Introduction and tools

What has made effective propaganda for freedom difficult in the past is access to technology. This is because, in the past, cost has inhibited the effectiveness of freedom propaganda. This ranges from the printing press onward. Access to effective tools of propaganda has in the past always been limited to a very few. Today, however, the situation has changed, and is changing further every day.

{section is about what tools are available now at low cost, how to use them what to do with them. Maybe a hint (inspiration, motivation) here at the beginning of the chapter about why this is important? Or maybe that was in the introduction?}

Though it is true that social media tools are still centrally controlled, things are changing. With revelations about FaceBook and other social networking sites manipulating users, the call is growing louder for a decentralized censorship-resistant Social Network. You will gain an advantage by placing yourself in a position to promote and spread such a network when it does arrive. In the meantime, however, tools like FaceBook, Twitter, Pintrest, etc. already make powerful and effective techniques available.

If you do not have accounts on at least two major social media networks, you cannot advocate for Liberty effectively. Two reasons prove this. First, your voice reaches a limited audience. Second, you cannot help other advocates spread the message by ”liking” and ”sharing” content. The more a message is “liked” and “shared” the more people will see it; the more people who see it, the more it will be “liked” and “shared”. This “virtuous circle” can make a message “go viral.”

Centralization or Decentralization

{From swarmwise: “Working with a swarm requires you to do a lot of things completely opposite from what you learn at an archetypal business school. [...]At the bottom line, what sets a swarm apart from traditional organizations is its blinding speed of operation, its next-to-nothing operating costs, and its large number of very devoted volunteers. Traditional corporations and democratic institutions appear to work at glacial speeds from the inside of a swarm. That’s also why a swarm can change the world: it runs circles around traditional organizations in terms of quality and quantity of work, as well as in resource efficiency”}

It is a well known fact among Liberals that centralized institutions are easily subverted or co-opted. Whenever you have a hierarchy, someone can control the entire organization by capturing a few key positions. Such organizations respond slowly, limited by their structure of communication and control. Decentralized organizations do not share this flaw.

In a decentralized organization, each individual or team coordinate with other individuals and teams. This requires the ability to communicate effectively with each other either directly or indirectly. This may include direct messaging via contact lists (Email, Private Messaging, etc.), or easily recognizable embedded symbols in pictures. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Direct communication allow for clear unified action, but can be intercepted. Embedded symbols can advertise either who the originating organization is, or the philosophy of the message. On the other hand they can be be missed, or hijacked.

This is not to say that decentralized organizations do not have their own set of problems. Whereas centralized organizations are able to create and attempt to enforce a uniform policy, this is not true of decentralized organizations. Instead, the organization is informal and it’s up to the original organizers to provide a general guideline, create a culture, or set an example.

Because the organization is decentralized it also becomes impossible to reform the overarching directive of the organization. This isolates the organization from individuals or groups who seek to promote causes contrary to the guidelines. Clear policy guidelines reduce mission drift, as well as provide the ability for the organization to separate itself from bad actors, and corrupted messages.

Building momentum

Many times organizations attempt too much too fast, or too little too late. The key is to strike a balance. Begin always by offering immediate solutions which are easy to implement. Over time gradually build up to asking for more and more involvement. You do this by involving the participants more and more. Eventually you move from asking people to Like something to hosting meetups.

The goal is not to get all participants to become involved. Instead the objective is to get a small fraction of the participants more deeply involved. By doing so you create a radicalized element which grows exponentially over time. As the populace becomes more radicalized, positive feedback causes a chain reaction and participation goes viral. This is the network effect.

{the swarm offers activities appropriate to each level of commitment, encouraging the participants to climb the ladder of commitment. Get a casual websurfer to look at stuff. Get a looker to share. Get a sharer to come to an event. Get someone at an event to volunteer for some simple fun task. Get a volunteer to commit further, gain skill, take serious responsibility for providing infrastructure.}

In-reach

In the beginning outreach is just as much about in-reach. The goal is not only to reach out to new audience members who might be receptive to  your message. It is also to reach in to those who are part of allied organizations and are promoting the same message. Reaching in may best be thought of as advertising to others that they are not alone. It is a way to affirm to yourself and to others that “you are making a difference, this is happening, our goal matters.” Reaching out is declaring to the world “This is the problem. This is the solution. This is doable. Come join us.”Both outreach and in-reach are not only necessary but vital.

Public vs Secret

The question of how much of what material should be associated publicly with each organization is something which can only be determined by each organizations members. In terms of initial creation of the organization however it is important to have public logos which can be used to attract new members. A reason why organizations may choose to mask their actions is to prevent the message or promotion from becoming about the organization. It is the message which is important and not the organization, any distraction from the message is a distraction from the final goal.

In either case, regardless of whether the organization decides to keep its membership secret and some of its messages unassociated with the actual organization, it is important that the methods and objectives of the organizations be extremely public. The public must always be able to determine whether messages released in the name of the organization are genuine or not. Be assured that this is an Intelligence Operation, and there will be Counter Intelligence Programs (COINTELPRO) designed to discredit our efforts.

For example, if a COINTELPRO agent uses the organization’s logo to promote violence, the public must be able to quickly and easily determine this message as false. It is important that while there is privacy for the individual members, organizations are honest and open about intent and method. Any organization or group which attempts to keep its intent and methods secret will and should be viewed by the public with utmost suspicion.

Measuring growth

How does one measure growth and success in a decentralized organization? The solution is simpler than you might think. One such tool at the disposal of these organizations is promotions of particular movies. For example an organization might decide to measure its actual effect by pushing a Liberty themed movie (ie The Matrix, The Lego Movie, Captain America Winter Soldier). The members would then promote and watch said movie as well as the stats for said movie.

The objective is not to actually measure the total number of members. It is instead to see what kind of effect is had. By comparing the stats of the pro-Liberty movie pre-push and post push one can observe the impact of the movement. In addition the Liberty message is being seen by those who would not normally be receptive to it in other formats. The same can also be done for songs, bands, and other media.

As an added benefit, the spike in popularity of Liberty oriented media will encourage the creation of more Liberty oriented media. This is particularly true in terms of music which is the most widely consumed media. Organizations which promote subversive Liberty oriented music can easily create the careers of unknown musicians. While it may be more difficult to pressure the movie industry at first, it is a simple matter to reform music.

Success however, should not be measured by primary effect. Instead the true measure of success is determined by secondary and tertiary effects. This is to say success is measured by the impact any given organization has on the cultural conversation outside of the organizations membership.

Other tools

Reddit

RetroShare

BitMessage

Bitcoin/NXT/Bitshares/SwarmCorp/MaidSafe

Time4Popcorn.eu

Ubuntu operating system

Tor

Freedom’s Phoenix Funding Center

Tails operating system

Open Garden

ProXPN

MeowBit Free Speech Me