Once you got to know them, you should gain their trust.
Finally, we have it.
Trust has been emphasized recently even in the business field.
What does it meant to gain one's trust?
It's important what the real intention is.
According to this book,
gaining one's trust means to continuously exchange things with that person.
Fascinating, isn't it?
You should continue to exchange something with the other, whether that be
things, time, information, or skills.
For example, you'd feel more closer to the girl you like if she wants to borrow your CD.
Wait, borrowing CDs is such an old example.
It used to be a thing when I was a student.
I still have this fantasy about someone asking to borrow my CD.
That moment when you take out the disc…
There are no longer disc players and CD stores.
Anyway, you can get closer as you lend them your books or other things.
Similarly, you can ask someone else a favor
or skill in order to gain their trust.
After building the trust and your image, suggest that you collaborate together.
This is a great strategy.
Everyone has different strengths so you can suggest what the other needs.
This happens often in online communities. It's really interesting.
"I sing well.", "I play instruments well."
"Then how about you sing while I play the instruments?", "Do you wanna try this content with me?"
"I'm great at editing videos so leave that to me."
"I'm great at designing clothes so I'll take that role."
Everyone can collaborate for a single goal.
But you cannot do this the moment you join a community.
During this process, people will learn that you are great at designing clothes.
Then they will naturally suggest that you design clothes for them. The same goes with music.
Your skills will improve after you make that content and share it with the others.
It's fascinating, right?
However, even though these steps exist
some of you may be anxious because you think you don't have any skills to provide.
But you should do it step by step so don't worry.
That's what's written here. It's fun, isn't it?
Hence, there are two kinds of people. Those who know what they wanna do and those who don't.
Even they can become a part of online communities.
Interesting, right?
Let's name those who don't know what they wanna do as "A".
Let's name those who know what they wanna do but don't have enough skills as "B".
This group includes those who have the skills but aren't confident yet.
So those without confidence are included in B as well.
And "C" would be those who have the skills and confidence but didn't get any requests yet.
Having no requests means that they didn't gain the trust yet.
You can solve this problem if all these people take on the role apt for them.
Those who don't know what to do normally do not try hard enough.
There's a saying you should improve the resolution.
It means you can find it if you decrease the area and think rationally.
What does this mean?
Think about it in the 'HOW→WHO→WHAT' order.
There are many people who want to do something.
However, they do not know what they want to do.
For those people, you should first think about HOW.
"Who will be your target?", "What will you do?"
If you think of it in this order,
you may say "I wanna draw and I want people to like my drawing."
So HOW refers to drawing in this case.
Next, WHO is about the people you're targeting with your drawing.
This is the key point.
You should draw things for the targeted people.
This happens often in YouTube.
If you want to start a YouTube channel, what specific video do you wanna upload?
In my case, Kajisac suggested that I make educational videos.
There are a lot of educational content out there.
There are some about politics as well.
Some target children and teach them how to write.
I chose to make content for those of my age or around my age, not for chidlren.
I thought it'd be unrealistic to target children so I focused on older students and adults.
How about the WHAT?
Will you talk in front of a whiteboard for a long time?
You need to be more specific in order to grasp your YouTube content.
In what way will you do it?
The key point is on what and how you're gonna do it.
You should know the target of your drawing.
If you are going to target women's taste,
you should choose what to draw, like watercolor or oil painting.
You can choose what content to show. For example, that can be to draw oil paintings that women would like.
This is how you should narrow down your content.
Now, for those who don't have the skills and confidence.
By the way, you can easily find the 'HOW→WHO→WHAT' in online communities.
That's because you get to meet various people who want to do similar things.
You'll get to know yourself more as if looking into a mirror by talking to people
who are similar to or are the complete opposite of you.
We can't tell how we look like by touching our face.
But we can know by looking into a mirror.
That means feedback from others act as a mirror.
Hence, you can know your 'HOW→WHO→WHAT' as you talk with the others.
I was also able to realize what I wanted to do by talking with Kajisac.
I decided to do educational videos.
I then met DaiGo to find out what I wanted to do next.
Mentalist DaiGo talks on his own for hours, just like me.
I thought we were similar but there was one difference.
As a mentalist, he talks about psychology, dating, and diet.
But my strength does not lie in topics about dating or psychology.
I decided to do something else and first began with world history.
I used to be a nerd. I really studied hard for my exams.
So I decided to do talks about books while DaiGo talks about theses.
Isn't fascinating to see the difference?
It's very important that you meet various people in order to make your 'HOW→WHO→WHAT' clearer.
You also need the skills and confidence.
If you want to improve your skills and gain confidence, online communities would be great for you.
That's because you can learn from the content provided by the community owner
and gain feedback from members through activities wherein you
upload your own content.
This can improve your skills.
Lastly, there are people
who have the skills but get no requests.
What should they do?
This means they didn't earn trust.
Hence, there are a lot of people out there with the appropriate skills.
For example, there are many people who can make great steamed buns.
Don't you think?
Even convenience stores sell them.
But they do not know how to make people want those steamed buns.
They only focus on making good steamed buns, thinking that great skills would lead to better sales.
However, that is not the case because humans have emotions.
People would want steamed buns from certain people they like.
Knowing this can allow you to gain trust.
You should let people acknowledge your skills by showing your content
and meet lots of people to gain the trust and reputation
in order to have many orders.
Therefore, if you are part of any of these groups,
you can join online communities and explore where you belong and know who you truly are.
Fascinating, isn't it?
Now, we should know how to become influential.
What does that mean?
What does it mean to become influential even after all those steps?
I bet you all want to be influential.
The book interestingly divided the concept of influence into three parts.
First, the power to convey.
Second, the power to circulate.
Third, the power to change.
The concept of influence
means to convey and circulate something, ultimately making the others change.
This is really interesting if you think about it.
People think that the power to convey means to talk a lot.
So a lot of them tend to write lengthily or talk for 2 hours straight like me.
But that's not it. Just a moment.
The power to convey is actually the power to receive.
This is a very cliche saying.
People always say that the power to convey comes from the power to listen.
The power to convey equals to the power to receive.
The people who have a great power to convey
receives what the others say and give it back to them.
Let's say someone uploaded an introduction video.
He or she feels nervous.
What will such people see?
Remember, the person uploaded an introduction video on Facebook.
You'll know right away if you imagine how such a person would feel.
They'd want to see the viewer's reaction.
They'll want to know what comments there would be.
Imagine that you are that person. You'd keep seeing the reaction of the others.
You would feel sad if people ignore it. But you'd be happy if they leave something.
However, you would be disappointed to see just a comment saying "Nice job."
That would sound like an insincere comment.
You'd feel sad if there are only comments like that.
However, if there people who leave comments after watching your content thoroughly,
you would definitely feel thankful to them for understanding your message and leaving a good comment.
What will happen if you feel that way?
You will pay more attention to the person who left that genuine comment next time.
"The person who left that comment on my introduction video is live streaming. I better watch and support!"
This is how one becomes influential.
Being influential does not mean that you should go to a huge field without people
and shout your lungs out to convey your message.
That's just like screaming inside a secluded room.
That's not it.
No one's watching.
What should you do then?
You should imagine.
Everyone wants to covey their message.
So you should first receive it, and leave a comment.
I deeply relate to this one.
It is definitely accurate.
Those who listen to another well or leave many comments become very popular.
People feel very grateful towards them. This is very important.
The power to convey is the power to receive.
Kajisac also emphasized that we should read comments.
We should read comments.
I actually check out YouTube channels of other celebrities.
But those who do not read comments out of fear that they might get hurt definitely cannot improve.
That's the wrong way to do it.
You should read comments, leave a heart, and consider that for improvement.
That's how to became who I am today. Check out my very first video.
Then my second and third videos.
I began with just a smartphone, even without a mic.
The sound quality was bad and I wasn't in a suit either.
The lighting was horrible as well.
I used to talk in a very dark room with only a smartphone. The sound quality was bad and I had a casual attire.
Then I read this comment saying that it's
difficult to listen because of the echo.
Some didn't like my attire as well.
Some also said the lighting was too dark so I left hearts on the comments and made improvements.
If I make changes considering their feedback in the next video, that viewer would like me better
because I took into account his or her opinion about the sound quality.
He or she would want to support my YouTube channel. Such people will begin making book requests.
"Please do a review on this book!", "Please also cover Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky!"
At first, I didn't want to do it
because the book was too long.
However, seeing that people didn't want to read Crime and Punishment,
I thought they would like it if I explain it to them in an easy way.
So I read that comment, left a heart, and did it. That is how to continued to run my channel.
It was really amusing.
Humans communicate with each other. They don't just speak unidirectionally.
The power to convey is the power to receive. It's important to know how to react to the others.
Next is the power to circulate.
At first, I wasn't able to understand what this meant.
But this is an interesting concept.
Actually, we all want to become influential to another person.
We want to save or change someone else and teach them what you've learned.
But being influenced gives you more power. This concept goes the other way around as well.
It's just like the power to receive. You should first be influenced.
It depends on whether you put it into action what you got influenced for.
There must be someone who's more influential that you are.
An example would be the community owner and other members.
There must be a member in the online community who is more influential than you are.
You will see the popular member once you join the community.
There are areas that you get influenced by those people.
For example, they can provide you with better alternatives or ideas that can help you out
in the online community or in making good videos.
Whether you put that advice into action
becomes very important.
In fact, the author of this book delivers speeches regarding how to make online communities.
However, very little of those who ask for and take his advice
put his advice into action.
Most of them do things the way they want to do.
Most people who ask for advice actually want to hear that they are doing things the right way.
"What do you think of my content? I'm seeing no improvements."
Despite the fact that they aren't improving, they still want to be complimented for it.
If they receive feedback that isn't what they want, they go to get advice from another person.
99% of people are like that.
But you should actually imagine how the other person would feel.
I hope you understand the one who's giving the advice.
Let me take an example.
"Hmm, how about you grow your mustache?"
Let's just say that someone got an advice that he should grow his mustache for some reason.
Although we're not sure why that advice was given,
let's just imagine that a person got that advice.
Then the person who got the advice could either grow his mustache or not
the next day when they meet again.
Imagine how the person who gave the advice would feel.
If the guy shows up with a thick mustache saying thank you,
don't you think the advisor would like him?
"He really considered my advice!"
"He really grew his mustache like I told him to do! How cute!"
"He really put it into action. That's so cute!"
Then the advisor would want to support that guy.
"You can do it! How are things going?"
After putting the advice into action, you can ask for another advice when you encounter another problem.
If you tell that growing a mustache didn't increase the number of customers, that can help the advisor as well.
That's because the advisor would gain another data
that the mustache strategy did not work for this guy.
"Oh, I see. I guess the reason why it worked for me was because it was the Heisei era…"
Then you gain another insight.
"It's definitely different from the Reiwa era…"
Once the advisor learns that growing a mustache doesn't help in the Reiwa era,
he would suggest an alternative strategy.
"In the Reiwa era, perhaps making monobrows would work better."
The two of them can benefit from each other.
They can give each other more data.
If that works out, they can celebrate. If it doesn't, they can find for another strategy.
This means that by putting the advice into action, you can get even more advice.
Once that advice works out, the two can collaborate as equals.
They can work on something together.
My YouTube advisor was Kajisac and my online community advisor was Horiemon and Nishino.
I've learned a lot from them.
"How about this, Nakata?", "Don't you think this is better?"
I tried everything that Horiemon suggested that I try.
I held a camp, did events, and tried live streaming.
I also tried what Nishino does.
I said, "Nishino, I'm currently in this situation…"
And Nishino really liked it.
He was very happy.
"You're a really nice person, Nakata."
A lot of other celebrities asked for his advice but they never put that into action.
But I put them into action right away.
He said that I improved quickly.
So he always tell me that I'm a really nice person.
The same goes for Horiemon.
He gave me advice about card games and I put it into action right away.
That turned into a show.
This is why Horiemon comes as my opponent for the card game called XENO.
He comes because he saw that I took his advice on XENO right away
and saw that it made improvements.
By using this teacher and student relationship, you become more influential.
Just by putting the advice into action, you can influence your advisor.
This is important. You shouldn't stop at just getting the advice.
Unfortunately, many people merely take the advice.
Next is the power to change.
Once you reach this level, another stage would be waiting for you.
It's the power to change a certain area!
It's finally the time to use your influence.
What does this mean and what should we do?
An example would be to realize that you play a big part in the online community.
Fascinating, right?
You may think that you can't do anything.
But things will be different depending on whether you believe
you play a part in creating the atmosphere of that environment.
If you think you do, you would want to do something
and make plans for people who are struggling.
To put it simply, the opportunities to speak out in a mature online community
are study groups and clubs.
Let's say someone suggests a debate study group.
Sounds fun, right?
Or someone might suggest a cooking club.
Those people would lead the others.
They're most likely the people who have the other's trusts and the power to convey.
That's why people would gather when that person suggests such activities.
These group studies and clubs are what makes an online community active.
So online community owners feel grateful for such people,
and those people can achieve what they want as well.
This is a process of influencing the others.
I can really relate to this route.
It reminds me of my community members that have gone through these steps.
This is why online communities are fun.
It took me 2 years to get to where I am today.
It's really fun.
In the beginning, I joined Horiemon's online community, HIU, because I looked up to him.
The monthly fee is quite pricey.
Wait, I shouldn't put it that way.
The price is reasonable. It really helped me a lot.
When I joined, there were so much club and group study activities.
There were really a lot.
I honestly wanted to make my own community like that as soon as possible but it seemed too difficult.
But I was able to create it step by step.
It's really fun.
Maybe you are watching this because you want to
learn how to use online communities, are considering to join one
or want to run your own online community.
I hope you don't hurry too much.
You can create an online community within a day.
It's really fascinating.
There are five techniques you can use to become influential.
They are really stifling techniques. They're really interesting
and specific.
Firstly, help out events.
Most online communities hold gatherings.
As an example, you can be responsible for the
reception, accounting, or ingredients for a barbecue party.
Being a member who merely participates
and being a member who helps hold the event are totally different.
People would remember the one who bought the ingredients.
The community owner would remember the one in charge of accounting
because he or she was of great help.
The owner and other members would remember the one who helped as a receptionist.
"You were the receptionist last time, right?"
It's so interesting that people like another person for these things.
Next, know the demands and push ahead with it.
This is important. Although it is quite difficult, members in gatherings
always talk about what they wish would happen.
They say things like "I wish things are done this way."
But they end there. No one carries out the plan.
That's what mostly happens.
For example, someone would say "I wish we had a baseball match." and everyone agrees. But no one starts it.
"How about I book a baseball park? I will be in charge of that baseball match then!"
"I will plan the game!" This is what you should do.
All you have to do is raise your hand to take a part of it.
I don't have to do it all on your own.
You can volunteer to be in charge
and ask someone else for help regarding the booking
or ask if anyone can help you contact the other members.
You can let the others help you.
You don't have to do it all on your own.
It'd be great to plan it together with the others.
It's important that you take on a specific role.
This way, you'll be able to gain their trust.
Next, writing a blog about it.
If there are events held in the online community or something comes into your mind,
you can write an article about that so the new members can easily learn about it.
They will feel very grateful towards you.
You can document the events into an article or magazine.
If you document an event in the community, the community owner would feel very grateful
and might put that in the front page of the website so everybody can easily read it.
All of these aren't hard to do.
You may want to become influential but don't know what to do.
And then you might shout, "Please listen to me!"
You might shout for people to listen to you.
But those who are going ahead of people who shout like this are following these steps.
These steps allow them to go ahead of the others.
The community owner and members would remember that you wrote that article
so they will listen to you.
Next, helping promote a friend.
This is also a good thing to do.
Everyone wants to promote something.
They want to promote something about themselves.
They promote things unrelated to the community as well.
There are a lot of members who try various things like holding events
outside the community or joining competitions.
When you ask others to help you out or visit your exhibition,
some members would merely be fascinated
and the others would spread the word on Twitter and leave comments.
Others would take a picture of the event and share it online.
You would be really grateful that they are helping you out
and promoting whatever you're doing.
When you make a post announcing that you'll do a live concert in a long time,
you would definitely like the members who spread your post and tell others to check it out.
Even if that person does not watch the live concert,
people will remember that he or she spread the word.
Human beings remember all these little aspects.
Next, reviewing content and studies.
There are things that you can learn
from content and studies.
Don't you think it would be of great help to be able to review them
for members who participate or don't participate in such activities?
You can summarize what the community owner talked about and share it with the other members.
Or you can provide an opportunity for everyone to talk and review about it.
Doing these things can make you gain their trust.
This does not only apply to online communities.
The same goes for all kinds of communities.
People like this are popular regardless of the community, like at work, district, school and family.
You shouldn't underestimate these skills thinking they are only for online communities.
People who do these become popular wherever they go.
Even those who didn't know about these
can become a new person in a new community after learning about them.
You might have thought you cannot change your image but you can.
You can become a new person.
I, as well, can show a different side of myself because I made an online community.
Me with a senior celebrity.
Me with the people at work.
Me with my viewers.
The communities allow you to become someone different from those selves.
I'm happy that I was created such an opportunity.
It's really fun.
So what after gaining people's trust and becoming influential?
What's the last stage?
You should use the trust at work or in life.
There are a lot of people who wish to learn various things,
like techniques to increase sales, from the community and apply them right away.
And that's not a bad thing, it's natural.
Some people want to improve their lives, earn more money
and become richer as well.
You won't join just because you wanna make friends.
You can use the trust in those areas.
However, you must be careful.
This is important.
This third part.
Some people are in such a hurry that they join and
make a sloppy introduction video. Then they'd ask people to
use their service.
You shouldn't do it this way.
There are two steps.
No one's gonna buy your product if you ask them to out of the blue.
You should first go through these steps to gain trust.
There are two more steps to take as well.
Human beings are interesting in this regard.
First, don't suddenly ask them to buy your product. Do an exchange.
Let's say someone wants to teach something.
"I'll teach you language."
"Alright, then I'll teach you how to sing."
This way, they won't pay each other.
But they actually have to pay the other for singing lessons.
They should also pay for language lessons.
However, the essence of money is about exchange.
People used to barter instead of pay money, like giving fish for an apple.
Of course, that's just an example. In real life, we want to exchange a wide variety of things.
The function of money is to allow people to get what they want
even if they do not have the fish at that moment.
It's not the money that is valuable. It's the ability to do an exchange.
So you don't have to actually pay each other.
You can just trade lessons worth 50,000 yen.
Just like the singing lessons and language lessons.
You can exchange various services and skills without paying money.
This is the step you should take.
Fun, right?
Next, the people around you will see that process.
You'll post what you want for exchange.
People would know that you're looking for a trade.
Let's say there's a great photographer and a photogenic person.
A skilled photographer and a beautiful model works together.
And their picture turns out really great.
Then someone would think that
he should ask that photographer to take his picture.
Someone else would want to call that model for a shoot.
Here comes the next step.
Make them want to willingly pay for what you have.
They'll recall that you took great pictures and would offer you a certain price.
The same goes for the model.
So in the second step, you'll gain more requests.
You don't just recommend that model right away.
This is the interesting part.
Let's get deeper into the topic now.
You should wait until your service is worth paying for.
In online communities, those who focus on building trust
instead of earning money, do well for a long time.
Let's say you introduced yourself and your skills.
You supported a lot of people and gained their trust.
Then you change that trust into money.
Trust can actually be calculated into money.
Hence, even if you convert the popularity and trust into money, everyone will see that.
This is the interesting part. Everyone can see that.
Once they see you converting that into money, they won't find your intention sincere anymore
and would calculate the trust into money.
It is therefore difficult to maintain this balance.
It's alright to gather money bit by bit in the community.
However, you shouldn't only look at the money.
You should maintain the balance and contribute to the community at the same time.
This one's important.
However, you also shouldn't only focus on trust
to the point that you provide your skills for free.
Here, we go back to square one.
This is not the community at work, district, or family.
It's where you can become a different self.
It's where you improve yourself to reach your final goal.
So don't ultimately aim to earn money in the online community.
If you show your skills as much as possible,
you can get the chance to earn money.
As you help out the other members and gain friends,
you can naturally promote your skills outside the community.
That's what I'm saying.
Don't you find this fascinating?
This book is great for you to follow.
Everything is important.
I can definitely tell as I've run an online community for 2 years.
All the important processes are written.
From wondering what an online community is to considering to join one.
The stage wherein you try to make friends after joining a community.
The stage when you meet popular people after making friends.
The stage when the popular person connects the ties to business. I have seen all this process.
In fact, I also want to expand my online community in the future.
I should follow these steps as well.
Everyone's watching.
If I attempt to earn a lot, people would be disappointed at my intentions.
The same goes for the members.
The same goes for this community.
People would be disappointed like they saw a firm exploiting the workers.
We'd quit the job if they give less salary than what we deserve, right?
If a district doesn't give enough services despite the pricey membership fee
and taxes, we would naturally want to move to another district.
Similarly, humans always live depending on trust.
And money comes from that trust.
You can definitely grow through an online community.
At first, you might wish to earn a lot of money and
gain people's acknowledgment, but no one would listen.
You should sense that it's the wrong method and begin to leave comments and help the others out.
To put it simply, it's just like moving into a new home.
People would dislike it if you move into a new town and
demand that the others buy your steamed buns.
But if you politely introduce yourself,
greet the people in the town,
and say, "Let me help you harvest the farm."
"It's fine."
"Here, take this. Thanks for helping."
"Thank you!"
"What do you do for a living?"
"I make steamed buns."
"What kind of steamed buns?"
"Let me give you one."
"Nah, I gotta pay for it."
"It's okay, just try it for free."
"Mm, it's good. I'll pay for it next time."
This is what happens.
Just think of it that you're moving into a new town.
"Isn't that the same as offline communities?"
It's even better because all that is possible online!
Can you actually move into a new town?
Imagine the amount of money and time required for you to move into a new town!
That's exhausting.
Imagine the deposit, transferring cost and payment.
Plus, the process and time needed!
For online communities, you don't need them
because it's online!
All that's needed is 1,000 yen a month!
Alright, it doesn't have to be my online community.
Check out Nishino's online community. That's fine as well.
You can also check out Horiemon's online community. Or other ones.
I just feel touched
because online communities are really great.
It's really fun so I hope you enjoy it and make friends.
By chance, to those of you who are watching this, will you be my next members?
Then, goodbye!
A web community, PROGRESS.
[Atsuhiko Nakata's online community PROGRESS, 3,700 members, 980 yen per month]
[Watch YouTube University]
[Introduction (Introduction of members)]
[Theater (Videos uploaded by members)]
[TV (Livestreams by members)]
[Monthly Zoom gatherings]
[Home Room (Daily livestream)]
We can be anything, anytime.
It's your turn.
Finally, we have it.
Trust has been emphasized recently even in the business field.
What does it meant to gain one's trust?
It's important what the real intention is.
According to this book,
gaining one's trust means to continuously exchange things with that person.
Fascinating, isn't it?
You should continue to exchange something with the other, whether that be
things, time, information, or skills.
For example, you'd feel more closer to the girl you like if she wants to borrow your CD.
Wait, borrowing CDs is such an old example.
It used to be a thing when I was a student.
I still have this fantasy about someone asking to borrow my CD.
That moment when you take out the disc…
There are no longer disc players and CD stores.
Anyway, you can get closer as you lend them your books or other things.
Similarly, you can ask someone else a favor
or skill in order to gain their trust.
After building the trust and your image, suggest that you collaborate together.
This is a great strategy.
Everyone has different strengths so you can suggest what the other needs.
This happens often in online communities. It's really interesting.
"I sing well.", "I play instruments well."
"Then how about you sing while I play the instruments?", "Do you wanna try this content with me?"
"I'm great at editing videos so leave that to me."
"I'm great at designing clothes so I'll take that role."
Everyone can collaborate for a single goal.
But you cannot do this the moment you join a community.
During this process, people will learn that you are great at designing clothes.
Then they will naturally suggest that you design clothes for them. The same goes with music.
Your skills will improve after you make that content and share it with the others.
It's fascinating, right?
However, even though these steps exist
some of you may be anxious because you think you don't have any skills to provide.
But you should do it step by step so don't worry.
That's what's written here. It's fun, isn't it?
Hence, there are two kinds of people. Those who know what they wanna do and those who don't.
Even they can become a part of online communities.
Interesting, right?
Let's name those who don't know what they wanna do as "A".
Let's name those who know what they wanna do but don't have enough skills as "B".
This group includes those who have the skills but aren't confident yet.
So those without confidence are included in B as well.
And "C" would be those who have the skills and confidence but didn't get any requests yet.
Having no requests means that they didn't gain the trust yet.
You can solve this problem if all these people take on the role apt for them.
Those who don't know what to do normally do not try hard enough.
There's a saying you should improve the resolution.
It means you can find it if you decrease the area and think rationally.
What does this mean?
Think about it in the 'HOW→WHO→WHAT' order.
There are many people who want to do something.
However, they do not know what they want to do.
For those people, you should first think about HOW.
"Who will be your target?", "What will you do?"
If you think of it in this order,
you may say "I wanna draw and I want people to like my drawing."
So HOW refers to drawing in this case.
Next, WHO is about the people you're targeting with your drawing.
This is the key point.
You should draw things for the targeted people.
This happens often in YouTube.
If you want to start a YouTube channel, what specific video do you wanna upload?
In my case, Kajisac suggested that I make educational videos.
There are a lot of educational content out there.
There are some about politics as well.
Some target children and teach them how to write.
I chose to make content for those of my age or around my age, not for chidlren.
I thought it'd be unrealistic to target children so I focused on older students and adults.
How about the WHAT?
Will you talk in front of a whiteboard for a long time?
You need to be more specific in order to grasp your YouTube content.
In what way will you do it?
The key point is on what and how you're gonna do it.
You should know the target of your drawing.
If you are going to target women's taste,
you should choose what to draw, like watercolor or oil painting.
You can choose what content to show. For example, that can be to draw oil paintings that women would like.
This is how you should narrow down your content.
Now, for those who don't have the skills and confidence.
By the way, you can easily find the 'HOW→WHO→WHAT' in online communities.
That's because you get to meet various people who want to do similar things.
You'll get to know yourself more as if looking into a mirror by talking to people
who are similar to or are the complete opposite of you.
We can't tell how we look like by touching our face.
But we can know by looking into a mirror.
That means feedback from others act as a mirror.
Hence, you can know your 'HOW→WHO→WHAT' as you talk with the others.
I was also able to realize what I wanted to do by talking with Kajisac.
I decided to do educational videos.
I then met DaiGo to find out what I wanted to do next.
Mentalist DaiGo talks on his own for hours, just like me.
I thought we were similar but there was one difference.
As a mentalist, he talks about psychology, dating, and diet.
But my strength does not lie in topics about dating or psychology.
I decided to do something else and first began with world history.
I used to be a nerd. I really studied hard for my exams.
So I decided to do talks about books while DaiGo talks about theses.
Isn't fascinating to see the difference?
It's very important that you meet various people in order to make your 'HOW→WHO→WHAT' clearer.
You also need the skills and confidence.
If you want to improve your skills and gain confidence, online communities would be great for you.
That's because you can learn from the content provided by the community owner
and gain feedback from members through activities wherein you
upload your own content.
This can improve your skills.
Lastly, there are people
who have the skills but get no requests.
What should they do?
This means they didn't earn trust.
Hence, there are a lot of people out there with the appropriate skills.
For example, there are many people who can make great steamed buns.
Don't you think?
Even convenience stores sell them.
But they do not know how to make people want those steamed buns.
They only focus on making good steamed buns, thinking that great skills would lead to better sales.
However, that is not the case because humans have emotions.
People would want steamed buns from certain people they like.
Knowing this can allow you to gain trust.
You should let people acknowledge your skills by showing your content
and meet lots of people to gain the trust and reputation
in order to have many orders.
Therefore, if you are part of any of these groups,
you can join online communities and explore where you belong and know who you truly are.
Fascinating, isn't it?
Now, we should know how to become influential.
What does that mean?
What does it mean to become influential even after all those steps?
I bet you all want to be influential.
The book interestingly divided the concept of influence into three parts.
First, the power to convey.
Second, the power to circulate.
Third, the power to change.
The concept of influence
means to convey and circulate something, ultimately making the others change.
This is really interesting if you think about it.
People think that the power to convey means to talk a lot.
So a lot of them tend to write lengthily or talk for 2 hours straight like me.
But that's not it. Just a moment.
The power to convey is actually the power to receive.
This is a very cliche saying.
People always say that the power to convey comes from the power to listen.
The power to convey equals to the power to receive.
The people who have a great power to convey
receives what the others say and give it back to them.
Let's say someone uploaded an introduction video.
He or she feels nervous.
What will such people see?
Remember, the person uploaded an introduction video on Facebook.
You'll know right away if you imagine how such a person would feel.
They'd want to see the viewer's reaction.
They'll want to know what comments there would be.
Imagine that you are that person. You'd keep seeing the reaction of the others.
You would feel sad if people ignore it. But you'd be happy if they leave something.
However, you would be disappointed to see just a comment saying "Nice job."
That would sound like an insincere comment.
You'd feel sad if there are only comments like that.
However, if there people who leave comments after watching your content thoroughly,
you would definitely feel thankful to them for understanding your message and leaving a good comment.
What will happen if you feel that way?
You will pay more attention to the person who left that genuine comment next time.
"The person who left that comment on my introduction video is live streaming. I better watch and support!"
This is how one becomes influential.
Being influential does not mean that you should go to a huge field without people
and shout your lungs out to convey your message.
That's just like screaming inside a secluded room.
That's not it.
No one's watching.
What should you do then?
You should imagine.
Everyone wants to covey their message.
So you should first receive it, and leave a comment.
I deeply relate to this one.
It is definitely accurate.
Those who listen to another well or leave many comments become very popular.
People feel very grateful towards them. This is very important.
The power to convey is the power to receive.
Kajisac also emphasized that we should read comments.
We should read comments.
I actually check out YouTube channels of other celebrities.
But those who do not read comments out of fear that they might get hurt definitely cannot improve.
That's the wrong way to do it.
You should read comments, leave a heart, and consider that for improvement.
That's how to became who I am today. Check out my very first video.
Then my second and third videos.
I began with just a smartphone, even without a mic.
The sound quality was bad and I wasn't in a suit either.
The lighting was horrible as well.
I used to talk in a very dark room with only a smartphone. The sound quality was bad and I had a casual attire.
Then I read this comment saying that it's
difficult to listen because of the echo.
Some didn't like my attire as well.
Some also said the lighting was too dark so I left hearts on the comments and made improvements.
If I make changes considering their feedback in the next video, that viewer would like me better
because I took into account his or her opinion about the sound quality.
He or she would want to support my YouTube channel. Such people will begin making book requests.
"Please do a review on this book!", "Please also cover Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky!"
At first, I didn't want to do it
because the book was too long.
However, seeing that people didn't want to read Crime and Punishment,
I thought they would like it if I explain it to them in an easy way.
So I read that comment, left a heart, and did it. That is how to continued to run my channel.
It was really amusing.
Humans communicate with each other. They don't just speak unidirectionally.
The power to convey is the power to receive. It's important to know how to react to the others.
Next is the power to circulate.
At first, I wasn't able to understand what this meant.
But this is an interesting concept.
Actually, we all want to become influential to another person.
We want to save or change someone else and teach them what you've learned.
But being influenced gives you more power. This concept goes the other way around as well.
It's just like the power to receive. You should first be influenced.
It depends on whether you put it into action what you got influenced for.
There must be someone who's more influential that you are.
An example would be the community owner and other members.
There must be a member in the online community who is more influential than you are.
You will see the popular member once you join the community.
There are areas that you get influenced by those people.
For example, they can provide you with better alternatives or ideas that can help you out
in the online community or in making good videos.
Whether you put that advice into action
becomes very important.
In fact, the author of this book delivers speeches regarding how to make online communities.
However, very little of those who ask for and take his advice
put his advice into action.
Most of them do things the way they want to do.
Most people who ask for advice actually want to hear that they are doing things the right way.
"What do you think of my content? I'm seeing no improvements."
Despite the fact that they aren't improving, they still want to be complimented for it.
If they receive feedback that isn't what they want, they go to get advice from another person.
99% of people are like that.
But you should actually imagine how the other person would feel.
I hope you understand the one who's giving the advice.
Let me take an example.
"Hmm, how about you grow your mustache?"
Let's just say that someone got an advice that he should grow his mustache for some reason.
Although we're not sure why that advice was given,
let's just imagine that a person got that advice.
Then the person who got the advice could either grow his mustache or not
the next day when they meet again.
Imagine how the person who gave the advice would feel.
If the guy shows up with a thick mustache saying thank you,
don't you think the advisor would like him?
"He really considered my advice!"
"He really grew his mustache like I told him to do! How cute!"
"He really put it into action. That's so cute!"
Then the advisor would want to support that guy.
"You can do it! How are things going?"
After putting the advice into action, you can ask for another advice when you encounter another problem.
If you tell that growing a mustache didn't increase the number of customers, that can help the advisor as well.
That's because the advisor would gain another data
that the mustache strategy did not work for this guy.
"Oh, I see. I guess the reason why it worked for me was because it was the Heisei era…"
Then you gain another insight.
"It's definitely different from the Reiwa era…"
Once the advisor learns that growing a mustache doesn't help in the Reiwa era,
he would suggest an alternative strategy.
"In the Reiwa era, perhaps making monobrows would work better."
The two of them can benefit from each other.
They can give each other more data.
If that works out, they can celebrate. If it doesn't, they can find for another strategy.
This means that by putting the advice into action, you can get even more advice.
Once that advice works out, the two can collaborate as equals.
They can work on something together.
My YouTube advisor was Kajisac and my online community advisor was Horiemon and Nishino.
I've learned a lot from them.
"How about this, Nakata?", "Don't you think this is better?"
I tried everything that Horiemon suggested that I try.
I held a camp, did events, and tried live streaming.
I also tried what Nishino does.
I said, "Nishino, I'm currently in this situation…"
And Nishino really liked it.
He was very happy.
"You're a really nice person, Nakata."
A lot of other celebrities asked for his advice but they never put that into action.
But I put them into action right away.
He said that I improved quickly.
So he always tell me that I'm a really nice person.
The same goes for Horiemon.
He gave me advice about card games and I put it into action right away.
That turned into a show.
This is why Horiemon comes as my opponent for the card game called XENO.
He comes because he saw that I took his advice on XENO right away
and saw that it made improvements.
By using this teacher and student relationship, you become more influential.
Just by putting the advice into action, you can influence your advisor.
This is important. You shouldn't stop at just getting the advice.
Unfortunately, many people merely take the advice.
Next is the power to change.
Once you reach this level, another stage would be waiting for you.
It's the power to change a certain area!
It's finally the time to use your influence.
What does this mean and what should we do?
An example would be to realize that you play a big part in the online community.
Fascinating, right?
You may think that you can't do anything.
But things will be different depending on whether you believe
you play a part in creating the atmosphere of that environment.
If you think you do, you would want to do something
and make plans for people who are struggling.
To put it simply, the opportunities to speak out in a mature online community
are study groups and clubs.
Let's say someone suggests a debate study group.
Sounds fun, right?
Or someone might suggest a cooking club.
Those people would lead the others.
They're most likely the people who have the other's trusts and the power to convey.
That's why people would gather when that person suggests such activities.
These group studies and clubs are what makes an online community active.
So online community owners feel grateful for such people,
and those people can achieve what they want as well.
This is a process of influencing the others.
I can really relate to this route.
It reminds me of my community members that have gone through these steps.
This is why online communities are fun.
It took me 2 years to get to where I am today.
It's really fun.
In the beginning, I joined Horiemon's online community, HIU, because I looked up to him.
The monthly fee is quite pricey.
Wait, I shouldn't put it that way.
The price is reasonable. It really helped me a lot.
When I joined, there were so much club and group study activities.
There were really a lot.
I honestly wanted to make my own community like that as soon as possible but it seemed too difficult.
But I was able to create it step by step.
It's really fun.
Maybe you are watching this because you want to
learn how to use online communities, are considering to join one
or want to run your own online community.
I hope you don't hurry too much.
You can create an online community within a day.
It's really fascinating.
There are five techniques you can use to become influential.
They are really stifling techniques. They're really interesting
and specific.
Firstly, help out events.
Most online communities hold gatherings.
As an example, you can be responsible for the
reception, accounting, or ingredients for a barbecue party.
Being a member who merely participates
and being a member who helps hold the event are totally different.
People would remember the one who bought the ingredients.
The community owner would remember the one in charge of accounting
because he or she was of great help.
The owner and other members would remember the one who helped as a receptionist.
"You were the receptionist last time, right?"
It's so interesting that people like another person for these things.
Next, know the demands and push ahead with it.
This is important. Although it is quite difficult, members in gatherings
always talk about what they wish would happen.
They say things like "I wish things are done this way."
But they end there. No one carries out the plan.
That's what mostly happens.
For example, someone would say "I wish we had a baseball match." and everyone agrees. But no one starts it.
"How about I book a baseball park? I will be in charge of that baseball match then!"
"I will plan the game!" This is what you should do.
All you have to do is raise your hand to take a part of it.
I don't have to do it all on your own.
You can volunteer to be in charge
and ask someone else for help regarding the booking
or ask if anyone can help you contact the other members.
You can let the others help you.
You don't have to do it all on your own.
It'd be great to plan it together with the others.
It's important that you take on a specific role.
This way, you'll be able to gain their trust.
Next, writing a blog about it.
If there are events held in the online community or something comes into your mind,
you can write an article about that so the new members can easily learn about it.
They will feel very grateful towards you.
You can document the events into an article or magazine.
If you document an event in the community, the community owner would feel very grateful
and might put that in the front page of the website so everybody can easily read it.
All of these aren't hard to do.
You may want to become influential but don't know what to do.
And then you might shout, "Please listen to me!"
You might shout for people to listen to you.
But those who are going ahead of people who shout like this are following these steps.
These steps allow them to go ahead of the others.
The community owner and members would remember that you wrote that article
so they will listen to you.
Next, helping promote a friend.
This is also a good thing to do.
Everyone wants to promote something.
They want to promote something about themselves.
They promote things unrelated to the community as well.
There are a lot of members who try various things like holding events
outside the community or joining competitions.
When you ask others to help you out or visit your exhibition,
some members would merely be fascinated
and the others would spread the word on Twitter and leave comments.
Others would take a picture of the event and share it online.
You would be really grateful that they are helping you out
and promoting whatever you're doing.
When you make a post announcing that you'll do a live concert in a long time,
you would definitely like the members who spread your post and tell others to check it out.
Even if that person does not watch the live concert,
people will remember that he or she spread the word.
Human beings remember all these little aspects.
Next, reviewing content and studies.
There are things that you can learn
from content and studies.
Don't you think it would be of great help to be able to review them
for members who participate or don't participate in such activities?
You can summarize what the community owner talked about and share it with the other members.
Or you can provide an opportunity for everyone to talk and review about it.
Doing these things can make you gain their trust.
This does not only apply to online communities.
The same goes for all kinds of communities.
People like this are popular regardless of the community, like at work, district, school and family.
You shouldn't underestimate these skills thinking they are only for online communities.
People who do these become popular wherever they go.
Even those who didn't know about these
can become a new person in a new community after learning about them.
You might have thought you cannot change your image but you can.
You can become a new person.
I, as well, can show a different side of myself because I made an online community.
Me with a senior celebrity.
Me with the people at work.
Me with my viewers.
The communities allow you to become someone different from those selves.
I'm happy that I was created such an opportunity.
It's really fun.
So what after gaining people's trust and becoming influential?
What's the last stage?
You should use the trust at work or in life.
There are a lot of people who wish to learn various things,
like techniques to increase sales, from the community and apply them right away.
And that's not a bad thing, it's natural.
Some people want to improve their lives, earn more money
and become richer as well.
You won't join just because you wanna make friends.
You can use the trust in those areas.
However, you must be careful.
This is important.
This third part.
Some people are in such a hurry that they join and
make a sloppy introduction video. Then they'd ask people to
use their service.
You shouldn't do it this way.
There are two steps.
No one's gonna buy your product if you ask them to out of the blue.
You should first go through these steps to gain trust.
There are two more steps to take as well.
Human beings are interesting in this regard.
First, don't suddenly ask them to buy your product. Do an exchange.
Let's say someone wants to teach something.
"I'll teach you language."
"Alright, then I'll teach you how to sing."
This way, they won't pay each other.
But they actually have to pay the other for singing lessons.
They should also pay for language lessons.
However, the essence of money is about exchange.
People used to barter instead of pay money, like giving fish for an apple.
Of course, that's just an example. In real life, we want to exchange a wide variety of things.
The function of money is to allow people to get what they want
even if they do not have the fish at that moment.
It's not the money that is valuable. It's the ability to do an exchange.
So you don't have to actually pay each other.
You can just trade lessons worth 50,000 yen.
Just like the singing lessons and language lessons.
You can exchange various services and skills without paying money.
This is the step you should take.
Fun, right?
Next, the people around you will see that process.
You'll post what you want for exchange.
People would know that you're looking for a trade.
Let's say there's a great photographer and a photogenic person.
A skilled photographer and a beautiful model works together.
And their picture turns out really great.
Then someone would think that
he should ask that photographer to take his picture.
Someone else would want to call that model for a shoot.
Here comes the next step.
Make them want to willingly pay for what you have.
They'll recall that you took great pictures and would offer you a certain price.
The same goes for the model.
So in the second step, you'll gain more requests.
You don't just recommend that model right away.
This is the interesting part.
Let's get deeper into the topic now.
You should wait until your service is worth paying for.
In online communities, those who focus on building trust
instead of earning money, do well for a long time.
Let's say you introduced yourself and your skills.
You supported a lot of people and gained their trust.
Then you change that trust into money.
Trust can actually be calculated into money.
Hence, even if you convert the popularity and trust into money, everyone will see that.
This is the interesting part. Everyone can see that.
Once they see you converting that into money, they won't find your intention sincere anymore
and would calculate the trust into money.
It is therefore difficult to maintain this balance.
It's alright to gather money bit by bit in the community.
However, you shouldn't only look at the money.
You should maintain the balance and contribute to the community at the same time.
This one's important.
However, you also shouldn't only focus on trust
to the point that you provide your skills for free.
Here, we go back to square one.
This is not the community at work, district, or family.
It's where you can become a different self.
It's where you improve yourself to reach your final goal.
So don't ultimately aim to earn money in the online community.
If you show your skills as much as possible,
you can get the chance to earn money.
As you help out the other members and gain friends,
you can naturally promote your skills outside the community.
That's what I'm saying.
Don't you find this fascinating?
This book is great for you to follow.
Everything is important.
I can definitely tell as I've run an online community for 2 years.
All the important processes are written.
From wondering what an online community is to considering to join one.
The stage wherein you try to make friends after joining a community.
The stage when you meet popular people after making friends.
The stage when the popular person connects the ties to business. I have seen all this process.
In fact, I also want to expand my online community in the future.
I should follow these steps as well.
Everyone's watching.
If I attempt to earn a lot, people would be disappointed at my intentions.
The same goes for the members.
The same goes for this community.
People would be disappointed like they saw a firm exploiting the workers.
We'd quit the job if they give less salary than what we deserve, right?
If a district doesn't give enough services despite the pricey membership fee
and taxes, we would naturally want to move to another district.
Similarly, humans always live depending on trust.
And money comes from that trust.
You can definitely grow through an online community.
At first, you might wish to earn a lot of money and
gain people's acknowledgment, but no one would listen.
You should sense that it's the wrong method and begin to leave comments and help the others out.
To put it simply, it's just like moving into a new home.
People would dislike it if you move into a new town and
demand that the others buy your steamed buns.
But if you politely introduce yourself,
greet the people in the town,
and say, "Let me help you harvest the farm."
"It's fine."
"Here, take this. Thanks for helping."
"Thank you!"
"What do you do for a living?"
"I make steamed buns."
"What kind of steamed buns?"
"Let me give you one."
"Nah, I gotta pay for it."
"It's okay, just try it for free."
"Mm, it's good. I'll pay for it next time."
This is what happens.
Just think of it that you're moving into a new town.
"Isn't that the same as offline communities?"
It's even better because all that is possible online!
Can you actually move into a new town?
Imagine the amount of money and time required for you to move into a new town!
That's exhausting.
Imagine the deposit, transferring cost and payment.
Plus, the process and time needed!
For online communities, you don't need them
because it's online!
All that's needed is 1,000 yen a month!
Alright, it doesn't have to be my online community.
Check out Nishino's online community. That's fine as well.
You can also check out Horiemon's online community. Or other ones.
I just feel touched
because online communities are really great.
It's really fun so I hope you enjoy it and make friends.
By chance, to those of you who are watching this, will you be my next members?
Then, goodbye!
A web community, PROGRESS.
[Atsuhiko Nakata's online community PROGRESS, 3,700 members, 980 yen per month]
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We can be anything, anytime.
It's your turn.