5 Steps to Becoming a BIG Contributor

So you want to help make a basic income guarantee happen?

Our primary need is for more materials that are more accessible, more shareable, more impactful, etc. This need is huge and is exactly why there is also such a great opportunity to be a major part of this instead of just another voice pushing for something like a higher minimum wage.

There is also a need for more websites to help better spread these materials. I will say that so far, UBI Europe IMO has the best website. I also recommend clicking that link and reading its "Brief History of Basic Income." There are other sites, like usbig.net, binews.org, and basicincome.org, but they all need updated layouts to be more shareable. The content they have is great though, like all the papers for example, and all the breaking news BI News produces regularly (to which you can help contribute)

With that said, here are five possible concrete steps to becoming a major contributor to the growing movement for basic income:

Step 1: Become Knowledgeable

Go directly to Reddit. Do not pass GO. If you want to learn everything you can, the /r/BasicIncome sub is it. (Full disclosure: I'm one of its team of moderators.) I've read about 95% of everything posted there, in its entirety, for over a year now. If you want to learn all you can, I suggest the same strategy. In doing so, you will not only gain a grasp on basic income itself, but also the many MANY reasons for it, through connecting the dots between the idea and all the "indirect" articles posted that may not be about basic income but point directly to its need to be implemented.

Step 2: Interact with Others

Information is just information. The knowledge gained in Step 1 is the process of applying theory to information, and getting an effective hold on what all the information really means, and how to share it with others in a way they can understand. This is what takes practice. Everyone is different, and you will need to learn how to interact with people with tact, and in a way that is useful and constructive. You will need to practice repeatedly discussing what was learned in Step 1. Do it on Reddit. Do it in the comment sections elsewhere online. Do it through social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. Do it in person with friends and family. Just do it. Interact.

Step 3: Create Content

Now that you have a good thorough understanding and how to better share it, it's time to start reaching a wider audience. Try your hand at a video. There are tools out there to help with this. I'm working on this myself. Videos are a great way of reaching a larger audience. Articles and blogs are also a great way. Write them. Start them. I've had great success with Medium and have started this blog you're reading right now. Don't stop there. Try to get stuff into more widely read mediums. Submit stuff to HuffPo, The Atlantic, BusinessInsider, etc. Most of the time you will hear nothing back. But sometimes, you will get a reply. Stick with it. Keep going.

Step 4: Organize Locally

Now that you have knowledge, know how to interact with others, and have reached others with your words, video, art, etc., it's time to really mobilize people. Create a local meeting place. Lead the way. Start a regular meetup where you can talk with others. No need to have an immediate plan. Just get together. Build relationships. From there each step will happen organically. Maybe your group will decide to create and spread materials through the city. Maybe they will decide to focus on local politicians. Maybe you'll decide to start gathering signatures. Whatever is decided, it'll be a step forward at the local level, which is extremely important to start accomplishing.

Step 5: Organize Nationally (and then Globally)

This is the final step. After growing a multitude of groups at the local level, it's time to start organizing those groups for national action. Groups will need to coordinate together and work towards a common goal or list of common goals. It is at this point where large donors will finally come into play. The movement will be considered serious enough to back, and people will back it.

Granted, this is my own plan. Others may not agree with it, but to me this makes sense, and I've been following it myself. My next step is Step 4, which I plan to take by the end of this year. However for others, it might make far more sense to just make Step 4 Step 1. Not everyone wants to create content and would rather just start pushing forward with activism. So if that describes you, start with Step 4, and maybe just skip Step 3 altogether, focusing instead together on Steps 1, 2, and 5.

I encourage everyone reading this to consider joining me in The BIG Patreon Creator Pledge. If you plan to become so involved in the movement so as to create a lot of content (especially videos which we desperately need), then create your own Patreon page and gather patrons to help fund them. Use my own as a template if you like. Leverage your time-intensive efforts to crowdsource your own basic income, so that you can focus even more time and greater resources on its eventual adoption. Inspire others to do the same.

This is what I'm attempting to do, and the more who do the same, the greater the impact we will together have.

Let's all take our own steps toward basic income and a better future for everyone.

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