I am really into this idea of “shared value communities” even if it is still a bit vague as to what the whole thing means. That is part of what I like about it though: it makes you look at what you value, and who else values those same things, and what kinds of relationships you have and ought to have with these other people.

One of the arrangements I have been working on with various individuals in my shared value community is what I have begun calling the “mutual hype alliance.” Basically, everyone in my shared value community is doing creative work, because creativity and taking action to change things for the better is one of my “core brand values.” I see the Mutual Hype Alliance (MHA) as being a formal or informal agreement between multiple creative parties to make one another look bigger and better. Simply put: it looks way better to have other people saying that you are awesome than for you to be the one saying it.

That doesn’t mean you should hide your awesomeness though. Far from it. It just means the more the merrier. If everybody is hyping each other and their projects, everybody gets more excited about working together and collaborating in all kinds of new ways and everybody benefits. The hyper becomes recognized for their good taste and thoughtful recommendations, and the hypee gets authentic recommendations for whatever their working on to an audience who is more likely to get really into their stuff.

The key to the whole thing though is authenticity. You have to really like each other’s creative work and share some of the same goals and values. An MHA can’t just be a random link exchange between websites. Nobody gives a shit about that. People want to know about what’s really important to you, and they can easily recognize when you’re lying or just putting up a front.

One way to follow this up: begin making lists of people who you consider to be part of your shared value community. Put stars next to people who you really like what they are doing. Put more stars depending how much you like them. People with the most stars are the people who you may want to approach about forming a Mutual Hype Alliance. The best way to initiate an MHA though is just to start doing it. Don’t ask the person: just become their advocate whenever possible. Depending on your skillz as a hyper/hypist (?), they will be sure to hear about it. You can also consider just dropping them a line, and saying that you love what they are doing and plan to tell lots of other people about it because you find it to be so valuable. Don’t expect them to reciprocate though: the whole point is that the feeling is mutual. If they like what you’re doing, maybe they’ll see the value in hyping you as well. And thus a Mutual Hype Alliance is born!

The point is: we’re stronger together than we are apart and you get further by thinking of others first.