I received this communication from the ever-innovative alternate reality gamer Jane McGonigal:
“This weekend, I launched a small experiment in using Flickr for grassroots activism, which I thought might be of interest‚Äö√Ѭ∂
My thinking is that activism, to be successful, needs to be visible—so I am using a visually-oriented networking medium to guide folks to create visually interesting moments of protest. Of course, I like that the protest moments have a temporary life and site-specficic impact in the real-world, as well as more enduring life and broader circulation online.
Also, I’m using a viral rule set/script, because I believe gamelike performance missions with instructions that can be snipped and passed around are an incredibly effective mobilizing tools. A clear goal, clear methods for proceeding, a certain “success” condition that can be measured objectively.
Anyway, the project is called The Ministry of Reshelving:”
How to Serve the Ministry of Reshelving – dedicated to the proper classification of fiction and nonfiction texts
1. Select a local bookstore to carry out your reshelving activities.
2. Download and print “This book has been relocated by the Ministry of Reshelving” bookmarks and “All copies of 1984 have been relocated” notecards to take with you to the bookstore. Or make your own. We recommend bringing a notecard and 5-10 bookmarks to each store.
3. Go to the bookstore and locate its copies of George Orwell’s 1984. Unless the Ministry of Reshelving has already visited this bookstore, it is probably currently incorrectly classified as “Fiction” or “Literature.”
4. Discreetly move all copies of 1984 to a more suitable section, such as “Current Events”, “Politics”, “History”, “True Crime”, or “New Non-Fiction.”
5. Insert a Ministry of Reshelving bookmark into each copy of any book you have moved. Leave a notecard in the empty space the books once occupied.
6. If you spot other incorrectly classified books, feel free to relocate them.
7. Please report all reshelving efforts to the Ministry. Email your store name, location, # of 1984 copies reshelved, and any other reshelving activities conducted, to reshelving @ avantgame.com. Photos of your mission can be uploaded to Flickr, tagged as “reshelving”, and submitted to the Ministry of Reshelving group.
Our goal is to relocate one thousand nine hundred and eighty-four copies, and to complete successful reshelving of 1984 in all 50 United States. Global contributions are welcome.
Note: this project is not a critique of bookstore culture, the state of the shelving industry, or even of pervasive government surveillance. It is merely an observation that 2 + 2 = 5, and 5 is no longer fiction.
Comments
@ 15:01
There are lots of projects like this in the artworld now…one I like is, Mejor Vida Corp’s work:
http://www.irational.org/mvc/english.html
Select “Services,” then “security service” then click on “Barcode stickers.” They are downloadable and can be used for discounts in Mexico and the US. From the site: “Our representative has pasted the MVC cheaper barcode stickers over the original labels at several supermarkets.”
@ 09:53
A few months ago I blogged suggesting that activists and non-profit organisations could use services like flickr, myspace, de.lic.ious etc to build interest in their campaigns. Since then, several charities have contacted me to say they’re now doing exactly that - using tags to encourage non-activists to look at content, learn a bit more, and hopefully become become mobilised. The idea of creating a game takes this idea a step further and, although it’s very interesting, I worry that it won’t be long before corporations catch on (music companies already do this on myspace).
My post on photo-sharing for activists: http://www.cybersoc.com/cybersoc/2005/04/blogging_and_ph.html