Request for my Ramble Crew
I'm working on something new, and long for ambient accountability from others. No one, by default, notices if I've been stuck on the same problem for three days, celebrates small wins, or calls me out when I'm avoiding important tasks.
Seems like there's something in the water:
Sometimes you need a coach or therapist, and sometimes you just need someone to invade your life and force to book the dr's appointment, finish the writing assignment, submit the job application, etc
— Tyler Alterman (@TylerAlterman) July 10, 2025
Does this sort of person exist for hire?
I suspect what I need is both intimate and practical.
Ramble Crew
I recently discovered this brilliant concept from Stephan Ango about "ramblings channels" for remote teams. Each team member gets a personal channel where they post whatever's on their mind: project ideas, random musings, photos from their weekend. It's like a personal journal, creating little serendipity machines.
But what if you don't have a team?
I propose The Ramble Crew, adapting the ramblings concept for people working on something primarily by themselves. This includes builders, freelancers, researchers, and early-stage founders who need that ambient connection without the overhead of a traditional team.
The structure would start as a Slack workspace, with each member gets their own ramble channel. Post at least a few times per week in your channel. Share what you're working on, what's blocking you, random thoughts, small victories, or that article that's been rattling around in your brain.
Ground Rules:
- Only you can post top-level messages in your channel
- Others can reply in threads to offer help, encouragement, or just acknowledge they've read it
- All ramble channels are muted by default. Read when you want, not when Slack tells you to
- No selling, no pitching, no "quick calls to pick your brain"
- Commit to 3 months of participation
The visibility creates natural accountability. When you say you're going to ship that feature this week, someone might check in. When you're stuck, someone might have faced the same problem. When you have a wild idea, someone might help you refine it.
Who's invited?
I take no pleasure in exclusion, and I often violate my own rule. But thoughtful, considered exclusion is vital to any gathering, because over-inclusion is a symptom of deeper problems—above all, a confusion about why you are gathering and a lack of commitment to your purpose and your guests.
— Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering
I'm looking for people:
- ... working on something with a significant solo component. If you have an existing team that could do this, try with them first!
- ... willing to engage authentically. Sharing your own journey and caring about others' work in a semi-active way
- ... who can articulate what they want. Do you need hard accountability? Just transparency? A gentle nudge now and then?
- ... working on technical or semi-technical projects. AI, software, internet things, research, etc.
In Obsidian's team, their ramble channels became "the source of feature ideas, small prototypes, and creative solutions to long-standing problems." For us, I expect similar serendipity. Selfishly, I want to recreate passive accountability that exists within established teams.
This is an experiment. It might evolve, it might fail spectacularly, or it might become the thing that helps us all ship what we've been avoiding. Let's find out.
Applying
To join, email me or DM on Twitter a bit about yourself, what you're doing, and what kind of support would help you most. If you think you could be a good fit, reach out. Based on the response, I'll pick a group of ~6 people to start. Once accepted, donate $100 to a non-profit you care about.
