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Creating mass awareness

Since the market system is firmly embedded in our culture and daily habits, it can take some considerable effort just to alert people to the possibility that there may be alternative ways to conduct society.

While most well-meaning people may express horror at various forms of social injustice, by and large people tend to lay-off these problems onto other agencies like governments or charities. (The unfortunately ubiquitous notion that 'someone should do something about that')

It's not a stretch to say that consumer culture is not just about consuming excessive commodities, but also about outsourcing social problems and even our thinking to external agencies. So, while most people are engrossed in their daily grind and genuinely don't feel responsible for external problems, it's safe to say that this makes the job of igniting new possibilities in them that can help everyone attain a higher standard of living often fall on deaf ears.

But being social creatures has its advantages and we can use the very same methods that corporate media use to promote their products to share information about the new way of doing things. This means we have to find ways of sharing our message through engaging and exciting ways.

Dissemmination methods

Limits of awareness

It ought to be considered that, while awareness is vitally necessary, it is not an end in itself, and without substance to the promoted ideas, can actually be detrimental.

Imagine, for example, that you saw some amazing product advertised then went and bought one only to find it was nothing like what's advertised, you would be angry and would likely talk badly about it among your friends - as would all the other people who were also fooled into buying the same product.

The point is that advertising without substance is, at best, a wasted effort, at worst detrimental to the campaign. Raising awareness of an open access economy therefore needs to be used as a single strand in a multi-faceted campaign. When you have people's attention, show them prototypes, show them ways to engage with or understand the ideas more fully. Give them an actionable purpose.


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