.

Simple Summary

Dark Forest Internet (DFI) = The web’s a dark forest full of predators who force prey (users) to retreat to private spaces for genuine interaction.

Community Caverns = Private spaces where people with similar interests connect and create authentic relationships.

The Spelunker Strategy = The 5-step process to escape the DFI, overcome loneliness and locate Community Caverns containing “your people”.

The Lesson

Escape the Dark Forest Internet by retreating to Community Caverns using the Spelunker Strategy.

Cya

The true power of community is to help people become more authentic versions of themselves.

David Spinks

That’s exactly what my community does.

  • There are so many fake and mean predators in the DFI.

  • So I created Saints College for creators just starting out who wants to unlock:

    • feedback

    • profit strategies, and

    • a tight-knit network

  • There are about 25 free spots left, then the price goes up to $10/month.

Anyway, that’s it for this Lesson.

Keep it simple until the next one.

P.S. Subscribe to Björn’s newsletter 👇🏼 If you like mine, you’ll love his!

The Formless CreatorNever settle. Be formless.

Community Acknowledgements

Resources I consumed to prepare for this Lesson: