If you haven’t yet checked out Superstruct, put it on your short list. You’ve only got about a week left to participate in this excellent alternate reality game (and - need I say it? - learning experience) from the Institute for the Future. I’ve mentioned Superstruct here before on Mission to Learn, but here’s a quick summary of what it’s about from the site’s FAQ:
Superstruct is the world’s first massively multiplayer forecasting game. By playing the game, you’ll help us chronicle the world of 2019–and imagine how we might solve the problems we’ll face. Because this is about more than just envisioning the future. It’s about making the future, inventing new ways to organize the human race and augment our collective human potential.
So far, more than 6,500 super empowered hopeful individuals, or SEHIs, in the parlance of the game, have joined in to imagine the world of 2019, share stories, and most importantly, envision the “superstructures” that will help us collectively solve the seemingly intractable problems we are likely to face by that point in time.
So what are superstructures? If you pay attention, you see examples of them around you every day. As the Superstruct site puts it:
Superstructing is what humans do. We build new structures on old structures. We build media on top of language and communication networks. We build communities on top of family structures. We build corporations on top of platforms for manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. Superstructing has allowed us to survive in the past and it will help us survive the super-threats.
Aside from the fact that the game highlights this fundamental aspect of human society, I really like that it draws upon readily available tools of the new Web - wikis, blogs, Web video, etc. - to “construct” the gaming environment. You won’t find the high end programming or technical pyrotechnics of World of Warcarft here, but what you will find is a place where people can exercise one of their most powerful learning tools - their own imaginations - in a highly compelling way. Jane McGonigal, the game’s director, was part of the team that pulled off something similar with last year’s World Without Oil.
There is plenty of food for thought here for organizations that may be interested in using role-playing and alternate realities to tackle tough strategic problems or seemingly intractable social issues.
And, this being a game, there are “prizes” to be had for those who excel in exercising their imagination in productive ways…
The following is straight from one of Superstruct’s e-mail newsletters. I encourage you to visit some or all of the links below to get a feel for what Superstruct is all about, and to witness the creativity it has engendered,
Superstruct Honors
To help celebrate the communitys amazing humanity-saving efforts, we will be doling out official Superstruct honors on November 17 at 11 AM Pacific Time in a live webcast. Just tune into www.seero.com/broadcaster/superstruct to see who wins! If you miss the live webcast, we will post the video later on www.youtube.com/SuperstructCreators
THERE IS STILL TIME TO SUPERSTRUCT.
In the meantime, out of the 500 superstructure you have created, the following are currently at the top of our judges lists! Consider these the frontrunners and finalists for the honors. But nothing is final yet! You can still get your superstructure on any of these lists if you continue to work on it between now and next Thursday. And, in fact, you can still invent a new superstructure for come-out-of-nowhere dramatic victory! Just make sure to nominate it in the Nominations Discussion forum.
The Most Heroic Award
***Tim Kring, creator of the TV Series HEROES, will present The Most Heroic Award–for the superstructure that best reveals our hidden potential to save the world. Current top contenders include:
21st Century Wonder Tales: OLD STORIES FOR NEW THREATS
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/340
Youth Action Research Network: Think big. Start Small. Scale Fast.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/27
Everyday Heroes: Everyday people saving the world
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructJoin/424 and
http://heroicdaily.wordpress.com/
LifeLiners: For Everyone from Anyone
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/193
Future Heroes: “Prepared in Body, Mind, and Society.”
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/336
Trustnet: trust, but verify
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/145
The Dewey Decimal Human Organic Taxonomy Project: Celebrating our differences, one digit at a time.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructJoin/446
All Hands on Deck: where will workers and volunteers come from?
If a country can not save itself through the volunteer service of its own free people, then I say: Let the damned thing go down the drain! (Robert Heinlein)
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/97
The Most Collaborative Award
***Jimmy Wales, founder of WIKIPEDIA and WIKIA, will present The Most Collaborative Award–for the superstructure that invents the best new way of working together. Current top contenders include:
Worldwide Immune System for Humanity: If we were dumber, we couldn’t threaten our survival; and if we’re smart enough, we can avoid it.
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/434
Terraformers: Go Back And Make It Work
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/70
MobiFab (Social Fabbing): Fabbing and not Grabbing (free fabrication for deprived areas)
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/100
Us: focused and working together
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/413
The Venn MotherStruct: Visualizing the growth and organization of SuperStructs
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/403
Oh no, not again! Lets leapfrog
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/386
The New World Report: The sum of all solutions in a single cohesive document.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/447
Association of Global Geographers: Mapping the path of the past to the present helps us glance into tomorrow
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/356
Beyond Capitalism: We can not survive if corporations control the distribution of food and resources
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/346
Service and Responsibility Council: Leadership through action and cooperation
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/323
Verification Rating System (VRS): Just the facts.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/61
The Viridian Design Award
***Bruce Sterling, science fiction author and founder of the VIRIDIAN MOVEMENT, will present The Viridian Design Award–for the superstructure that creates the most irresistible demand for sustainable, or “green”, design. Current top contenders include:
Valuing the Environment: where the Ecosystem and the Market System intersect
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/322
G.U.N. (Green United Nations): “Shooting for a sustainable future.”
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/320
Terra Perma: Sustainable Food Production; Planned Through Play
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/101
Subtractive Architecture Less is More: http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/365
Open Fab Initiative: Moving the World Beyond Traditional Manufacturing
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/446
Australian Solarthermal Powerdome: Empowering Australians
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/39
Agraria: Take the SUV to the farm
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/438
ARK:NSA: No Starving Artist (All Human Beings Are Artists)
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/68
Repurposing the Suburbia lawn into ecofriendly communities: Regreening=collaborative survival
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/400
Water Law: Protection of Water forms central basis for Legal / Politcal Systems
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/289
The Most Whuffie Award
***Tara Hunt, co-founder of CITIZEN AGENCY and author of THE WHUFFIE FACTOR, will present The Most Whuffie Award–for the superstructure that encourages the most positive community involvement. Top current contenders include:
EDUCYCLE: Changing the world one student at a time!
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/194
What you Study Grows! Energy goes where the attention flows!
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructJoin/436
Raving Lunatics! We give you positive feedback!
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/408
E.A.T. - Evolve - Act - Triumph! Online Virtual IdeaFeasting
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/486
Outposts of One: Together we are no longer alone
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/343
The Global Village - a third place for refugee women: It takes a village to raise the world
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/479
Community Currency: Global Sense, not Dollars
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/152
Speculative Culturesmithing: “We can rebuild that culture for you wholesale”
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/386
Cutural Object Recovery Team: Saving the past for the present and future
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/200
Trans-Generational: Bridging Generation Gaps…One meme at a time.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/389
Foundation of Hope: Every mission needs a foundation
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/370
Meme Machine: If we build it, they will THINK!
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/330
Your Local Cookbook: Facilitate enjoyable diets by aggregating local food inputs with potential recipes
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/402
The Strangestruct Award
***Warren Ellis, comic book writer and author of CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, will present The Strangestruct Award–for the superstructure that takes the most off-the-wall, unexpected, and left-field approach. Current top contenders include:
Quantum Governance: Ziggy says there’s a 73% chance we can save the world…
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/318
MODE - Migrate Onto Digital Existence: Humans who wish to consider a migration to a digital existence as a solution to our global problems.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/243
Rook Parliament: Making the absentee ballot an everyday experience
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/128
Government, Inc.: Better services for discerning citizens
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/448
Cartoonix: ARTS AND SCIENCES
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/441
Unrestricted Communication: Open the Floodgates of Open Source and Unrestriction Communications Access
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/257
Green Tags: My green thumb is not spray paint
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/433
Protein Mapping Network: Got Roadkill?
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/369
The Biometrically Encrypted Transactional Artifact (BETA) Initiative: Restoring faith in the financial
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/353
Mobilizing Airilions ~ real-eyez~zing our wealth We Afford, confer, give forth, furnish, supply… real-eyez-zing wealth
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructJoin/351
Potential Futures for a Better Tomorrow: “Play upon the basic instincts of man to build a better species”
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/300
The ANT Project (Wireless internet for our future): We dont need your Media-cation.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructJoin/277
salmon fortunatus: omnopoly not monopoly
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/210
The Pandora Award
***Chris DiBona, Open Source program manager for GOOGLE, will present The Pandora Award–for the superstructure that is such a brilliant idea, once you hear about it, you can not NOT do it. Current top contenders include:
N-use: Engineering Triple Dippers for todays technologies
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructJoin/313
Religimon: Embrace the sacrament of survival
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/201
Think fast. Slow Down: reintroducing regular days of fast http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/474
The Hexayurt Project - Free Shelter, Agriculture and Infrastructure Technologies:
We’ve Got You Covered
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/209
Complementarism: Learn to Surf the Threat Cascade
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/369
Positive Social Impact Corporations: Companies making a better world.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/352
Open Source Watermark: Creating a gold standard for Open Source research
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/350
The Exchange : Creating new gift economies through social networking.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/125
The New Modesty: Changing fashion and customs to prevent the spread of ReDS
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/329
0+1 Infrastructure Reclamation: Reclaim, Reuse, Reverse
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/319 and http://zeroplusonesuperstructure.blogspot.com/
OpenID: Open Sourced Biometric Identification Technology for Everyone!
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/91
microeducation think tank: learning how to learn
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/296
Appleseed: Agricultural game / data-warehouse
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/46
Homestead-In-A-Box: For when you really, Really want to live by yourself
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/234
The Wonderfully Absurd Award
***Ze Frank, funniest person on the Internet and creator of THE ZE FRANK SHOW, presents The Wonderfully Absurd Award–for the superstructure that does good by celebrating absurdity at its finest. Current top contenders include:
The Society for Creative Breaking of Shit: Strategic griefing of the unacceptable.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/347
lazystruct: Bootstrapping the superstructure 140 characters at a time.
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/96
Catalog of Feedback Failures How to make better decisions
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/467
Farm Golf
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/398
Stop Being in the Wrong Place:The transit problem becomes a stasis problem
http://superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/465
Zombie Squad: If you are prepared for the undead, you are prepared for anything
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/206
The Esoteric Pony Express/The Pony Express: shop and swap until you drop!
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/453 and http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/315
Las Vegas:Pinata: Lets bust it open!
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/237
Improving by Improv: Increasing knowledge one chuckle at a time
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/350
THE BLOODY LIBERTARIAN GOSPEL OF GUEMBE: Strength, Survival, Darwinism, Guembe is the Messiah.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/279
Rename your neighborhood: We change anything we want to, why not our neighborhood’s name?
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/45
Bastards for a Better Tomorrow: Sometimes you can not make an omelet without killing a few people.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/271
Nomadic Markup Language (Nochalking):
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/170
The Greatest Amount of Soul Award
***Tim OReilly, founder and CEO of OREILLY MEDIA, presents The Greatest Amount of Soul Award, for the superstructure that goes the farthest beyond practical solutions to really lift the human spirit. Current top contenders include:
Natural Angels Land Trust: Are you going to use that land?
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/269
The Potlatch Economy: Give Until it Feels Good
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/383
Save Ganga: Ganga Bachao, Sanskriti Bachao (Save the Ganges, Save the Culture) http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/423
Object-Oriented Populations: Root, Inheritence, Scalibility, Connectedness
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/294
Celebrate a year of Jubilee: a year of emancipation, restoration, and hope of future happiness
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/290
Seeds ATM: Withdraw seeds packets for free.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/274
MetaStructure: You see the watch, we will help you imagine the cogs.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/261
Extended Family: Straddling the global/local divide.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/235
Distributed Health Care and P2P MC: Everyone is a healer
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/220
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/154
One-a-day Introductions: Like vitamins. It is good for you.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/212
The Refugee State: Support the Democratic Central African Republic (DCAR) Abroad! In DCAR, refugees have found their freedom. They need our help to keep it.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/20
CRADLE 2 CRADLE - remaking the way we make things, so that in the end our WASTE = FOOD: We can not solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. (Albert Einstein)
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/176
CurEx - International Currency Exchange System: Making Money Meaningful
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/165
Year of Plenty: Finding ways to share the excess in our (still fortunate) lives.
http://www.superstructgame.net/SuperstructView/56
Have fun.
Jeff Cobb
Mission to Learn
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