The idea of competition over frame or narrative has a limited amount of time before public opinion crystallizes. Once the narrative has been set all other theories for all intents and purposes are treated as conspiracy theories. The best example being the JFK second shooter theory. This competition over frame has also been affected by this sense of time dilation.
“If you’re not first, you’re last.” — Ricky Bobby
That quote while humorous and some may consider stupid, underlines the importance of speed. If you’re not first to win the competition over the narrative. If your frame is not used, you lose. End of story. You may have the facts on your side, the entire media establishment, culture. Yet if the issue to the public has been effectively framed and released, it is too late to win. Once the seed had been planted it is much harder to remove it then spread one. The legend of Pandora’s box seems an apt example of this.
Time Dilation and Setting the Narrative:
What used to take days or even weeks to set the public narrative now takes twenty-four hours or less. Within seconds tweets and periscopes are released; in minutes articles are posted, a vanguard for their chosen side. Facts play some role in this, however, speculation is king it seems. The first minutes of any event there seems a license to say almost anything. Which creates problems, if a retraction is done later. By the time the facts have come out the public seems to no longer care. Yet why is this, why do we continue this cycle of rumour than facts?
It is because the human need for information today has become a drug. Humans hate suspense, anticipation, it makes us anxious. The lack of control of not knowing causes immense stress. So any scrap of information during the early moments gives us relief. Fulfilling an innate desire for control, of understanding. This has been unwittingly weaponized through social media. In those early moments of chaos, we look for anything to give us clarity, understanding and guidance. This is why speed has become so important.
Velocity: even more Important than Speed:
Speed is nothing without force. Force must be correctly, deliberately applied. Scattered focus with an idea is ineffective. Too many conflicting ideas, opinions and narratives will make your efforts useless. Thus shotgun approach will not work when trying to frame something. That is better when testing prior to a crisis scenario. Effort must be correctly be applied and swiftly for maximum impact. The discounting of either of these factors will severely hamper effectiveness.
Speed is picked up when ideas are spread, especially through larger nodes. At a certain point, there is a tipping point where an idea goes mainstream, this should be achieved as fast as possible. When speed is being gained your message will likely change as everyone is playing a rather large game of telephone. To minimize this, your message must be simple and effective. While it may fit into a larger narrative, your framing needs to be concise.
Know the Narrative Landscape:
Know what terrain you operate in, to make the most of speed. You may be able to quickly make something fast and effective on a tried and true topic, but it won’t have the same effect as if it was a fresh unique perspective on the topic. Know what topics, issues or images, communities and slogans will slow your message down or speed it up.
Know the trends in culture, not just the current or even counterculture trends. Know the fringe movements too so one is not surprised when they gain momentum. Even more important than that, know how your actions will change the narrative landscape. For it is more malleable then people believe it to be.
Know what frames your opponent uses, their strengths and weaknesses. Know their moves before they make them, especially how they will adapt to the narrative landscape. This will allow you to avoid traps, potholes which will bog the campaign down.
A New Approach to Framing:
When framing each issue, it should be treated as a crisis, not as a news story. Where you view time in seconds and minutes, not hours and days. Every second, every minute is another opportunity for your opponent to iterate their story and release more content. Every article and tweet builds a framework you have to fight against and counter.
This was effectively seen by members of 4-chan with the “Gamergate Offensive” and “The Great Meme War 2015–2016”. Where there was no centralized command structure, so speed iteration could occur. The best ideas, slogans, images, frames were created and recreated hundreds of times within minutes. Until slogans and images were perfectly weaponized persuasion. What would take a typical agency, organization or government days or weeks, was created within a matter of minutes.
Large narratives should be established beforehand. Test balloons should have also been used, to understand the narrative landscape. Facts, graphs, and meme templates should also be created and itemized; ensuring the maximization of speed. When possible combine facts to ensure longivity, yet the use of speed often means the loss of facts over narrative.
Hyper-Polarization:
This leads us to where we are now, a state of hyper-polarization. The Brexit vote and the US election of 2016 were symptoms not causes of this state. Social media has lock the majority into a bubble, an echo chamber. Which only amplifies marginal voices. Social media and in turn memetic warfare will further polarize populations. Speed will be a major factor in this, as the first to plant their stake in the ground is given more credence than it typically should. An increase in demand in speed to control the narrative will continue. Until this changes we have begun an arms race we may not wish to be in.
Corollary: Losing the Battle:
If you have lost the narrative, fear not. The increase in time dilation between days and weeks, allows you to regroup if the victor has not adequately finished the job. If the frame was poorly set as it can be given the amount of time between each crisis. An auxiliary team can be used to dismantle and rebuild another frame and narrative around the lost issue. This will be effective as the human mind is built on primacy and recency. Only entrenched beliefs last, so if the issue was not properly connected to those beliefs there is hope to recover lost ground.
