Here’s an idea: a multi-author libertarian anarchist blog, well-designed and -marketed, that stands out (just short of attention-whoring) and addresses a mainstream audience. The concept is one of many short, highly-opinionated posts from a wide range of authors, sound-bite-ish but very striking-the-root-ish and always well-reasoned and factually-founded. Who’s in?
Erode Support for the State
My goal is to get the message of liberty to a wider audience, to split the statist crowd and erode their support for the state (see the Free Me Project’s principle number one). Instead of divide and conquer, I would call it unite for liberty and unconquer them from the government. But I also want to make money. So this can be an experiment in agorism and worker-owned business, if that’s what the self-selected participants want.
Generate Evolution
My strategy is to offer something new, thought-provoking, challenging and exciting. That’s inevitably what happens when you comment on current events from an anarchist perspective, right? The idea is to generate interest and discussion from statists that leads to evolutions in their thinking. They don’t have to become dyed-in-the-wool voluntaryists. All we need is to neutralize them as aggressors (and give them the tools for self-empowerment).
Thoughts on Format
I’d like to see five to ten short linked multimedia posts per day from multiple authors. The posting cycle must be kept short. You see something that needs the anarchist perspective, you post it and your concise but clear commentary. If we’re not sure whether any given post is “right” for the blog, we run it anyway and find out! The C4SS website has excellent content in this area but is more intellectual (and long) than a mainstream audience is ready for.
Needed: Good People
Who do we need to get this done? Who is missing from the below list?
- IT person to handle the technical/production side.
- Editor to source and manage the content.
- Writers to produce the content.
- Marketer to build mindshare for the effort.
No Money, No Point
How will this make money? That’s a critical question because if it won’t make money, it’s pointless and should not be done. People have little inkling of what’s to come and need things like silver, gold, training in farming, books and other media. They’ll need preparedness supplies and advice. They’ll want T-shirts, firearms training and natural, sustainable solutions to the problems coming down the pike. They’ll need knowledge, information and tools. We can provide this. We talk about this stuff all day long on facebook and twitter.
Your Input
I think the challenge is to reach a mainstream audience, to balance left and right enough to not allow either to write us off and to frustrate enough to keep ‘em both coming back for more. Please keep in mind that these are just my initial thoughts and I’m open to others. I appreciate any thoughts you’re willing to share.
Photo credit: Yodel Anecdotal. Photo license.
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{ 16 comments }
I think this idea sounds great. Let me know if there is anyway I can participate or assist.
To start with, you can obviously write. I look forward to working with you.
Great idea! I’m just a computer geek and can only write in computer languages, not so good in English. Let me know how I can help.
I’m interested in this project.
It’s a great idea, George. I like it. I look forward to seeing how it develops. If done right, I’m sure it can be successful. The time is right to mainstream libertarian/anarchist ideas.
Good luck!
Sounds like it could be something that works well. I totally want to contribute as a writer.
In the evloution of liberty, education is always first and fore most important.
Great Idea – soon you’ll need a conceal and carry permit for liberty!
It is a dangerous weapon or is that reason?
No, reason is the universal acid of the state. ;=)……
I’m thrilled to see so many expressions of interest and from people who are mostly new to me! Cool.
I’d like to hear some ideas on how we’ll break into the mainstream with this. How will we get it the attention it deserves?
I’m very interested in this idea. As I think you know, I’ve been writing a newspaper column trying to push voluntaryist thought and ideas into local politics. Would love to see more of that happening.
I’m interested as well, for the rather obvious reason that I’ve been writing anarchist polemics for quite a while already. (Aat least that’s what I think I’ve been doing!) If I could contribute to something genuinely new and “fresh” I’d be interested.
George – I think you are asking how should this site to start thinking instead of just regurgitating what they’ve heard in the mainstream media. That is a huge Goliath to fight. One way might be to gain advertising space on the websites of the mainstream media (Fox, CNN, MSNBC, etc.). I don’t know how or if this could be accomplished and would probably be short-lived once they found out what was really being said on the site (the truth), but you might be able to get some followers from that perspective.
You may republish articles from my blog, if you want. I probably wouldn’t write articles specifically for you unless you also let me publish them on my own blog. It’d probably be worth it for a link back to my blog, if you have sufficient audience.
“How to make money off it” seems hard. I’m lucky to make $6/month from ads, and I have 200+ regular readers. Without a mainstream media program promoting your site, you’re going to have a hard time attracting an audience.
In order to really profit, you’d have to expand to actual agorist businesses, rather than just writing about freedom. You already expressed hostility to this idea, but writing “AgoristBay” software might be helpful to working agorists.
I thought that the C4SS website was doing it wrong, because it’s funded by donations. You’re only going to make $0.50-$1 eCPM with ads. You’re going to have to do other things if you want a really good site.
So if you want to do something different, it sounds to me like it might be worth considering coming to it from more of an entertainment angle. Perhaps including plenty of humor. Make fun of the emperor and his lack of clothing. If you’re right about the ‘too intellectual and too long’ aspect, then that means the masses want to be entertained, they don’t care to, or maybe don’t have the time to, sit and read lengthy intellectual stuff, (they might once they get interested though) so can we entertain while we educate? I think so.
I’d love to help also!
I have spare hosting capacity in a couple of places which could be employed for this, as well as blog-running knowledges
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