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Frog in the pot: why communities struggle to change

01 Jul 2026
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Rosie Sherry and Simon Tomes gather around the community fire (in a very hot room) to talk about change and why it never seems to stop. They explore how COVID and now AI have both forced communities to rethink how they work, why fighting spam and bots is draining, and how the "boiling frog" idea shows up in organisations that get too comfortable with the way things have always been done. 

The conversation moves into the power of familiarity when building something new, from Spotify's Discover Weekly to renaming features so people actually understand them. Rosie and Simon also reflect on stepping out of their comfort zone to become more visible as community leaders, and why recorded conversations have become some of the most valuable research they do. Special guest Judy Mosley joins to share her week of catching up, prioritising what matters, and the simple satisfaction of getting an inbox down to zero. Topics in this episode:

  • How weather and outside forces shape community work
  • The boiling frog analogy and being stuck in old habits
  • Why familiarity helps people adopt change
  • Building your own platform versus copying others
  • Leading from the front to amplify community voices
  • The value of recorded conversations and calls for insights

Awesome community people who joined the stage:

Links referenced:


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