Countering an ideavirus

[duncan drennan]

Seth Godin is speaking about America's current war, but he raises some points which are universally true. When we want to counter bad idea viruses, we have to spread a more powerful message.

The best way to counter an ideavirus, any ideavirus, is not by challenging the medium in which it spreads. It didn't stop pirate radio or salacious TV shows or online porn. What has always worked the best is countering one ideavirus with another one. To use the same medium to spread a different, better, more powerful ideavirus. You don't counter racism by making the act of uttering racist statements against the law. You do it by spreading an idea (racism is hateful, wrong and stupid) that keeps the racist from expressing his ideas because all his friends will shun him if he does.

If you want moderate ideas to spread in a community, promote the people who are spreading those ideas. Make them heroes. Amplify their message and help it spread.

Read the full blog post

This can apply to just about any message, from reducing racism, through to reducing our impact on the environment. The important thing to note though is this: do we realise which message we're helping to spread?

[Dave A]

The difficulty is that middle-of-the-road does not amplify well at all. It does get silent support in numbers, but it's the radical positions that make noise - and accordingly seem more substantial than they really are.

[duncan drennan]

The difficulty is that middle-of-the-road does not amplify well at all.

The cool thing available to us now is the Internet. Everyone has a media platform to broadcast from (other than their own mouth to their friends). Small heroes having their stories powerfully told by other small heroes via powerful medium. It may have taken two years, but look at how Stormhoek has spread the simple message that wine is fun, and now supply large quantities to UK's Tesco.

Even here on The Forum SA, the middle-of-the-road is being amplified. We're more than a year down the line, but the message is spreading.

[RKS Computer Solutions]

The other side of this is:

Behold the power of the Internet. While you were once a moron to a few, you are now a moron to thousands.

Taken from craigbru in his forum signature in the Project L.O.S.I.A.S. thread...