Just found this MIT Think Tank on Culture, which does exactly what we do, only we do it for causes. (Strange too that they refer to themselves as C3!) Here is a bit about their work, and how they define terms:


Transmedia Entertainment describes the newfound flow of stories, images, characters, information, and sounds across various media channels, in a coordinated fashion, which facilitates a deepening expansion of the consumer's experience.


Participatory Culture describes the way consumers interact with media content, media producers, and each other as they explore the resources available to them in the expanded media landscape. Consumers become active participants in shaping the creation, circulation, and interpretation of media content. Such experiences deepen the consumer's emotional investment in the media property, and expands their awareness of both content and brand.


Experiential Marketing refers to the development of novel approaches to brand extension and marketing which play out across multiple media channels so that the consumer's identification with the product is enhanced and deepened each time they re-encounter the brand in a new context.


...Companies that desire to understand the consumer "flow" within the ever-quickening media environment need to understand how these changes are generating a rapid movement from impressions to "expressions", and intellectual property to "emotional capital". Such approaches may be the key to breaking through a cluttered and fragmented media environment, relying on consumers themselves to help knit together information and impressions gathered from multiple media experiences."

An interesting new strategic initiative has emerged called the Opportunity Agenda. It's goal is to build national will to expand opportunity for all. I love it because it taps into cultural aspirations that are neither black nor white, rich nor poor, Republican nor Democrat.

The primary strategy in achieving this is through “shaping public discourse” by engaging “dynamic communicators.” These individuals are identified as “social justice and civic leaders, public officials, scholars and others.” But what would this effort look like if resources and space were made to focus some of our efforts through cultural leaders? What if culture makers, artists and even the public were given an opportunity to determine a role for themselves in this effort?

I suspect the results would look like a groundswell—a spontaneous and self-emanating movement happening simultaneously across sectors and subcultures, in the deepest nooks and crannies of the country. This movement would embody the phrase “one thousand flowers blooming”, and ultimately create the conditions necessary for policy change around health care, livable wages, and other issues that the progressive movement has identified as important.

As a follow-up to the entry from June 28, 2005, a new online game called Darfu is Dying gives players a glimpse of what it's like to be a refugee in the Darfur region of Sudan. Players take on the role of refugees searching for food, shelter and safety, while avoiding the wrath of the murderous Janjaweed militia.

A report recently published by Skyline PublicWorks talks about the inexpensive ways that Democrats can win elections by engaging young people--the only group that voted decisively for Kerry/Edwards in 2004.

Marketers are taking what activists are good at and doing it better. This blog entry describes the difference between a campaign and a movement:

"Campaigns have a beginning and an end. Movements go on as long as kindred spirits are involved. Campaigns are part of the war vocabulary. Movements are part of the evangelist vocabulary. Campaigns are dry and emotionally detached. Movements are organic and rooted in passion. Campaigns rely on traditional mediums. Movements rely on word of mouth...Campaigns are you talking about yourself. Movements are others talking about you. Campaigns add to awareness. Movements add to credibility. Campaigns are “you vs. us.” Movements are “let’s do this together.”