Thank you very much for writing this! Itās really inspiring to see people with a wide range of talents who want to help.
Iāll respond with my reactions and thoughts as I read:
1. We arenāt really all that smart, and most of us are quite friendly; I realize that just telling you this is of limited use, but I hope you feel less nervous over time :-)
2. Thanks for donating so much already; thatās more than most people ever get around to, and giving is at the heart of effective altruism. Youāve done a lot of good so far.
3. The work youāre doing is clearly high-quality enough that it matches or exceeds production values for most EA-related video content (thereās very little musical content to which I could compare your work).
4. Some EA organizations are very interested in sharing information about EA with the greater public in a very accessible way. Others still want new people to find EA, but are wary of doing anything that might look like āmass marketingā, for a few reasons:
The more accessible an idea becomes, the more āfidelityā tends to be lost. (This is the point you mentioned; things get skewed through a lack of nuance.)
Even media that accurately reflect the core principles of EA may not go over well if they reach the wrong audience. Some magazines have written articles about EA that got a lot of the basics right, but put a very negative spin on them; weād probably have preferred if the authors of those articles never heard about EA.
Similarly, even people who understand EA very well may come into the community with other goals. If a popular left-wing politician were to endorse EA to all their supporters, we might see a flood of new Forum users (great!), but also a flood of posts advocating that money be given to left-wing causes (not great) and possibly a flood of people sharing Facebook posts (or quotes with journalists) about the ways in which socialism is obviously the real effective altruism. They may understand EA quite well, but care less about digging into it than about using it to buffer their favorite positions. (I already see a lot of this on Twitter, from all over the political spectrum.)
5. Given this, what can you do? I donāt immediately have any snappy video ideas, but other organizations might (The Life You Can Save and GiveDirectly come to mind as orgs that have done a lot of creative marketing). If you reach out to different EA charities with a link to this post, thereās a reasonable chance one of them will want to work with you on something.
The key thing is not to work alone. Checking your scripts and such with people who know the subject well should help you avoid mistakes. If you ever feel inspired to make something on your own, you can post about it on the Forum or in the EA Editing and Review Facebook group, and it will be quite likely that at least one person will check for possible improvements.
I was really excited to read this, and I hope you find a way to contribute through your art!
THANK YOU so much for this thoughtful reply Aaron, I really appreciate it! Some responses to your thoughts:
1. You ever heard the screenwriting rule āshow, donāt tellā? YA JUST DID IT with this friendly response! :)
2. Thatās actually really encouraging to read! I donāt usually tell people about my giving practise because it feels a bit ego drivenālike, āooh arenāt I a good person!ā etc. It can feel quite solitary at times as I mostly work alone. So itās a helpful boost to read your encouragement, thank you!
3. Cheers! Iāve been focussing more on music production over the last few years but Iām itching to make higher quality video work, especially if it can have a positive impact. I donāt even think the work has to be musical every time: overall Iām interested in conveying information in a playful mannerāwhatever that may be.
4. Yep that was my concern, so perhaps this method is not suitable for sharing ideas about EA itself.
5. Yes! I will do that! Already, looking through the list on The Life You Can Save, I can see plenty of charities where this kind of communication could be beneficial. Very exciting! I will start contacting them this week.
And yep totally get you on the need to work with others and check things through for maximum facts(imum). Iāll definitely post in here for input (probs not Facebook, I think Iām gonna leave soon). I think ultimately it would be great to find an EA aligned producer to team up with with. If that describes anyone who reads this, please get in touch. Maybe in the long term this could grow into a production company that makes playful videos to help improve the world.
Thank you very much for writing this! Itās really inspiring to see people with a wide range of talents who want to help.
Iāll respond with my reactions and thoughts as I read:
1. We arenāt really all that smart, and most of us are quite friendly; I realize that just telling you this is of limited use, but I hope you feel less nervous over time :-)
2. Thanks for donating so much already; thatās more than most people ever get around to, and giving is at the heart of effective altruism. Youāve done a lot of good so far.
3. The work youāre doing is clearly high-quality enough that it matches or exceeds production values for most EA-related video content (thereās very little musical content to which I could compare your work).
4. Some EA organizations are very interested in sharing information about EA with the greater public in a very accessible way. Others still want new people to find EA, but are wary of doing anything that might look like āmass marketingā, for a few reasons:
The more accessible an idea becomes, the more āfidelityā tends to be lost. (This is the point you mentioned; things get skewed through a lack of nuance.)
Even media that accurately reflect the core principles of EA may not go over well if they reach the wrong audience. Some magazines have written articles about EA that got a lot of the basics right, but put a very negative spin on them; weād probably have preferred if the authors of those articles never heard about EA.
Similarly, even people who understand EA very well may come into the community with other goals. If a popular left-wing politician were to endorse EA to all their supporters, we might see a flood of new Forum users (great!), but also a flood of posts advocating that money be given to left-wing causes (not great) and possibly a flood of people sharing Facebook posts (or quotes with journalists) about the ways in which socialism is obviously the real effective altruism. They may understand EA quite well, but care less about digging into it than about using it to buffer their favorite positions. (I already see a lot of this on Twitter, from all over the political spectrum.)
5. Given this, what can you do? I donāt immediately have any snappy video ideas, but other organizations might (The Life You Can Save and GiveDirectly come to mind as orgs that have done a lot of creative marketing). If you reach out to different EA charities with a link to this post, thereās a reasonable chance one of them will want to work with you on something.
The key thing is not to work alone. Checking your scripts and such with people who know the subject well should help you avoid mistakes. If you ever feel inspired to make something on your own, you can post about it on the Forum or in the EA Editing and Review Facebook group, and it will be quite likely that at least one person will check for possible improvements.
I was really excited to read this, and I hope you find a way to contribute through your art!
THANK YOU so much for this thoughtful reply Aaron, I really appreciate it! Some responses to your thoughts:
1. You ever heard the screenwriting rule āshow, donāt tellā? YA JUST DID IT with this friendly response! :)
2. Thatās actually really encouraging to read! I donāt usually tell people about my giving practise because it feels a bit ego drivenālike, āooh arenāt I a good person!ā etc. It can feel quite solitary at times as I mostly work alone. So itās a helpful boost to read your encouragement, thank you!
3. Cheers! Iāve been focussing more on music production over the last few years but Iām itching to make higher quality video work, especially if it can have a positive impact. I donāt even think the work has to be musical every time: overall Iām interested in conveying information in a playful mannerāwhatever that may be.
4. Yep that was my concern, so perhaps this method is not suitable for sharing ideas about EA itself.
5. Yes! I will do that! Already, looking through the list on The Life You Can Save, I can see plenty of charities where this kind of communication could be beneficial. Very exciting! I will start contacting them this week.
And yep totally get you on the need to work with others and check things through for maximum facts(imum). Iāll definitely post in here for input (probs not Facebook, I think Iām gonna leave soon). I think ultimately it would be great to find an EA aligned producer to team up with with. If that describes anyone who reads this, please get in touch. Maybe in the long term this could grow into a production company that makes playful videos to help improve the world.
Thanks again Aaron, great food for thought!
Iāll just note that Animal Charity Evaluators have also produced video content.
Better Eating International is an animal charity whoās primary outreach medium is video, as well.
Thank you Kevin, Iāll check em out!