Try something new for $20

Does this sound like a good thing? I suppose it depends on if you’re in a back alley in Thailand or at Alinea. The latter could give you gastric pleasure beyond compare and the former…well…there may be pleasure involved, but also some antibiotics shortly thereafter.

When it comes to Dabble, though, it’s a great idea.

For $20 a pop, you can spend a couple of hours learning about something you’ve always wanted to learn about. Like fencing. Or beer brewing, venture capital, and tomorrow, how to plan a stress-free dinner party, just in time for the holidays.

Low commitment, high potential. An ingenius way to be part of a temporary mini-community and learn something new while you’re at it. No wonder it’s spreading.

It’s like a smaller cooler Learning Annex. And what it seems to be building, that Learning Annex is too big to drum up, is a “buy local” type of community. As someone who prefers Filter and Star Lounge over Starbucks and Caribou, I’m all for it.