So here's an idea I've been tossing around in my head.. Mixing 'groups.'
It's like a workshop for getting better at creating. Like a writer's workshop or a band camp.
I personally think it could really improve both the quantity and quality of recipes coming out of the community, and on top of that the members themselves will build up their flavor pantry.
- /r/DIY_eJuice members split ourselves up into groups of 5.
- Each person comes up with a recipe they have been working on, or a flavor profile they want to create.
- Recipes or ideas are shared with the group.
- Everyone in the group buys the necessary ingredients for the 5 recipes.
- Over the month everyone mixes, steeps, and taste tests all of the mixes.
- As a group, discuss feedback/suggestions/improvements over hangouts or chat.
I think buying 5 recipes worth of ingredients, and mixing/steeping/trying 5 juices per month is doable. If the members wanted to, they could even group buy the flavors to save some scratch.
It could be a monthly rotation where next month we either work with different people... or if the groups become permanent that's cool too.
What do you guys think?
Edit: I've created /r/CloudCollective/ as a placeholder, if anyone is interested.
Edit2: If you're interested in being a beta tester of this idea, head over here and we'll work out the details.
Dibs on /u/enyawreklaw /u/fizzmustard and /u/botboy141
That's one thing I've been thinking is that it would be nice of experienced mixers to participate and kind of spread them around the groups...
But at the same time I don't want this to be a burden, and definitely don't want this to turn into a 'consultatant' gig.
I do think that even if it were a bunch of noobs/intermediate mixers, it would still be a benefit to people.
Many people, like myself, don't have IRL DIYers to interact and share notes/feedback with.
I could see this being a massive money sink.
As long as it doesn't go crazy, I'd be down.
Money sink meaning spending too much on flavorings?
I was thinking that when creating the groups they could be organized into flavor profile... so if you're wanting to work on a fruity mix you aren't stuck buying tobacco flavorings. And the group buy of the flavorings would mitigate the cost.
There are wrinkles to be ironed out, but I don't see it being a 'massive money sink' necessarily.
But if the community isn't interested, it's a no-go regardless.
The way it was worded. 5 recipes, 5 people. At worst, 50 flavors needed to be bought, at best, 10?
You have a point, and the community will have to consider that for sure...
But that assumes no one has any of the flavorings being used, etc...
Absolute worst case scenario, 50 flavors from a relatively expensive vendor (FA) - bought at BCV in 30mL bottles (6mL per group member) that would be $57.40 per month.
That's pretty damn expensive, but I personally spent that much on flavorings each month for the past 3 months, and I wasn't really learning anything. Just making recipes I found on ELR. And I think most recipes will be far fewer than 10, after all this is aimed at beginner and intermediate mixers.
Maybe there needs to be a limit, maybe it needs to be an existing recipe you think you have nailed down. Maybe it should be groups of 3 instead of 5. Maybe it just doesn't work and it's a dumb idea.
I dunno.. I just think there needs to be more collaboration. I rarely see anyone testing and providing real feedback for anyone's recipes except the 'celebrity mixers.' Even ELR is 95% untested crap.
If the future of vaping is DIY due to over-regulation, and we want to lower the barrier of entry for newbies, we need a real library of real recipes that have been thoroughly vetted, and I don't really see any community-driven effort to do it.
This was just an idea I had.
I think this could really work assuming you do a little homework beforehand, by grouping people intelligently.
For instance, create a survey for everyone involved. Have them answer the following questions;
- What flavor profile are you looking to work on?(Radio box, fruity, tobacco, savory, Other with a text field)
- What flavor company/ies do you typically buy from?(Multiple choice, TFA, INW, et cetera)
- How much are you willing to invest towards new flavors?(Radio box, 10-25, 25-50, 50-75, Sky's the limit)
You could include some other questions too, like how many flavors do you currently have(Radio box), and how interested are you in trying new flavors/vendors(Radio box, Extremely interested, kinda interested, no opinion, not interested).
Could even leave it up to people to build their own groups from the list of candidates, or group them by profile, then preferred company, and then the final few groups can be composed of the people willing to spend the most and want to try different flavors/companies.
I'm really interested in something that gets more collaboration in the development or tasting phase. I also like the idea of a recipe trade within the monthly recipe thread where you make a bunch of 10ml zmg nic bottles and trade them with other posters recipes in the thread.
Sounds cool. I would be down
Well shit, if crappy's on board the idea can't fail!
If you want, head over to this post and let's figure out how to get this going.