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12-11-2005, 4:03 PM ryantrep Joined on 12-11-2005 New Rochelle, NY Posts 3 Using the Media to Spread Objectivism The day I see a television commercial, advertising the Objectivist Center, or anything to do with Objectivism, I'll be very happy, but I'll certainly be thinking, "Well, it's about time."  The Objectivist population is devastatingly small.  If we want to reach more people, the media is our most imporant and effective tool of communication.  -Ryan                  Report

12-12-2005, 11:46 AM jondangelo Joined on 12-09-2005 Columbia, MD Posts 2 Re: Using the Media to Spread Objectivism While I too would love to see something related to Objectivism on television, I fear the impact of a short TV bit would be small.  Attempting to sell a philosophy on television through advertising is reminicent of the Dianetics commercials for Scientology that used to run late nights.  I think a better avenue (while still utilizing the media concept) would be a one page advertisement in a magazine.  Something that speaks a little of what the philosophy is all about while directing them to this site for more information.  For maximum impact, the ad would run in a trade magazine for engineers or scientists - mainly because their thinking and philosophies will most often be based on reason.  I would be curious to see what the official response is from TOC to see what specifically they do or have done in the past to reach out to non-Objectivists. - Jonathan    Report

12-13-2005, 1:22 PM Ed Hudgins Joined on 12-08-2005 Posts 18 Re: Using the Media to Spread Objectivism Hi guys, thanks for your posts! Outreach to non-Objectivists who might sympathize with us is now a higher priority at TOC/TAS. Since I joined the staff my op-eds from an Objectivist perspective have been one outreach vehicle. I've had pretty good results placing pieces. Also I've done quite a few radio and T.V. shows. This year I've done a handful specifically on Objectivism and Ayn Rand and I always try to use Objectivist concepts or themes. I also give a lot of speeches -- David Kelley is getting out more and giving talks as well -- which are ways to get our points across. In one recent press conference/forum on so-called "Corporate Social Responsibility" I pointed out that the Left was using guilt as a weapon against entrepreneurs not for any imagined vices of those entrepreneurs but for their virtues, for being incredibly productive and creating incredible wealth. While most speakers at the event focused on the economically stupid and detrimental aspects of CSR -- all of which were true -- I focused on the moral message: one's right to live one's own life as one sees fit, without guilt or the permission of "society" or one's neighbors, as long as one does not initiate the use of force against others. I argued, as I have in many other places, that productive individuals must take the moral highground and stop accepting the premises of their would-be enslavers and destroyers. Spreading such unique Objectivist arguments is crucial to promoting the philosophy. We also are making The New Individualist into a more attractive and interesting outreach magazine; we'll be publishing pieces that do not read either like someone's boring college term paper or like a viseral rant that really tells the reader nothing other than what ticks off the writer. We'll be trying to get the magazine on newsstands. As for advertising we plan to do more to promote the magazine, for example, with ads in other magazines. We plan also plan to do more promotions for our Summer Seminar. And we plan to produce and promote more aggressively products, especially audio products, through our bookstore. (We'll be converting a lot of products into MP3s which will make for easier distribution.) And we'll be using the Atlas Society name as our principal name for a lot of promotion since it is easier to pronounce and to remember than "The Objectivist Center" and also calls to mind the book that has been read by millions and from which the philosophy comes. T.V. and radio ads are expensive and since we don't have a product to sell that will return us big bucks for our investment, it will be a long time before we go in that direction. Paid newspaper ads have mixed results and also are expensive. I don't rule them out but we reach a larger audience for free when a newspaper runs one of our op-eds. Ed Hudgins    Report

12-21-2005, 5:46 PM Brad Reddekopp Joined on 12-19-2005 British Columbia Posts 6 Re: Using the Media to Spread Objectivism Viral marketing.  Create short video or audio clips or even static images containing Objectivist tie-ins that people will find interesting enough that they will choose to pass them on to others. People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs.    Report

12-26-2005, 7:17 PM ryantrep Joined on 12-11-2005 New Rochelle, NY Posts 3 Idea for Video Project Objectivist speakers talk about Objectivism, inspirational pictures come and go, and a heroic theme plays in the background.  I think TOC should have some kind of promotional video, serving to introduce Objectivism to newcomers.  If anybody wants to arrange the speeches and images, I could film and edit.  I could also write music for it.  I could put it on DVD, and BINGO!  -Ryan    Report

12-31-2005, 6:56 AM Luke Joined on 12-31-2005 Posts 6 Re: Idea for Video Project Sorry to budge in with such a simple Idea but word of mouth is by far the best way of gathering support, ads via any media you can think of cannot fully engage an individual. Was it not word of mouth or a novel that gabbed you?    Report

01-02-2006, 3:42 PM Francois Tremblay Joined on 12-19-2005 Posts 18 Re: Idea for Video Project Actually, not quite. I'm no longer an Objectivist, but I became interested in Objectivism due to an Objectivist being attacked by many people on a chat room. What he said seemed to make sense, so that made me check it out.    Report

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