The start of Step UP!

Step Up!

In the wake of the wholesale theft of sims and content over the weekend, like many people we wanted to do something about it – and also about all the other content theft that we have been fighting for so long – in the Content Creators Association and in magazines and on TV shows.

Since then we’ve talked – and have come up with the idea of the Step UP! campaign, a campaign centred on a special day of action that everyone can become involved with, and that can empower and inform people.

We are aiming for a day that draws together action, education and celebration. We want a focus that empowers people – and rather than dictates to people, allows them to express their own creatvity in a variety of ways. It also draws attention to the strength of feeling that there is here on the grid.

2) We need to make people feel empowered by what they do. And, because we are hardly the most time-free people on the grid – we need something that they can largely organise themselves!

So these are our thoughts:

We are nominating a day as Step UP! Day – which will be November 5th – Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night in the UK.

Action:
a) On this day – no-one uploads textures to the grid. This should show the economic power of people acting together, without harming content creators. We want Linden Lab to see the power of the feeling about the problem of content theft – and to discuss urgently strategies for tackling it.

b) As many people as possible wear an orange ribbon as a sign of support for creators. And creators can design these – they can be lapel ribbons, they can be arm bands, they can be tee-shirts … the idea is to make the orange ribbon the theme of the day. And everyone who gets a free orange ribbon gets an information sheet – explaining what content theft is, what they can do about it etc. And they also get an information pack that they can give to their friends (which also contains an orange ribbon for their friends).

Why orange? It’s been used before, but has no overwhelming association (unlike pink or red ribbons). It’s a bright, noticeable colour. It suggests explosions and colour …

And it’s an opportunity for stores and content creators to become involved too.

Celebration:
The day ends with parties. Bonfire parties. That means that all around the grid, people have parties.

We’re not going to be trying to stage Big Events that maybe only 60 or 70 people can cram into. Instead we encourage every club to hold a Step Up! party. We encourage every musician to play Step UP! events. Everyone on the grid has a part to play. Everyone can take part.

Education:
This is going to come in several forms.

1) Info pack
These will be given out with orange ribbons in stores and at parties.

2) Media
Audio and Visual service ads. The Press. The Blogsphere – everyone can play there part in getting out the message that we have had enoufgh, and we have chosen to Step UP! against content theft.

3) Video
Short informational films – tutorials about content theft.

On the Designing Worlds shows we’ve talked again and again about the need for a social shift – so that people see content theft as socially and morally unacceptable. So … let’s go for it!

Watch this space for more details on how you can become involved, and how you can share with us your plans for Step UP! Day.

The concept originates with a small group – Angie Mornington, Gabrielle Riel, Gwen Carillon and Saffia Widdershins. But more and more people are now becoming involved. And you can too.