Post on 28-Jan-2018
The
Sustainability
Meme
Presentation at denkstatt by
Balazs Laszlo Karafiath, PhD
Cultural Alchemist
Culture2 Inc. San Francisco, CA
WHY ARE YOU HERE?
My story of awakening:
Declining to work for
The Coca-Cola Corporation
WELCOME TO YOUR JOURNEY
My story of awakening:
Declining to work for
The Coca-Cola Corporation
WELCOME TO YOUR JOURNEY
Welcome to the World
Of
Corporate Capitalism
• Wheel within wheel
• Cog in the machine picture
8
WE MUST FACE OUR SHADOWS
• Fewer than one in five people trust
business or government leaders to tell the
truth when confronted with a difficult issue
- Edelman (2013)
Test
Our startup’s Green Room is a platform
for an ongoing conversation with NGOs,
suppliers and others who want to share
ideas and partner with us in helping
people live better around the world.
Test
The Walmart Green Room is a platform
for an ongoing conversation with NGOs,
suppliers and others who want to share
ideas and partner with us in helping
people live better around the world.
A GREAT BATTLE OF IDEAS
Dr. Joanna Boehnert, Director of EcoLabs
Entrenched interests have been fighting back ...and
winning for a long time!
Robert J. Brulle, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
MASSIVE INVESTMENTS IN STATUS
QUO
Billions spent in dark money networks to confuse and stall
action. This is the map of the web of the PR efforts.
consciousness
culture
splash
surfshape
MEMES GENERATE CULTURE.
THEY CREATE CULTURAL WAVES
MEMES ARE PARTICLES OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
THEY GENERATE THE FLOW OF THOUGHTS & IDEAS.
16
Ideas
Thoughts
Theories
Beliefs
Behaviors
Gossips ViewsTechnologies
Movements
Occupy
TeaParty
Climate 350
Ancient gods
Hermes
Zeus
Apollo
Icons HeroesSherlock Holmes
Pac-Man
Batman
Brands
CULTURE DESIGN
20
„Freedom
torches”
“The
Business
of Doubt”
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN
I LOVE GATORADE –PLEASE DON’T POISON ME
• They are not influenced by ads.
• They are influenced by their friends and bloggers on social media.
• Authenticity is more important for them than content.
• They are loyal to Brands.
• They want to help and they want to make a difference.
• They want to know the story!
HERE COMES GEN-Y
THE SUCCESS OF A BUSINESS SHOULD
BE MEASURED IN TERMS OF MORE THAN
JUST ITS FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
87%
NEVER WITHOUT MY MOBILE
89%
POSTS IN SOCIAL MEDIA DAILY
76%
THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY ON
EXPERIENCES, NOT THINGS*
78%
*EXCLUDING THEIR MOBILE OF COURSE
ACTIVE YOUTUBE USER
80%
NUMBER OF HOURS PER DAY
THEY SPEND GENERATING UGC
5
THE BRAND IS NOT WHAT THE
COMPANY SAY ABOUT IT
IT IS WHAT THE
GEN-Y SAY ABOUT
IT
They are cultural designers.
They are into spreading
memes. One billion of them.
And they create their own world by creating their own culture.
They can change what is possible.
1,000,000,000
• People have no direct
experience with climate
change.
• Despite the draughts and
tornadoes climate change
is not an object they can
touch to confirm that it is
real.
• And so it only lives in the
minds of people as a meme
– a very threatening meme!
INTRODUCING: THE CLIMATEMEME
If you think the economy is more important than the environment, try holding your breath while counting your money.
Friends don’t let friends date climate change deniers…
“I’m definitely going to change this year.” -- Climate
Happy to agree that climate change exists. Not sure if reality exists though.
WE COLLECTED 5000+ MEMES FROM TWITTER AND HARVESTED DURING
MEMEHUNTER HACKATHONS IN SAN FRANCISCO AND SEATTLE.
Global warming = the result of the sun trying to give the earth a hug.
Global warming is increasing UM NO!!!! We cannot control the weather
The most effective green house gas is not carbon dioxide, but water vapor. The trend of co2 in the atmosphere is following the rise in temperature, not the other way around.If climate scientists find any evidence of
global warming then their funding throughout eternity will be assured.
It would be great if assault rifles could shoot climate change…
The Doha climate conference made more hot air than global warming
Remember when a Tornado was just a Tornado and not a commercial for global warming?
One of the main weapons of the power elite is climate change. People are supposed to be panicked…
If we all just got real, as a culture, then we would fix it…
Don’t believe in climate change, rap fans? Tell that to Vanilla Slush, Water Cube, and LL Warm J. Adjust your
spine, adjust your attitude.
• Some people have been
“infected” with ClimateMemes.
• Their minds then tried to fight it
off by either actively denying the
meme’s existence – or striving
to rid the world of it
• Both of these groups represent
a small percentage of the larger
society.
• The majority of society have not
been infected.
CLIMATEMEMES ARE A SMALL
MINORITY
CLIMATEMEMES ARE NOT SPREADING
They only create anxiety.
• Are we out of harmony
with nature?
• Is it going to kill off
everyone we ever
loved?
• Does this mean there’s
something wrong with
us?
• Do we have the
power of gods to shape
the planet in such
profound ways?
• Five dimensions were found that explain 63% of the
variance among the memes.
• These are the drivers of the perception of climate
change:
FIVE DIMENSIONS OF CLIMATEMEME
17%
15%12%
11%
8%
HarmonyDisharmony — Harmony
SurvivalExtinction — Survival
CooperationDisintegration — Unity
MomentumStall — Advance
ElitismPopulist — Vanguard
CHALLENGES TO CORE
BELIEFS
ARCHETYPES: FOUNDATIONS OF MEMES
archetypes
memes
quotes
thoughts
CLIMATEMEMES ARCHETYPE REACH
CLIMATEMEMES ARCHETYPE REACH
archetypes reached & activated: hero, outlaw, warrior, activist, explorer, adventurer, pioneer
CLIMATEMEMES ARCHETYPE REACH
archetypes not
reached/activated:
innocents,
everyman,
citizen…
SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN FRAMED!
Was viewed as environmental issue, should
be core business strategy
Understood as technical problem, but
should be cultural norms
SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN FRAMED!
Was thought of as green products, but
should be new industries
SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN FRAMED!
Misconceived as outside of economy, but
should be foundation for economy
SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN FRAMED!
Considered to be a market segment, but
should be full-blown brand identity
SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN FRAMED!
So What’s Next?
AND YET -- REAL PROGRESS!
Transcends “green”
framing… goes into health,
family, the future instead.
TIPPING POINTS IN
CULTURE
To see meme spreading, we look at
dynamic patterns of evolution,
selection, emergence:
NOW WE NEED TO LOOK CLOSER...
...SEE EMERGING PATTERNS.
LOOK FOR THE
DIFFERENCE
• A good meme is one that spreads.
• A good meme is always about change.
• Change wants attention.
That was then and this is now.
• A good story is always about change
culture design is
gardening
memes spread
in networks
The Big Brain
full of mirror neurons
memes spread with imitation
95% of consumer behavior is imitation
Success = culture change.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Balazs Laszlo Karafiath, PhD
DrKarafiath@gmail.com