So you want to organize an
Internet Yami-Ichi
Whenever you feel like taking a break from all of the gorgeous “#lunch” pics cluttering your timeline (whatever, dude, you're giving me gas) go ahead, shut down your browser, and start up an Internet Yami-Ichi. Here's the IDPW recipe for connecting with the smartest and most interesting people around you.
➫ Imagine a flea market for buying and selling internet-ish stuff.
Internet Yami-ichi are events where Internet-ish goods and services materialize in real space. It's up to you to interpret the “-ish” part. For organizers: our experience is this works best if you keep a loose definition of what constitutes “internet-ish”. Pepperoni pizza slices? Totally up to you.
➫ The Internet Yami-Ichi is a play on the Japanese phrase for “black market”, but it's not about illegal stuff.
Participants: Our Yami-ichi wants, like information, to remain free and useful. Stuff which endangers some can ruin it for all. "Browsing" face-to-face is at its most awesome when everybody enables inspiring (not offensive, or dangerous) goods and services.
➫ Charge vendors at little as possible (while still breaking even)
Call it economy, call it ecology, the more organizers charge vendors to participate the more vendors have to charge to break-even, and the more the whole project risks feeling commercialized. The best thing about this event is people trading in completely improbable stuff. You win, as an organizer, when vendors start selling experimental things which would never fly at a normal flea market. Of course you need to charge something so you're not everybody's sponsor, because that's awkward too. Anyway, important thing is to hit that virtuous cycle where things get interesting. Wanna get rich? Find something else.
➫ Set up a web site.
If you want to avoid have to print and distribute 1,000 flyers, make a web page to tell the world about your Black Market. Who knows if anybody sees it of course. And please remember to use the official Internet Yami-Ichi logo, and add a link to the global site (http://yami-ichi.biz).
➫ Share your memory.
Everything sold at the Black Market is a testament to human culture, treasures, and we're interested in knowing about them. We would love you to take photos of each and every good and service. Share other information too, such as number of attendees, customer response, whatever. Even better if you have videos. You do? Please post them on the web!
➫ Watch this video at least twice.
(on the second time through, we'll excuse you if you have to get up and check how your new tofu roast beef recipe you found over the weekend is going)
Got it? Let's get going then! Wait, hold on. Before you do that, would you mind contacting us?
Mommy needs to know when the party's on to bake you one of her famous cakes!