Strands of Genius: The Taste Economy, MultiPlayer Futures: Towards an Emergence Economy, On Wonder's Insistence

Guest curated by Kiana Pirouz, Creative Growth Strategist, Freelance

Mar 16, 2023

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, KIANA PIROUZ::

LOCATION: Baja Peninsula, Mexico

Hello! I'm Kiana, a freelance brand strategist obsessed with the ways in which culture informs the evolution of tech. A long time admirer of Rosie & Faris' work & reader of Genius Steals, so this feels extra special. Curating today's GS goes all the way back to Y2K era Athens, GA: I've kept in touch with my brilliant college roommate Alison Taffel, who kindly intro'd me to Rosie (another UGA alum) So here I am!

Just as serendipitously, my freelance strategy career took off in 2021 on the heels of a sabbatical I embarked on after hanging up my CMO hat. In that time of deep rest, I reflected on the Internet's impact on my life, my work, and the world. Eventually I fell down the web3 rabbit hole, but with a mission to take lessons learned from previous iterations of the web into building a better future internet built by a representation of diverse voice. My favorite part of this new freelance path is unlocking curiosity for clients and reframing the "need to adapt" with the opportunity to co-create futures.

As much as I live for cerebral brain time, I'm notorious for toggling on do-not-disturb to listen to music / DJ, paddle-board, and talk to my cat.

Am also in the nomad club, I've been in the Baja Peninsula in Mexico for the Fall/Winter after 16 years in NYC. I'll be heading back to the States in April for Consensus in Austin, TX!

Editor’s Note (Rosie): My friend Alison Taffel, who you may remember from her own guest curation, sent me an email suggesting I chat with Kiana Pirouz -- and pretty much everyone she's introduced me to has been worth meeting. So, I sent Kiana a note -- and I had to point out, because the name game is fun, that it was a crazy small world because one of my good friends in college actually ended up marrying someone named Kian Pirouz! I assumed it was one of those bizarre coincidences, but it turns out that Kiana is a cousin of Kian, which I guess makes more sense. Either way, I'm happy for the serendipitous connection, and we're thrilled to have you guest curating today, Kiana!

:: THE LINKS ::

THE TASTE ECONOMY

I spend a lot of time thinking about new media models, and sometimes they are inspired by the past. In this essay, Daisy Alito makes the case for the curatorial power of legendary magazines as containers for taste, and predicts the creator economy will shift away from mass reach (virality) to a taste economy (perspectives as influence). (Dirt)

MULTIPLAYER FUTURES: TOWARDS AN EMERGENCE ECONOMY

Here's an excerpt from a white paper by RADAR (a decentralized community of thinkers & strategists) turning signals into a thesis on "an imagination infrastructure for the collective; a natural home for multiplayer futures; a long-game in the interest of accelerating better futures."

It's fascinating to witness how participatory media (largely TikTok) is ushering in more opportunities to reward participation. This excerpt beautifully illustrates the power of multiplayer frameworks as a way to not only build brands, but also more imaginative systems.

*full disclosure, I'm a member of RADAR's Discord, though I did not pen this white paper. (Radar)

ON WONDER’S INSISTENCE

Annika Hansteen-Izora (they/them) is a writer & community designer I deeply admire, who draws upon radical imagination as a framework for imagining Black Futures, Trans Futures, and Futures where awe, play, and community are at the center of systemic change. My media diet was starting to feel overwhelming earlier this year - there's quite literally an abundance of insights and brilliance to tap into. A little experiment I started recently to facilitate a more personal and intentional relationship with content consumption is picking someone who inspires me and deep diving their content for 2 weeks. This piece by Annika really stuck with me; as a strategist who spends hours in my head, reading Annika's sensory musings serve as a reminder to let the body experience wonder. (Annika is Dreaming)

Looking for more from Kiana Pirouz? Those enrolled in The School of Stolen Genius will receive a deep dive from her in their inbox shortly! You can access all our expert interviews for SOSG here.

:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: MASH - favorite memories from girlhood were playing this game, a perfect mix of silly goose energy, imagination, & manifestation.

:: City :: Isfahan, Iran - Once we win this revolution, I'm inviting you to see one of the most magical places on Earth.

:: Book :: Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne marie brown. My "bible". The audiobook is phenomenal too.

:: Podcast :: The Read probably the only parasocial relationship I have, because I've been listening for so long.

:: Album :: Alice Coltrane - Ptah The El Daoud

::WOMAN, LIFE, FREEDOM::

Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish girl who launched a liberation movement

The future is an opportunity to do better, and that road can be a playful one.

Don't forget to write down your top 5 wondrous moments of today!

<3 Kiana
kianamoods.xyz

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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.

Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.

Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)

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