Thoughts on casual open social invites

Whoever is reading this -- this is the kind of note where feedback+opinions+discussion is very valuable (especially due to the social nature of this topic) so please write to me if you want to share any thoughts!

• "casual open social invites"???

  • I'm not talking about small gatherings. Though I enjoy hosting small gatherings in my apartment, I could not send out a broad social invite (for one thing, because of space limitations. But also it's just a different social mode I'm trying to hit for what I'm discussing here; but perhaps some aspects of this discussion could apply to small gatherings as well, especially the goals I describe below).
  • More I'm talking about things that can happen in public and without a strict limit on number of people who can join.
    • e.g. some free event that is happening, like a comedy show or a concert;
    • or, it could be a general activity like visiting a museum or hanging out in a park.

• Why is this on my mind?

  • I regularly meet new people in NYC.
  • I regularly seek out activities and events in NYC which align with my interests.
  • Though I'm generally fine going to activities/events on my own, doing things with people is nice too. And it can nourish connections (see goals below). And people generally want to do things too. And it's also a way to find common interests and share my own interests with others.
  • I haven't been quite sure the best approach on how to send open invites for casual plans; so obviously (as is my nature) I think through solutions.

• my goals are
  - foster community and nourish+create connections between people (by creating social spaces around events/activities)
  - be inclusive --> have open opportunities for my social connections to join events/activities. Inclusivity is limited to my own social network (i.e. I'm not at the moment interested in organizing public events); this includes connections of varying strength -- ranging from my closest friends; developing friendships; new connections. Can also be open to friends of friends (though I am not thinking much about this case). My hope is that by opening up events to a broad range of people in my social circle, I open the way for my own connections with these friends to develop and flourish, as well as for new connections between friends in my circle to develop and flourish. Strengthening networks of connections form community. Having an open invite allows for people to self-select their participation without feeling pressure that declining any one invite would lose them a chance to receive a future invite. (<-- amongst other reasons; to be expanded on I think)

• Current thinking of an approach: send direct invite to friends who I know would be specifically interested; then share out more broadly as a soft invite via Instagram story

  • This is my current solution to experiment, but I do not see it as a true solution. Instagram story approach is not fully-inclusive because:
    1. some people simply do not use Instagram;
    2. Stories are short-lived, so someone may not see the posting on time;
    3. Stories approach relies on people consistently checking Instagram^[1], which frankly I do not think people should have any additional pressure to do so, given the general negatives of social media.
    4. Related to the previous points: People do not really think of Instagram stories as a place to receive event invites. They may not be in a state of mind for thinking about invites / social activities when they are browsing stories --> even if I surface an event via story, it may not be the right time for them to receive it. People may not think of stories as a time-sensitive thing; i.e. they may not expect that they may miss an invite to a social activity if they are not consistently checking their stories.
  • The above points about why Instagram stories are not an ideal approach is a primary reason in why I was brainstorming+prototyping on creating an app for spontaneous social plans (Idea - Spontaneous Plans). But, I paused that project idea because I realized I should first try the solutions available to me. So I am trying and learning.
  • Those listed flaws aside, Instagram story has pretty broad reach and there is generally high visibility (specifically I am applying this to my "close friends" story which I've added anyone fitting my criteria of being in my 'social circle' -- this essentially equates to people who are not strangers to me and who I am comfortable hanging out with) -- so it may be a decent solution.
  • Of course there are other possible approaches to explore as well.