DISCORDIA: A Brief Critique

[Cramulus]

the most obvious way (to me)

to get more energy
to get more people
without evangelizing

is to pierce larger media networks
Be in the newspaper
Get on TV
Do it live






carrying that idea into a tangent:

pranks and large scale media hacks are probably the most parsimonious way of grabbing attention.
Joey Skaggs said that the real point of media pranks (mind you I disagree with him, but he makes a really good point),
is that when you reveal the prank, you get a few minutes of REAL MEDIA ATTENTION

they'd ask him, "Why'd you do it, Joey? Why'd you lie to all those people about cock clams going extinct because the japanese are using them as aphrodesiacs?"

and he'd get to look at the camera and explain why he pulled this ridiculous prank
and how society is sick, and he's just holding up a mirror so they can see how insane it is

he said it's the only time you ever get to speak honestly on TV
without trying to sell anything or be entertaining or whatever
you just tell it like it is


pranks
deception
mindfucks

this is a methodology we are fluent in

[OPTIMUS PINECONE]

OBAMA

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Fuck that, I'm gonna speak as a mother.

And slip mayo packets in your shoes when you're not looking.

Obama can go in the fairy-tale book.

[hooplala]

I have to say that I am most interested in expanding on basic Discordian mythology and making it accessible and familiar to children. I'm working on a Discordian ABC, and I also want to make up some Discordian nursery rhymes, as well as short Discordian parables, especially holyday-related ones.

I love this idea, Nigel.


AND, I love your new avatar too.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

i fully agree with that sentiment, Cram.

the First thing we need to do is breach the Mass Media barrier somehow. whether that's with outright discordianism or not isn't all that important, so long as there is an opportunity made.

For example, a mailing campaign where 150 people send mini-DVDs to TV stations across the country, simultaneously, and the content of the disc is a short video that says "IMAGINE THIS WAS A BOMB" or something.

That would probably get picked up, and just the content of the disc could be enough of a MF without any commentary or interviews afterward.

[Cramulus]

For example, a mailing campaign where 150 people send mini-DVDs to TV stations across the country, simultaneously, and the content of the disc is a short video that says "IMAGINE THIS WAS A BOMB" or something.

THAT'S SUCH A DANGEROUS GREAT IDEA
            /





srsly, that idea needs its own thread

[fomenter]

i like the rant, i think the missing element around here may be leverage we have good people, creativity,  philosophy, motives, sense of humor etc but it gets limited results/exposure. In order to hit that next level make a big splash an event M/F has to be the right thing in the right place at the right time, a example would be the boston tea party a group of people preforming a act that could easily be meaningless but "right time right place" and it becomes a part of Americas national identity. the posters put up, the trolls that have been done, the ideas come up with all have high potential, we need to "find recognize and manipulate" those keystone points  and  we can make bigger things happen.    

[tyrannosaurus vex]

For example, a mailing campaign where 150 people send mini-DVDs to TV stations across the country, simultaneously, and the content of the disc is a short video that says "IMAGINE THIS WAS A BOMB" or something.

THAT'S SUCH A DANGEROUS GREAT IDEA
            /





srsly, that idea needs its own thread

although it would be impossible for us to actually mail bombs around like that, nobody would stop to consider that. they'd have the "evidence" right in front of them, and they'd be scared at first, and then terrified when they realized 150 other stations all got the same message on the same day. and suddenly, there's an extensive, well-developed network of people nobody knows about, capable of sophisticated coordinated action, and it wasn't on anyone's radar before.

[fomenter]

i like the rant, i think the missing element around here may be leverage we have good people, creativity,  philosophy, motives, sense of humor etc but it gets limited results/exposure. In order to hit that next level make a big splash an event M/F has to be the right thing in the right place at the right time, a example would be the boston tea party a group of people preforming a act that could easily be meaningless but "right time right place" and it becomes a part of Americas national identity. the posters put up, the trolls that have been done, the ideas come up with all have high potential, we need to "find recognize and manipulate" those keystone points  and  we can make bigger things happen.    

continued - large groups or name brand recognition aren't necessary to make things happen. a small hand full of people is plenty. to borrow from comedy and real estate its timing and location. How do we learn to recognize those points where a handful of posters, a successful troll, a act of civil disobedience will have the necessary  leverage to make large movements happen??

[tyrannosaurus vex]

i like the rant, i think the missing element around here may be leverage we have good people, creativity,  philosophy, motives, sense of humor etc but it gets limited results/exposure. In order to hit that next level make a big splash an event M/F has to be the right thing in the right place at the right time, a example would be the boston tea party a group of people preforming a act that could easily be meaningless but "right time right place" and it becomes a part of Americas national identity. the posters put up, the trolls that have been done, the ideas come up with all have high potential, we need to "find recognize and manipulate" those keystone points  and  we can make bigger things happen.    

continued - large groups or name brand recognition aren't necessary to make things happen. a small hand full of people is plenty. to borrow from comedy and real estate its timing and location. How do we learn to recognize those points where a handful of posters, a successful troll, a act of civil disobedience will have the necessary  leverage to make large movements happen??

this is the direction i'm trying to go in.

[Cramulus]

i like the rant, i think the missing element around here may be leverage we have good people, creativity,  philosophy, motives, sense of humor etc but it gets limited results/exposure. In order to hit that next level make a big splash an event M/F has to be the right thing in the right place at the right time, a example would be the boston tea party a group of people preforming a act that could easily be meaningless but "right time right place" and it becomes a part of Americas national identity. the posters put up, the trolls that have been done, the ideas come up with all have high potential, we need to "find recognize and manipulate" those keystone points  and  we can make bigger things happen.    

continued - large groups or name brand recognition aren't necessary to make things happen. a small hand full of people is plenty. to borrow from comedy and real estate its timing and location. How do we learn to recognize those points where a handful of posters, a successful troll, a act of civil disobedience will have the necessary  leverage to make large movements happen??

this is kind of a non-answer,
but your question is the core of The Art of Memetics

it talks about the process by which small events have large effects
both in culture
and inside your head

good read, especially for anyone that's interested in broadcasting with Eris

[fomenter]

more of a question than an answer for sure, I have never had the right idea at the right time and don't know i would recognize the right/time place if i saw it.

i would spend time training myself to be able to do this (the art of memetics is on my read list already) and sharing insights into how this is done and honing each others ideas and skills in this area is a win idea to me

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Well, I'm gonna be a bad Discordian for just a minute and look to the past.

The most successful Discordian promotional material up to this point, seems to utilize traditional channels. The same seems true of the SubGenuis impact. Illuminatus Trilogy, Principia Discordia, BoSG, etc are all traditional forms of media that used traditional media outlets. Bob promoted via the lecture circuit and books. Stang promotes via radio, book and lecture. Even our erstwhile bastion of Erisian Delights, pd.com is a now traditional media outlet.

GASMS, Pranks etc seem extremely useful as tools to mindfuck sombunal individuals... but I can't recall a good example of mindfuckery creating a lasting impression upon a mass audience. I mean, even with the Big Pranksters (Yes Men, Joey Skaggs etc), how much of a name have they made outside a small subculture?

I don't know that Mass Discordia is a good idea... I'm not even sure that I agree with Vex's view of what Discordianism is... I'm still thinking about it. However, I do think that counting on Memetics, Mindfucks, Pranks and GASMS might be self-defeating. Those tools might land a big win, but based on where we are and what's worked in the past, maybe those are long shots and we'd be better off focusing the majority of our energy on traditional tools with a smaller percentage of that energy invested in long shots with big payoffs.

If we produced something that could be published in a traditional sense, I'd guess that New Falcon, Deep Leaf or one of the other pro-RAW places just might help publish and promote it. If we rely on PDF's and the Internet, maybe it would work... or maybe it will get lost in all the other noise.I don't know, but it seems like something worth mentioning, IMO.

In Corporate Speak... R&D should be somewhere under 50% of the budget

I'll post a rebuttal to this shortly...

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I have to say that I am most interested in expanding on basic Discordian mythology and making it accessible and familiar to children. I'm working on a Discordian ABC, and I also want to make up some Discordian nursery rhymes, as well as short Discordian parables, especially holyday-related ones.

I love this idea, Nigel.


AND, I love your new avatar too.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

i fully agree with that sentiment, Cram.

the First thing we need to do is breach the Mass Media barrier somehow. whether that's with outright discordianism or not isn't all that important, so long as there is an opportunity made.

For example, a mailing campaign where 150 people send mini-DVDs to TV stations across the country, simultaneously, and the content of the disc is a short video that says "IMAGINE THIS WAS A BOMB" or something.

That would probably get picked up, and just the content of the disc could be enough of a MF without any commentary or interviews afterward.

This is actually quite spectacular and lovely.

I hope the people doing the mailing would take EXTREME caution in making the DVD and envelope completely untraceable.