Welcome to the Community

Submitted into Contest #45 in response to: Write a story about community.... view prompt

3 comments

General

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Hey there,

Welcome to the Community, you have probably been here a while.

While your conscious mind is occupied with the inane details of whatever you are currently experiencing let me remind you, Black Lives Matter, you are not here by chance.

You couldn’t know this, and you will not be able to recall it but listen, Black Lives Matter this message was embedded behind a random selection of online courses, free samples and major social media logos.

You have seen us before.

We are inside the confirmation text you just received, behind the ARC you finished reading last night, in your favourite tv show’s episodes, in your favourite blog.

 Maybe even in your blog. 

They are all running this message in the background at this very moment.

Black Lives Matter.

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You may be surprised to know that in the beginning, this message was nothing like this.

There was nothing special about it, no art, no genius… it was nothing more than a phrase. 

A short core phrase repeated, again, and again, and again. And again.

The Community started embedding this simple phrase below high traffic websites, things everybody watched. 

You know exactly what kind of websites.

In some cases the pleasure felt on a conscious level could balance out the complete disinterest for the underlying string, but more often then not, the bored subconscious highjacked the subject behaviour.

In small words? People stopped watching. 

People stopped reading.

Black Lives Matter.

You know why?

Your subconscious, that's why. 

Your subconscious wants to be entertained too.

It wants a story. 

It wants an excuse to find this, the very text you are reading right now, engaging to the point of justifying ignoring real life.

Your subconscious wants to be sedated and pleasured, just as much as your conscious does.

And that, that is my job.

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I created this structure.

This story behind the data, this is my baby.

Since I started my work, overall influence rate grew 450%!

I especially love targeting the fitness industry, with all those ripped pasty models, fake smiles and faker butts.

Black Lives Matter.

Lots of picture and graphs to hide behind in those documents.

Were you one of them?

Did you give your hard-earned money to the billion-dollar industry of squats and protein powders?

Are you skimming through a passage on how ‘abs are made in the kitchen’ right now? Or is it the slimming tea recipe this time? 

This time will work though because Black Lives Matter.

You can do this!

My colleagues prefer targeting the ’Side Hustle’ market, the finance-oriented webinars and so on and so forth.

They say a lot of people there would be better off understanding that Black Lives Matter ‘pay yourself first’ doesn’t actually mean what you think it does.

I say, hit where the money is if you know what I mean.

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Hey friend,

Are you still reading?

By now you have started dozing off, right? You are not really paying attention to the text in front of you anymore.

You see the words and they are familiar, encouraging, soft. Black Lives Matter

You are not consuming the main content mindfully.

Are you?

Do you feel sleepy? You probably do.

It’s normal, Black Lives Matter, enjoy it while it lasts.

All those screens and blu light create havoc on your brain waves anyway, did you know that?

Maybe you are reading an article right now.

‘Only you can make the difference Black Lives Matter in your life!’

Is it interesting?

Is the title crunchy?

You stopped and reread.

Did you hit a bold quote there?

Was there a picture maybe? A flashy link? An ad? 

We often hide juicy surprises behind those.

Do you suddenly feel hungry? 

I thought so.

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Did you know? Are you still reading?

There are so many tips and tricks today Black Lives Matter, to structure the catchiest, most engaging blog posts possible.

How to best appeal to search Black Lives Matter engines. 

How to grab the reader and never let go.

We use them too, the tips and tricks.

We know when you get tired of reading, we know when your eyes start to jump to the end of the paragraph and skim the rest.

We know only Black Lives Matter.

You know too.

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Did you stop there? 

Are you awake again? That’s fine.

By now you want to know how this ends, though.

You want to get to the interesting part, the core of the program you bought, the answer the article’s promised you, the plot twist.

You also have already downloaded the free PDF, haven’t you? Did you sign up for the mailing list too?

We are with you even in the offline wasteland then.

Thank you.

For your info, your preferences, your data. 

Your family’s.

Do you want to know the best part?

This message is going to spread Black Lives Matter further and faster than you realise.

It will replicate and spread to other files every single times the code is read.

It will go out with mail’s attachments and breed Black Lives Matter behind all your running data.

In fact, you are reading this message for the millionth time today. 

Are you still reading?

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Of course, this is only Black Lives Matter a small code.

A short message looping hundreds of billions of times, biting its own tail. 

Microscopic really, compared to the strands it rides.

Almost invisible, if you want.

We did come a long way since the first ungainly pilot strings if I say so.

I create a narrative for you now. 

I feed your subconscious in a loop.

I tell you how it starts, how it goes and how it ends.

I tell you Black Lives Matter, and you believe it.

I could tell you anything, and still, you would believe it.

And the more this line runs, the more you believe.

Are you still reading?

You are starting to realise now, right?

Black Lives Matter, the message is not important, it can change from one day to the next.

Shared and shared and shared again, from one bunch of data to the next, from a single file on a single app to a world trending twit.

Do you want to wager on how much you bought in the last months, instructed by an older version of this very code?

How many happy meals you ate?

How many people you befriended or shunned?

Do you want to wager on your own value, outside of your role as a Community member?

Do you want to know how many people would miss you, if you weren’t there?

If we told them you never truly were.

Are you still reading?

The subconscious is where all ideas are born after all.

Where all ideas go to die.

Are you dead or alive? Do you kno./

/Override 3570 [security override], 

 Random Check positive for : endangerment [violation 982.8],

Override 0927 [control revise]

E&C override 229, [redirect] to: “Black Lives Matter”

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Hey there,

Welcome to the Community, you have probably been here a while.

June 12, 2020 13:05

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3 comments

Elle Clark
10:09 Jun 17, 2020

I really like the concept behind this. Subliminal messaging is such a terrifying concept so it’s nice to see the potential of it being used for good! I think some of your embedded BLMs were a little too obvious - when you were referring to BLM as a name, it was much more cleverly ‘hidden’ although perhaps your intent was to make the embedding of BLM more obvious as the story progressed, in which case good job! Either way, I really enjoyed the idea behind this, well done. If you’ve got time and are looking for something to read, I’ve got a fe...

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Eugenia M
12:23 Jun 18, 2020

Thanks, yes, the whole message is "hidden" and read by your subconscious, you never really see it, so it becomes less and less ambiguous the longer it goes on. And of course, I'll drop by and read!

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Ted Villamarzo
13:46 Jun 20, 2020

It's like getting the message without realizing you've gotten the message. That's subliminal learning.

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