It’s taken some time for me to work up the nerve to make this post; I’ve been waiting on some sort of sign or natural signal that I was on the right track but to no avail. So it goes.
The July 4th idea did not seem to roll over too well. Unfortunately, less than 5% of the small market owners in my area of the city could speak English, understandably making this process much more difficult. Also, many local markets are doing so poorly, that searching for new ways of making money seem out of the question; as contrary as it seems, failing businesses are desperate for stability, and for our initial Carrotmob, stable is hardly the word we can use to describe it. However, this has been a learning experience for us. We must take a different approach, at least for our first Carrotmob without a translator.
Until recently, we’ve made much progress with getting the word and message about Carrotmob, and building up the hype with much haste. But as I’ve noticed, the actual “masterminding” has had very little to do with the word spreading and although we may have hundreds and hundreds waiting to be informed of a store to “mob”, the infrastructure of the Carrotmob rest solely upon myself and a few others. As this is a completely “volunteer” responsibility, there are no direct monetary or career incentives for planning and executing Carrotmobs, making the search for full-on staff members near impossible. To me, the commitment is a small price to pay for the potential outcome in terms of individual power, economic support, and positively impacting the not-so-positive consmer habits that dominate daily life. The thought of being a part of a consumer movement so simple and effective only brings positive thoughts, nothing bad could come from this.
Despite the press and publicity, very little community members have offered their services to the mob, perhaps I haven’t been serious enough about how much help we need. Overall, we only need a small number of volunteers or personnel, but the trick is, the Carrotmob planning and activity is typically coming after work, after school, and after monetary needs are met; leaving this “college-aged” crew with very little time to spare. I don’t blame the flailing economy as much as I blame our (America’s) value of the dollar and of our own time in respect to that dollar. Lets face it, nobody wants to do anything for free without a clear-cut incentive in the end, its just what we’ve been taught, the phrase “Nothing is free” resonates in the back of America’s mind.
As my laptop defines “free”:
-subject neither to foreign domination nor to despotic government
OR
-not physically restrained, obstructed, or fixed
Although “free” may be meaning no money or no payoff in your wallet; it means WE’RE NOT RESTRAINED, OBSTRUCTED OR FIXED. We are our own, we make choices for ourselves, not because some multi-million dollar ad strategy has pointed us at a certain chain location or brand name product. We have the power to choose, based on what we desire. With cutting-edge advertisements and industry strangleholds, that freedom is chiseled away at and our subsonscious is hijacked; but with the mindset of consciousness and wise, ethical, consuming, no advertising campaign could ever compromise our habits and values. Those values, ladies and gents, are what the mob is aiming to instill in everyday American life.
I WANT CHANGE. WE WANT CHANGE. COMPLAINING AND LAMENTING HAS GOTTEN US VERY LITTLE. ACTION IS WHERE PROGRESS CAN BE MADE, AND THAT IS WHERE WE’RE TRYING TO TAKE THIS IDEA AND CONCEPT.
It’s obviously been proven effective; but maybe Philly isn’t ready. The city is striving towards sustainability, but we’re no San Francisco; gotta learn to crawl before we walk, or even SPRINT. So we’ll take it in stride.
Lets get a meeting time set; same time every week or twice a week or three times a week. Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, all work well for me: You too? LET US KNOW. Day, Night, Morning, Evening. Whatever works!
When I started feeling somewhat discouraged about this; I thought of the possibilites, the potential opportunity to MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN! There is so much we can achieve with cooperation and positivity. Without sounding like a poster in a kindergarten classroom, I want to emphasize that WE CAN DO THESE THINGS. The most we can ask of ourselves is to right the wrongs, improve what we can with what little time and resources are available to us. There is a bigger picture involved in this, one that will improve our (and our descendants) quality of living; what more can I say.
So there it is, my concerns, hopes, worries, questions, incentives, goals, whatever! I’m putting it all out there, and all I’m asking for is your response. Take a deep breath, think up a little bit, and get back to me. Leave a comment on the post, or our e-mail (Carrotsofphilly@gmail.com), or our facebook group page, or our twitter, or CALL ME (856) 316-2901. We’ll get there.
Although I (Tony) have been the driving force of this, I want to share the responsibility with everybody, transparency is key. This is a movement for the consumer, the citizen, not just a group of people or certain type of person, all ages, all creeds, all types!
We’re setting up a meeting schedule once I get responses from those of you who want in on the planning and organizing, we have merchandise to make, posters to construct, stores to mob, and the more on board, the sooner.
I love love love you all. and thank you for your time.
-Anthony Fulvio Montagnaro TONYMONT!
P.S. I’ve had an idea about taking advantage of specific store rivalries for Carrotmobs; if you know of any 2-4 store rivalries; LET US KNOW! That would be perfect for a first mob. This could take flight in days with the right support and cooperation, Like I said, we have the following, just need the hands.
