About 100 years ago, the Italian cultural scene was caught off guard by a movement of revolutionary thinkers and artists who called themselves Futurists.

Staunch opposers of all things Romantic and bourgeois etiquettes, the Futurists worshipped speed, mechanics, and every sort of technological advancement.

They created the language of the future, “parole in libertà”, or “word autonomy”. It caught on pretty quick.
Its syntax was based only on the intensity of emotions, designed to be read super fast and serve the impulse of sharing feelings, more than narrative purposes.

For instance, “a beautiful cat is looking out the window” would become “beautycat outlook window.”

It might seem outdaded, but they were damn right.

Isn’t that the way we google stuff? Can anyone deny hashtags organize thoughts and feelings quicker than phrases?
Try and comment a Facebook post with a well-reasoned argument- I bet you won’t get more likes than any “shouter”.

We speak in algorithms even when we don’t notice.
And the background noise of communication, which is ultimately “the way people talk,” breaks the rules of language all the time, in grammar, in style, and above all in content. What’s appropriate to say or not. It even breaks respect.
The Republican Candidate has many likes, all in all.

We write a lot. And we write in Futurist.

Indeed, speed is everything now. A painting hanging inside a Museum for years works just like an Instagram photo. They both run at 300 mph. Catch them with the quickest comment that comes to mind. Everything counts.

But that’s the consumers.

You are not invited to the party.

Indeed, brands are still required to follow the same rules of ever.
That seems unfair, but it means that brands’ communication has to run as fast as people’s expression.

So how do you win this rigged race?

Simple. Put on “Changes” by David Bowie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl3vxEudif8

Embrace the speed of time like a fun ride.

Forget the lengthy universal everlasting masterplans.
Stay on point with your people, or have someone do it for you.

Let reactiveness be your art.

Even at 300 mph, you can still tell a Trabant from a Ferrari.
I love Trabants when I don’t drive them, but you deserve to choose for yourself, too.

We write Futurist, and our future is on-demand.
Communication will be as such.

But when you’re fishing for likes, it’s easy to lose sight of the shore.
And when it happens, brands fail gloriously.
Don’t be that guy.
Be the other one.

Trust a MONK.

 

THEMONK