this was the RPI business plan

My background in consumer research and advertising has taught me how commercial enterprises propagate their ideas. More importantly, I’ve learned language and methodologies that allow me to analyze and model communication objectives and measure the efficacy of their tactics. I would like to apply this experience to an understanding of best-practices for counter-commercial ideas.

I’m fascinated by the survival tactics of counter commercial ideas.

How does a challenging idea make it through a gatekeeper? What are the common conditions for an increased incidence of challenging ideas to pass through gatekeepers? How does an idea gain support and broad consideration?

I’m curious to what extent historical analyses retain relevance with personal publishing and the Internet.

Personal publishing is accelerating specialized communications. A study of brand subversion will require the creation of a taxonomy differentiating personally published Brand Parodies from old-school phrases like Brand Vandalizing and Billboard Appropriation.

The Internet has facilitated communities and instantaneous communications, diminishing a perceived need for physical gathering spaces to forward ideas. However, relying on the Internet as the primary dissemination for counter-cultural ideas may exclude a broader audience and hinder the objectives of social activists.

Professionally, I hope to further this investigation and articulate my findings in usable ways. Counter-commercial mass media is often heavy on criticism and light on actionable ideas that are expected to have substantive or sustainable results. In business, case studies of best practices are commonplace and easily accessible to the masses. Social activism and business are quickly becoming allies on many ecological issues and these are beginning to become well documented. There are fewer case studies on transformative social activism and its messaging, and even fewer that are easily found or readable by a lay audience.