macropatronage_day_2

A rather uneventful day. Went into london town with the hope of checking out three different locations. The first was the french institute, suggested by sofia 10 mins before I hit the streets.

Got there, talked to a woman with a clipboard awaiting people for some film or other. Found out that she was an intern, and needed experience to become a film distributor. She recommended the same old, same old: fire off an email. It's funny. It's like people think this is news. This is the way it is, and there's nothing that can be done about it. I told her that part of the problem is that there is too much time and effort wasted with all this communication, instead of people stepping up to the plate and making a decision. I thought about it a bit, gave her time to think about it, and asked her if she had come up with something. She hadn't, but seems like a respectful thing to do.

She appreciated my position, that I am trying to alter the actual system in my manner of engagement, and that the potential for change is nearly zero. It very much depends on peeps becoming aware of the opportunity. The second place I visited was a marketing company, and all the peeps had just disappeared into a meeting. Bang goes opportunity for a genuine meeting. Because people are so numbed by their constant engagement, they forget how valuable it is.

Couldn't find the third place, chivas and sons, who might be related to absolut who michel bauwens has interest in. Popped into a building noticed nearby, Random House. The security guard explained that 12 years ago they had set up the electronic gates, the barbed wire fences to prevent engagement with the public. He apologised, but said I needed to make an appointment. Nice guy. Square. But it was so much like aristocracy behind castle walls, I was amazed. It's a publishing house, not a military factory.

I certainly wasn't disheartened. I was simply being told what I knew, what everyone knows. People are busy, put it in writing. And if I do, I am going nowhere. My words are not the accepted lingo, and the ideas don't conform either. In fact, most of my stuff means a restructuring of how people do work, think etc. Culture change is something which is the hardest thing to effect. It's fun trying. I hope to get better at playing with people.

Do I have an alternative? Actually, I do. Appeal to the person. Invite them to come up with the solution. I have already accepted failure. If anything does happen, they know it is their success. Powerful stuff, if you catch the vibe. The dispossessed and exploited in the world don't have access, and instead of :formal" assistance, we need to act with moral courage. My solutions are all deceptively simple. Play tron. Do experiential nights. Invest in people, eg actuators, eg social artists.

If we calculated all the time and the money used up preparing and evaluating ideas/actions before reaching decisions, how much would it amount to? I suspect, the bigger the company, the longer it takes. This also goes for funding bodies and recipients. We need to make this way more efficient, and that's by appealing directly to people, empowering them, and effecting trust relationships.

How do famous, powerful, or important peeps solve their problem of popularity? Eg someone with 100k tweet followers; there's no way they can follow them. How can they still be of use?

It's all about trust. I got bags of it. And I am old enough to do this without it worrying me. It's amusing, actually :)

notes on methodology

Spoke to Leo at the hive, who is an entrepreneur who has learned about the state of the business world through bitter experience. Seem to be a lot of people who have these kinds of stories. It's dirty. My guess is, my ideas will be ripped off. Quite frankly, I don't care, since all my ideas will improve the state of the world. Doesn't matter if I get recognition. Unless the small ideas are used without recognition, and the person/s ripping me off don't rip off the other ones too :)

So, how is the methodology shaping up? Came up with the idea of how to get into the MD's office. How about approaching people in the street, suits, and offer them an opportunity. We then walk into the offices. They lend me some respectability, and if we get into the offices for the pitch, they are third party, which is related to smart contracts, and also is proof so that the idea can't be ripped off easily.

Further, because it may be tricky for a suit to listen to me, I can approach anyone even in brixton, or at tango, and see if they are free. The qualities required are thus:

• open-minded
• can make some time
• aware of social media
• funky, interesting, beautiful is optional :)

If I can get a group together, and we get a suit or two, the meeting really is an opportunity since that group will disband. And the dialogue is no longer bi-polar, the power dynamics not so obvious, since the centre of gravity of power is lessened from MD in his office by the two, or potentially more people, in the office.

Would be amazing if this happened too, wouldn't it?

Earlier, found one school and of course didn't get into see the head... too busy :) Would be nnice if I had a device that allows me to see who is local so i can ngo into visit opportunistically: schools, businesses, creative hubs eg future institute. I cann then just wander about. Iphone and googlemaps is probably the best way to go. Hopefully, I will be set up next time I come to london.

being of service to agents

An email exchange in three parts, perhaps with a closing forth to come.

1
hello
peter

i quit my job last year
and have been writing up ideas that i have been collecting for years
in fact
i have produced something in the order of 19 books/booklets
none of which have been sent to publishers or agents
ranging from the link between buddhism and maths
to educational experience
to science fiction stories

rather than overwhelm myself with the arduous task for submitting them all
may i ask a favour of considering a meeting?

thanks for taking the time to read this

be well
david

2
Thank you for your message, but I'm afraid we can't help you as we're not taking on new clients at present. Good luck anyway.

Peter Buckman
The Ampersand Agency Ltd

3
thank you
peter

for getting back to me

i guess the system is designed in such a way
that my approach assumes an agent-client relationship

with the deepest of respect
may i question this assumption

this is what i do with kids
and i am attempting to do with adults
though i am finding that the adult world is more brittle

i realise you are a busy person...
what can i do that might make it worth your while...?

here is my solution
which is new to me now as i write this
and thus depends on how new this is to you and your fresh attention:

the point of a meeting
is not so that you have an idea of my abilities
so that when you are looking for clients
you consider me

my intention shall be
that should i meet other people who i believe are worthwhile
i shall recommend them on to you

because of the way i work
i doubt that i might redirect one person in a whole year towards you
however
i would hope that this would be useful to you

in order to perform this service for you
i need to meet with you
and from our engagement
i shall pick up aspects of your manner and intention and perhaps what you are looking for

that is
the meeting is for me to serve you

thank you again for taking the time to read this

be well
david

ps
even if you do not take me up on this
if i am right about what i am doing
you might be offered this kind of service by others
on a more regular basis
perhaps more substantially in a year or two...

Edit: sure enough:
4
Basically we're not into Buddhism or maths and we don't handle science fiction (as our website makes clear) so I'm afraid there's little point in our meeting. Which may sound harsh but is an attempt to explain that we have to be business-like.

to which i responded with:
5
thanks
peter

i do not take it harshly
for what we are about to experience economically
will indeed be harsh for many of us

i apologise for drawing your attention to the wrong thing

i wish i were better at ascertaining who i should approach and with what

i thank you for your time
and wish you the best

be well
david


So, that's the end of that then. What is interesting to me, from this encounter, is the idea of offering a service to them. Think about it. They are an agency. They are meant to be offering a service to us, and also to the publishers. They are acting like brokers. The economic condition will mean less middle-men. Brokers of all kinds are going to feel the pinch. A way around this is for us to help them. That is, by fractionalising our efforts. If I ever do meet with an agent, I hope I get enough of an idea of who they are and what they want, so that even if they don't want to represent my stuff, I might be able to point a future author in their direction. A similar thing happened with Graham Fink at Saatchi, where I promoted the sparkly character of Sonya to him.

It is interesting to note that a fresh idea is responded to, even if it is clamped down immediately. Peter probably thinks I do this all over the place. I will probably not write that kind of offer again. It was very much a thing of the moment. This gives you an idea of the quality of experience I am attempting. To be genuine and to respond presently to conditions. If other people are not awake enough to receive them, then I am not going to automate myself in order to fit some kind of mechanical, processural system. And so, most probably, I shall meet with failure.

Funnily enough, that's one of the booklets I have produced. Failure. The wisdom in failure. I hope I continue to learn things through this way of approaching things. We shall see.