dear scooter and all the rest of the NNBMers,
i sent this NNBM letter off to eric and lisamarie a few minutes ago:
lisamarie and eric-
The evolution of human civilization has stalled. It's broken and we’re devolving back into the dark ages. We need to restart our evolution.
A political solution is not viable in reaching the revolutionary goal of living in harmony with nature and with people of all nations. There are too many lies, misunderstandings and bad karma built up for us to unravel and correct them with any form of politics. Politics is a tool for human motivation based on emotion controlled by words and logic... too ambiguous and faulty for success.
Religion has the same problem. Bad tools... words and
logic, lies and errors, misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
War and violence won't work either. There's always a more lethal
weapon waiting to be built and used. Threats of pain and death are notoriously ineffective long-term motivators.
Music and dance are emotional tools of human motivation that bypass words and logic and their inherent shortcomings of ambiguity and misunderstanding.
This is why I'm jumping on the bandwagon with "The Children of the Revolution". If the music fails to restart our evolution, at least we'll go out on a beautiful note... singing and dancing as brothers and sisters all the way to hell. ;-)
COTR has asked anyone and everyone for help in carrying out their dream of a global musical revolution of unity and peace.
Here are my ideas, garnered from pursuing this goal for fifty-six years and six months through three careers; aviation, communications, and media... and countless hours spent on the web during the week plus lots of drinkin' and thinkin' with the universe on my sailboat on the weekends.
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First, the revolution needs to be defined. This is usually done with a manifesto. It seems to be stated already.
(excerpt from COTR e-mail): ********************
"Together we can create a movement, one that carries our message of unity and peace through music, the equality of all humans, regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual preference, and the appreciation of all cultures by creating music and shows without boundaries or limitations."
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It could use some grammatical tweaking but...
The simplicity of this manifesto is an important factor. It leaves room for individuals to act upon it in whatever way their imagination takes them and it presents very little for people to argue about or become divided over.
By rejecting the "traditional" recording artist business platform and electing to self promote via friends, fans and the internet, COTR is "opting in" on the new "network business model".
For this model to have the biggest chance of success it's important to have a strong understanding of the economic principles of a network business model. They are very different from the traditional economic rules of a mainstream capitalist corporation or a traditional small business. Only after these principles are fully understood and accepted as a blueprint or roadmap, can the right decisions be made and right actions be undertaken to proceed.
Kevin Kelly, executive editor of "Wired" magazine has written a book, "New Rules for the New Economy" based on a series of articles published in the magazine. I recommend that anyone involved in the decision making portion of COTR's management read this book first.
amazon.com
One of the articles (Titled the same as the book) gives a condensed description of the twelve principles of the network business model. You can read the article online HERE:
wired.com
Below is an outline of the twelve principles taken from the magazine article: (look at this now, but READ THE ARTICLE ASAP!)
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New Network Business Model Outline:
The Twelve Principles:
1 The Law of Connection
Embrace dumb power - IT'S THE NETWORK STUPID!!
2 The Law of Plentitude
More gives more - CONNECT ALL TO ALL
3 The Law of Exponential Value
Success is nonlinear - WHEN CRITICAL MASS IS REACHED THERE IS A QUANTUM LEAP IN CONNECTIVITY
4 The Law of Tipping Points
Significance precedes momentum - THE TIPPING POINT IN NETWORKS IS LOWER THAN IT WAS IN THE INDUSTRIAL ERA
5 The Law of Increasing Returns
Make virtuous circles - THEM THAT'S GOT SHALL GET
Engage as many participants as broadly as possible,
in order to create a virtuous loop where every member's
success is shared and leveraged by all.
6 The Law of Inverse Pricing
Anticipate the cheap - In the Network Economy, you can count on
the best getting cheaper; as it does, it opens a space around it for something new that is dear.
7 The Law of Generosity
Follow the free - THE MOST VALUABLE THINGS OF ALL SHOULD
BE THOSE THAT ARE GIVEN AWAY
8 The Law of the Allegiance
Feed the web first - MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF THE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE
9 The Law of Devolution
Let go at the top - In the Network Economy, the ability to relinquish
a product or occupation or industry at its peak will be priceless.
LEARN TO REINVENT CONSTANTLY
10 The Law of Displacement
The net wins - All transactions and objects will tend to obey network logic.
11 The Law of Churn
Seek sustainable disequilibrium - The sustained vitality of a complex
network requires that the net keep provoking itself out of balance. If
the system settles into harmony and equilibrium, it will eventually stagnate and die.
LOOK AT APPLE COMPUTER, CAN YOU SAY IPOD?
12 The Law of Inefficiencies
Don't solve problems - doing the exactly right next thing is far more "productive" than doing the same thing better.
DON'T SOLVE PROBLEMS, SEEK OPPORTUNITIES
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A lot of this deals with bits and bytes of information and you'll need to be creative to figure out how your business (which deals more with "expression" through notes, chords, percussion and dance) fits in to this model. BUT believe me, it DOES fit. Performers have long been working with a "network" of fans and their business model has always strayed from the standard economic rules of business because of their mass audience. That's why they bring in so much money.
The Grateful Dead and Jimmy Buffet have been very successful for years managing themselves outside the box of traditional record company control. BUT you DO need a business management team of professionals to guide the financial aspects of your career. It's also going to be very important to have top notch professional help in structuring the web tools you'll be using in this network business model.
One factor that the Dead and Jimmy have in common is that they're not selling a "persona" they're marketing an "abstract feeling", a "lifestyle", a "joy", a "freedom". They "dance their song" with full integrity and commitment to those ideals and in so doing, they are representative leaders of those ideals for millions.
COTR is the perfect group to be the representative leaders of our "revolution" of love, universal brotherhood, international understanding and freedom of expression. Being in the audience as a participant promotes an empowering feeling - it makes you feel that you are facilitating the "revolution".
Being a part of the network of management for COTR will be equally fulfilling for the "revolutionaries" (COTR's equivalent of the dead heads and parrot heads)... perhaps "revolutionaries" is not the right term for participants but "fans" is too condescending a term to use, it means fanatical and conjures up mental images of brainless dolts and sheep who blindly follow.
I think that one of the keys to the success of the Dead and Jimmy Buffet is that they both keep a party attitude alive and try not to get too serious about saving the world. Participants become part of a community feeling and a brotherhood without having to be against something or having to gang up on a common enemy... they participate with joy because they have a common LOVE and they don't get sanctimonious about it.
The Beatles carried this torch just before they broke up. No one has successfully picked that torch up since. It's there for the taking and people are aching for someone to carry it. COTR is the right group at the right time to do it... but if they don't, someone else will.
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Back to building the network...
Another important book for COTR management staffers to read ASAP is Joe Trippi's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything". Joe Trippi was the manager of Howard Dean's Presidential Campaign throughout 2003. He was widely acclaimed for the innovative use of the internet, especially for fundraising. In particular, he was largely responsible for the creation of an official campaign blog, and the use of Meetup.com and other social networking technologies to connect supporters, both innovations widely utilized today by other social and political campaigns.
Trippi's book is available HERE:
amazon.com
(Interesting sidenote: I saw a blogger/friend/revolutionary on COTR's myspace using the phrase "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"... what does this tell you? - READ THE BOOK!)
myspace.com is using an even more advanced set of web tools than the Dean campaign was. They're an example of the second generation of the World Wide Web applications (web 2.0). I see you've set up on myspace:
myspace.com
It looks to be much more advanced than your website:
cotrmusic.com
Myspace has a lot more interactive tools and ways for the users to become involved and empowered. It's a bit more complicated to use and users DO have to sign up with myspace... I'd suggest that you REDESIGN AND REDEVELOP the main COTR website USING WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGY. It should look and work like the myspace site.
The Democratic Party has just rolled out a new (web 2.0) tool that's a lot like myspace but it's more tailored to political networking. It's really worth having your web people take a look at it to see if you want to custom make something similar that will fit the music, dance, art, revolution model better than myspace. Law number 9 (The Law of Devolution) means that you have to reinvent constantly. "partybuilder" has functions and tools that are geared toward networked fundraising that could also work for COTR. All concerts, digital music and video downloads could be free if funding comes in a different way than through CD and concert "sales". Here's a link to the Democrats' "partybuilder" webtool:
democrats.org
This is state of the art in networking! Spend an hour on that site and it'll teach you more about which way you need to go in building your network than I ever could.
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A personal suggestion that feels good to me has to do with performances, rallies and fundraising. As a participant, I can feel a little guilty when I splurge on something hedonist like a concert or album or travel or party expenses. If there is a worldly cause that benefits from some of my expenditure it's much easier to spend the money.
The benefit at the triple door for Care to Help was expensive for me to attend. Travel, lodging, food, beverages, donation to CTH, etc…. It was a pleasure to bear all of those expenses because there was benefit going to others besides just me. It might be a worthwhile goal for COTR to align with a worldly cause at every possible opportunity and share some of the benefits. It would be an additional empowerment and opportunity for "revolutionaries" to reach deep into their pockets and attend multiple performances. (Give it a thought.)
Here's a thought about a fundraising model... say that the net "revolutionaries" identify a cause or organization to help fund... like Care to Help. Then, on your web 2.0 site through blogging and other network means, they set a financial goal (a goal that would help the charity cause, and pay COTR handsomely for all expenses and venue costs, travel, etc. plus substantial personal monies just for the work and talent and energy they bring)... Then when the goal is reached... Waaa Laaa!!... THE REVOLUTION COMES TO TOWN!! Anyway... it's an interesting way to think outside the box.
As a final thought let me say that the network of the World Wide Web is just like the web of life in the universe - everything is interconnected and interdependent. If there's only one key thought you can remember about any of the advice above, the most important is, FEED THE WEB FIRST... MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF THE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE. Make a sign in bold letters and put it up on your wall...
IT'S THE NETWORK STUPID!!
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After you've read and understand the twelve principals of the network economy, read this article published TODAY (9-8-2006) and see how many people are putting these principles to work and becoming wildly successful:
Business 2.0: Blogging for Dollars
Friday September 8, 12:37 pm ET
By Paul Sloan and Paul Kaihla, Business 2.0 Magazine
biz.yahoo.com
It'll make your imagination run wild with ideas about building your NETWORK for the revolution! You'll have visions about having ads on your website for record companies (what a switch eh?), for other musical groups, for IPODS, for cell phone companies, for anything music related or revolution related.
You really DO need to redevelop your main website using web 2.0 technology... your main BLOGGING needs to take place there... it should be the HUB of your network.
So many ideas and possibilities keep popping into my head as I work on this letter that I can't find a place to end it and send it off to you. This writing should be taking place on your blog instead of in this private email. This should be public and the "revolutionaries" should be adding to it with their own stuff perpetually and continuously.
Get it?
Get yourselves a web 2.0 staff and FEED THE WEB!! You can find volunteers who will help you start this for FREE... the money and the spiritual benefits for them will follow later.
-dusty
albuquerque, nm |
