…and Digital Collaboration in General
Yes, That One.
Anyone who has had the unique pleasure of taking an art class is sure to have a pretty strong opinion about the illustrious critique. For the uninitiated, an art critique is a process which involves the collaborated review of work by assembled peers. The ultimate goal is to give and receive constructive criticism with which the creator can go back and improve their work. Great critiques can provide insights unattainable from any other situation; there is no substitute for the depth of analysis that can be achieved.
What ultimately makes a critique effective though, is the people present. Any evaluative process requires an assumed level of domain knowledge. There has to be a shared common ground by which everyone involved can effortlessly communicate reactions to what is being reviewed. However, proceed too far down the like-minded path and you risk loosing that precious outsider’s perspective. What becomes important is assembling people who share a fundamental evaluative lens, but are divergent enough in disciplines that they bring unique perspectives.
Extending The Process Online
Of course, this is no easy task. It’s practically impossible to recreate that magical force of a printmaker, painter, animator, and graphic designer all debating the aesthetic merits of a soda fired ceramic bowl. However, a community can attempt to leverage that underlying evaluative lens, achieving a semblance of the experience. There are all sorts of debates over Dribbble’s “invite only” approach, and the duality of exclusivity, but the system does provide another characteristic: it extends the presence of that shared fundamental perspective. In allowing draftees only through player’s invitation it emphasizes the creation of a connection between the current ideologies of the system and the new unit being integrated. At some level, the current member is going to evaluate the design perspective of the potential invitee. While responsibility for the new user’s behavior certainly plays a role, there is more to it than just the looming social ramifications. The current member is in essence inviting the new user to join their critique. There is an implicit expectation that the person will share in possessing that evaluative lens; allowing for contribution of valuable feedback.
On The Same Page
When everyone shares in that domain-level common ground, everyone is participating in the same conversation. Good, effective critiques can not only happen, but flourish. The impact this can have goes beyond the the small factor of recruitment too, it changes the overall experience. The presence of an assumed knowledge works both ways in allowing people to intelligently contribute, and in provoking them into actually contributing. Having a general idea that the intended artist is going to understand the value of the suggestion goes a long way in turning that conceptual suggestion into an actual contribution.
This format, which I believe Dribbble has so far succeeded in during the past 3 years, fosters a true cooperative exchange of information. The evaluative lens format extends beyond just the critique, and it can be seen working in other online communities. But, what they all have in common is that degree of specificity which forces a requisite common ground. Provoking continued collaboration is a hard task to get right. Even having the community is not enough. Just like in a critique, everyone needs to know that everyone else is on the same page.