Here's a story about what inspired me to start developing an activist crowdsourcing platform, in hopes of effecting real social, political and economic change.
The Inspiration:
I'm a registered Democrat who voted Democrat in 2008 and 2012. Over the years I grew frustrated with how unprofessional the candidates and news pundits were in things like their personal attacks on each other, or the ridiculousness of the topics they choose to cover (email servers, tax returns, birth certificates, things that have nothing to do with a candidate's ability to perform as president). I also didn't like the Democratic or Republican candidates that won the primaries.
I rebelled against the traditional parties by voting Libertarian in 2016 as a form of protest. I felt my message was clear, "Democrats & Republicans, get your act together and stop acting so childish, or I'm not voting for either of you ever again, nor am I ever watching CNN, MSNBC or Fox again. And I invite the +200 million eligible voters to join me in doing the same. We are the boss and at the top of the hierarchy, not you. You will do as we say, not the other way around."
The only problem was that I lacked a way to organize +200 million eligible voters into a movement like this, and I wasn't sure of the true efficacy or potential consequences of my request.
The Solution
The solution I devise is a tiered crowdsourcing approach to activism. Here are the main parts to it:
- It is a crowdsourcing platform where users can submit and vote on ideas for simple behaviors they can perform in unison that will pressure a target interest group into doing something in return.
- Voting is done bracket-style (tiered) where after each round of voting, the most popular ideas advance. This continues until a critical mass or final round is reached.
- Users share an implicit agreement that they'll vote until the end and perform the behavior together. They can drop out at anytime.
- The quantifiable accumulation of actors is what incentivizes people to stay in. The platform, or app, will show this number in real time.
- Users agree to not stop performing the behavior until the favor is returned be the target interest group
- The basic example is a boycott.
- The end goal is social, economic or political impacts
- The behaviors need to be implemented on a large scale, preferably by millions of people
- 1 million users performing the same 1 behavior together is more effective and impactful than 1 million people performing 1 million different behaviors (i.e. 1 behavior per 1 person)
- Ideally the platform should be de-centralized, like a blockchain technology.
- See the Case Study and analysis that ensue
Case Study
There was a pop music contest around Christmas time in the UK, where the artist whose song got downloaded the most would win a prize. One of Simon Cowell's proteges (Chris McElderry) from the X-Factor was projected to win, but Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine knew the British were tired of low quality pop music being shoved down their throats, so he told them, "If you download more copies of our song "Killing in The Name" than McElderry's hit, then Rage Against The Machine will play a free show in the UK for you".
Simon Cowell gawked and howled at this social movement but it ended up winning with 500,000 downloads to McElderry's 450,000. That's 500,000 people who each paid $1.00 to download a song that was +15 years old at the time. Rage played the free show. Had those 500,000 people downloaded 500,000 different songs, they wouldn't have stood a chance vs McElderry. Rage Against the Machine: Simon Cowell admits he took Christmas No 1 for 'granted’
Is this an example of a simple behavior that made an impact on a large scale, and could be implemented through a crowdsourcing platform?
Simon Cowell gawked and howled at this social movement but it ended up winning with 500,000 downloads to McElderry's 450,000. That's 500,000 people who each paid $1.00 to download a song that was +15 years old at the time. Rage played the free show. Had those 500,000 people downloaded 500,000 different songs, they wouldn't have stood a chance vs McElderry. Rage Against the Machine: Simon Cowell admits he took Christmas No 1 for 'granted’
Is this an example of a simple behavior that made an impact on a large scale, and could be implemented through a crowdsourcing platform?
Case Study vs. My Approach
There are some key differences between Rage's approach and mine.
Rage didn't use a tiered crowdsourcing approach - they had a lead spokesman propose the idea and 500,000 people agreed to enact it. I believe that through a tiered approach, we could effect the same.
Rage offered a guaranteed tangible reward (i.e. a free show) to the British in return for downloading Killing In The Name and beating Simon Cowell. My approach can't technically guarantee its tangible reward (i.e. professionalism in politics and media) in return for performing the proposed behaviors (i.e. boycotting establishment party votes and news media). However, in the history of sociopolitical movements, is anyone really able to guarantee that their means for attaining their ends will in fact deliver those specific ends (e.g. non-violent protest in the Civil Rights Movement)? I think not, and this is reason enough to take radical approaches much like the forefathers of our country took radical approaches to dealing with the British. To the naysayers who don't believe in my idea, I ask of you, "What is your proposed alternative?" I favor action over inaction, any day of the week.
Rage didn't use a tiered crowdsourcing approach - they had a lead spokesman propose the idea and 500,000 people agreed to enact it. I believe that through a tiered approach, we could effect the same.
Rage offered a guaranteed tangible reward (i.e. a free show) to the British in return for downloading Killing In The Name and beating Simon Cowell. My approach can't technically guarantee its tangible reward (i.e. professionalism in politics and media) in return for performing the proposed behaviors (i.e. boycotting establishment party votes and news media). However, in the history of sociopolitical movements, is anyone really able to guarantee that their means for attaining their ends will in fact deliver those specific ends (e.g. non-violent protest in the Civil Rights Movement)? I think not, and this is reason enough to take radical approaches much like the forefathers of our country took radical approaches to dealing with the British. To the naysayers who don't believe in my idea, I ask of you, "What is your proposed alternative?" I favor action over inaction, any day of the week.
Problems & Reflections
Yes, I'm aware people will vote to perform behaviors and not end up performing them, but that's a problem with nearly anything you try to motivate people to do (e.g. exercise). I fall back to my previous point here, that you at least need to try to motivate people. Its better to try to motivate than assume people are inanimate objects.
Practically speaking, a massive and quantifiable group of actors claiming they'll do something will inevitably draw the ire of the party its targeting, even before the critical mass or final vote is reached. Its like a petition.
A real problem for pontification - people might nominate and vote on behaviors that aren't so progressive. Jokes, pranks, or worse.
Practically speaking, a massive and quantifiable group of actors claiming they'll do something will inevitably draw the ire of the party its targeting, even before the critical mass or final vote is reached. Its like a petition.
A real problem for pontification - people might nominate and vote on behaviors that aren't so progressive. Jokes, pranks, or worse.
Conclusion
Does my ideology stir up an us-vs-them mentality? That politician's aren't to be worked with? That there is no collaborative communication medium between the working class and the elites? I argue that an activist crowdsourcing platform is the collaborative mechanism because it conveys the wants of the people to the elites, in plain view, using an open-source technology, in a direct tit-for-tat fashion that bypasses the arduous legislative processes that only specialized labor (lawyers) can withstand and manipulate.
Not only does activist crowdsourcing communicate but it organizes and manages people into performing behaviors.
To the naysayers, what is your alternative formal communication pipeline to those in power? How rapid and transparent is it? Is it more powerful than lifting one's self from the wrath of broken promises, media dissolution and cryptic law, and setting in motion actionable behaviors and transparent contracts between the oppressors and the oppressed, via an open-sourced activist crowdsourcing platform? If so, then tell me about it and I will help you build it. We're all in this together.
Not only does activist crowdsourcing communicate but it organizes and manages people into performing behaviors.
To the naysayers, what is your alternative formal communication pipeline to those in power? How rapid and transparent is it? Is it more powerful than lifting one's self from the wrath of broken promises, media dissolution and cryptic law, and setting in motion actionable behaviors and transparent contracts between the oppressors and the oppressed, via an open-sourced activist crowdsourcing platform? If so, then tell me about it and I will help you build it. We're all in this together.
My Inspiration to You
I am appalled by people seeing politicians as holy grails that determine our future, that worry and excite us so much when elected. I maintain that politicians are not the root of the causal chain of the world's events. Rather, we are the determinants and leaders the future, and politics is a tool that we use along the way. Politics is reactionary. It reacts to the needs of the populace. When is the last time a politician offered you a bunch of useful things you never heard of? The last time she or he made you say, "Oh wow I never though of that one". Politics isn't going to change the fact that we need better public schools. Please, stop giving such a fuck about those clowns on TV. Enough already. Think about yourself before your think about them, or else you are serving them and not yourself. They know what we need. Its time they deliver an. Its time we place the expectation on them to deliver, using a tiered approach to crowdsourcing and activism.
Friendly Message
Scroll to 05:40 and watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FupB3wetdM
Sincerely,
William
Excellent.
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