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How Warchalking Died: A Modest Proposal or a Serious Syllogism?: I can't tell whether this is tongue in cheek or absolutely serious, but I fear that latter. What's interesting is that the author appears to have swallowed the big business pill. Warchalking isn't a movement, it's an idea. There's no formal organization. He sees this as a weakness: This is a grassroots effort. Many grassroots movements die or are self-limiting. How will this grow and what is the motivation?
In fact, the point is precisely the opposite: ideas that spread like wildfire may or may not have staying power (hula hoop, pet rock, democracy). But individuals decide through their own processes whether or not the idea will succeed. Warchalking doesn't require lots of people. A few thousand dedicated loonies would have more impact than 200,000 interested occasional participants. A few million people who knew about it could perpetuate the meme indefinitely.
The writer also puts too much faith in the Wi-Fi Zone program. It's a paid program that will require certification, even though the first year is free. Larger comapnies will participate, sure, and spread this new meme, but the Wi-Fi Zone is a marketing meme, not a grassroots/blog meme, and thus has a much harder and more expensive row to hoe. It's guaranteed that business travelers will seek out brands, but it's hard to know whether this brand will rise or fall. It hasn't been tested in the crucible of the marketplace or the memeplace yet.
Having just read the tipping point, it's clear to me that group behavior has more to do with how new ideas are spread, rather than the validity or utility of the new ideas. Baggy pants on youths, anyone?