Berlin Supper Recap & Reflection

[camlindsay]

Hey Cabin Crew!

I just attended our first Berlin Supper (major shoutout to Tilman and Jessica for hosting ), thought I’d share some reflections on the evening here for the community to learn from and reflect on.

In no particular order, here are some of the themes/takeaways from the evening:

How did you get here?

The default question we asked everyone was, “How did you get here?” I think the results are telling:

• 3 people from Network State (2 watched on YT and 1 was IRL)
• 1 from socials
• 1 from word of mouth
• 3 partners of Cabin people

So, what does this mean? For me, it’s that

Events catalyze future interactions

Being first at the Network State was a big win, as 2 of the Supper attendees wouldn’t have known about Cabin had we not been there. So shoutout to @grin for representing us on that stage!

Making a point to speak about what we’re doing and how people can get involved in the days immediately after hearing about Cabin is crucial. Tilman hosted the Berlin dinner and was there IRL to learn more and dive right in.

The question I’m left with is, “What’s the next step after Tilman hosts?” What’re we building towards and what do we do with the momentum and connections created at Suppers? Is that even our role as Cabin? I dive into this more below

Cabin Couples?

It seems like there could be an opportunity for Cabin to connect couples who are serious about building community in their cities. Shirah and Stephanie (who’s 35 weeks pregnant! ) bonded over topics of pregnancy. Shirah got Steph’s info so she could share resources here in Berlin that she knows of.

Cabin Citizenship: Skills & Knowledge

I think this leads to a topic I think is worth considering: does skill and knowledge-sharing have a place in the Cabin Citizenship profile?

Pregnancy is a great example of the power of communal knowledge and resources. Can Cabin help connect it’s citizens in areas of life where community support and experience is most helpful in navigating?

It sure was last night, so I think there’s a nugget here that could be worth exploring.

What’s after a Supper?

As the night wrapped up, we discussed what should come after suppers, with a focus on community building and consistency.

What purposes do the Suppers serve? Is it to have dinners and meet new people? It feels like ideally these suppers are leading to something, but none of us knew exactly what it was.

Is it Suppers → Network City? Feels unlikely, but what are the steps in between?

Collaboration

Rafa mentioned how it could make sense to collab w other social DAOs like FWB to help aggregate more demand for Suppers in various cities.

Feels attainable and a great way to build additional bridges.

Cabin Champions

We also talked about the concept of ‘Champions’ - individuals who could represent and promote Cabin in their cities. This would be a great way to build consistency in location and cadence of events/Suppers.

Ideally this person has a space to host people and is well-versed in what Cabin is trying to do long-term (and how the events they’re hosting are helping get there).

The Big (Unanswered) Question

We left with a big question: What’s the one thing we want Cabin to achieve? Food for thought until our next meeting.

It was an incredible evening and Shirah and I are very excited to host our own once we land in Oakland

[AliceSitar]

Thanks, Cam!

It was a pleasure meeting you and Shirah and the rest of the people
It was an exceptional, pleasant evening with folks I resonated with. I enjoyed it a lot.

I appreciate the chance to meet in person, especially as I’m living in Europe so am not planning to visit Cabin in the US soon. And I will come to more gatherings for sure if I can.

It’s just that it’s only a small drop in the ocean of what we can do together, and I’d like to try to increase the flow, to hopefully eventually stand under the waterfall and feel the abundance of human connection and community.

Soooo… as for the question you are asking in the thread, which I didn’t answer during the evening…

What’s next? What can Cabin help to achieve?
To me, it got so close there… Then I understood the business model wasn’t sustainable?

Yes, we can have a coworking space in the city (one out of so many), or more gatherings,

But what I need, and I don’t see it exist so much, and I felt is also special in Cabin, is the possibility to live closer to nature, could be just outside of the city, in a community, with people who also love technology & nature and the combination of them both.

Yes, there are tons of villages and farms with sweet hippies
But it’s so rare to me at the moment to find communities of let’s say digital people who actually share their lives together, emotionally, spiritually, energetically etc.

I still believe there is a business model for it. Even if coliving’s didn’t work.
I also have some ideas/directions I’d be happy to explore together.

The gathering made me come closer and feel that here can be a good place for me.
So this is what’s alive inside of me today <3 Sending a hug for now.

[tilmannb]

Hey everyone!

Firstly, I’d like to express my gratitude for such an amazing event that we had. It was a joy to spend time with such wonderful people and engage in insightful discussions about Cabin and Network states.

Thanks @camlindsay and @AliceSitar for your recaps and reflection.I will share my thoughts and also make note of some points from an organizational perspective.

Re: Cabin Couples
That is an interesting point. Many events and ideas are designed to cater to individuals and their unique interests. From my observations, this can sometimes create situations where couples may either become more insular and less open to new connections, or where only one person within the couple forms new connections.

Re: What’s after a Supper
One thing we can all agree on is that building a thriving community and network takes time and personal connections. During our discussion at supper club, I expressed my desire to have a place in or around Berlin that we can transform into an outpost over the coming years. Let’s dive deeper into this topic during our next gathering and discuss the key properties such a space should have.

I believe that having a dedicated space in Berlin will not only provide us with a physical location to connect and collaborate but also serve as a hub for fostering meaningful relationships and opportunities. So, what are the essential qualities that we should consider when envisioning this space?

Let’s explore questions like:

• What amenities should be available to support our community’s needs?
• What kind of events and activities can we organize to encourage networking and knowledge sharing?
• How can we ensure this space evolves and adapts to the changing needs of our community over time?

Learnings from organising a supper club

From an organizational perspective, there were a few hiccups at the beginning. It took some time to get the event listed on the cabin lu.ma calendar, but once it was up there, the marketing was excellent! It was great to see the event show up on Twitter and in the newsletter. Posting in Discord also resulted in some signups. The show rate was impressively high and lu.ma made communication very easy.

For future hosts, here are some tips based on our experience:

• Don’t forget to add the name on the door bell.

• People are likely to offer to bring drinks and food. In our case, this worked out really well. However, it would be helpful to communicate clearly what you have already shopped for and what might be a good addition.

• As for the event itself, we invited everyone for cooking at 5 pm and dinner at 7 pm. We wrapped up by 9 pm. The experience of cooking together was quite enjoyable, but it was a bit early for some people.

• The evening was filled with engaging conversations and it was a pleasure to spend time with such lovely folks. However, looking back, I noticed that the talking time was not evenly distributed among the guests. In the future, I would try to ensure everyone is equally engaged and given an opportunity to express their thoughts.

Again, thank you all for making this event so special. Looking forward to more such enriching experiences in the future!

See the whole group on X

[jon]

It’s wonderful to hear about the vibrant Supper Club you all had! Absolutely love to see Cabin Citizens meeting up around the world and then writing forum posts about it with feedback : ) Looks like it was quite the crew.

A few thoughts on the insightful comments you all shared:

1. “What’s next?”

The biggest thing that jumped out to me from your posts was a desire to answer the question of “What’s next?” @camlindsay said it well:

@camlindsay

“What’s the next step after Tilman hosts?” What’re we building towards and what do we do with the momentum and connections created at Suppers? …

What purposes do the Suppers serve? Is it to have dinners and meet new people? It feels like ideally these suppers are leading to something, but none of us knew exactly what it was.

Is it Suppers → Network City? Feels unlikely, but what are the steps in between?

We left this intentionally open-ended with the first set of Supper Clubs so that we could co-create answers together—it’s awesome to see that you all talked about this and had ideas to share.

I do believe it’s “Suppers → Network City”. As for what comes in betwee—lots of relationship building that leads to village building. As @tilmannb said:

@tilmannb

we can all agree … that building a thriving community and network takes time and personal connections.

During our discussion at supper club, I expressed my desire to have a place in or around Berlin that we can transform into an outpost over the coming years. Let’s dive deeper into this topic during our next gathering and discuss the key properties such a space should have.

I think this is the right approach. Get together for dinner, discuss desires and dreams to build a neighborhood in your local area, and then start taking concrete steps to make it happen with the people you’ve met.

My question for you all: how can Cabin better facilitate this?

2. Product direction

I thought @AliceSitar did a nice job summarizing what makes Cabin special:

@AliceSitar

But what I need, and I don’t see it exist so much, and I felt is also special in Cabin, is the possibility to live closer to nature, could be just outside of the city, in a community, with people who also love technology & nature and the combination of them both …

it’s so rare to me at the moment to find communities of let’s say digital people who actually share their lives together, emotionally, spiritually, energetically etc.

I still believe there is a business model for it. Even if coliving’s didn’t work.
I also have some ideas/directions I’d be happy to explore together.

This is exactly why we are building Cabin and what we want in the world : ) We are a “community of people who also love technology and nature” and our people & places reflect that.

@AliceSitar please share your ideas! You could write a new thread in Memos or send some quick thoughts as a reply here.

@camlindsay

I think this leads to a topic I think is worth considering: does skill and knowledge-sharing have a place in the Cabin Citizenship profile?

Pregnancy is a great example of the power of communal knowledge and resources. Can Cabin help connect it’s citizens in areas of life where community support and experience is most helpful in navigating?

Yes, one area we are focused on with Citizenship is connecting Citizens to each other around shared topics, needs, etc. Love the idea of skill and knowledge sharing in profiles—we considered some of this in the original designs and ended up simplifying them.

3. Supper Club logistics

@tilmannb

From an organizational perspective, there were a few hiccups at the beginning. It took some time to get the event listed on the cabin lu.ma calendar, but once it was up there, the marketing was excellent!

@Matai wanted to make sure you saw this feedback re: Supper Club logistics & marketing