MEMES WE LIVE BY
a vibecamp manifesto
Hi friends! Here’s a manifesto I wrote in June of 2024 for Vibecamp, a scrappy upstart festival that’s quietly evolving into the digital era’s version of Burning Man. This one was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you enjoy it.
dearest internet friend,
there is a grand conspiracy afoot. a subterranean struggle for the sovereignty of your spirit. the fate of human civilization hangs in the balance.
this is not a joke. (mostly)
the memes dominating our digital discourse are those of division, distrust, and despair. as the culture war chomps away at the social fabric, tribal nihilism is taking root in the soils of our collective consciousness. loneliness abounds, and helplessness hangs in the air.
but we're not here to wallow in the wreckage of our dawning dystopia. we refuse to join the chorus of calamity, the symphony of cynicism. because what you focus on, grows. darkness cannot drive out darkness. only light can do that.
that’s why we’ve spent years in our twitter laboratory incubating new memes. zestier memes. wickedly wholesome reality-bending memes of fierce friendliness and astronomical agency.
at our events and festivals, we transplant these memes from our heads into our hearts, from our screens into our souls. when embodied in community, these memes make magic, transporting us to the frontiers of life beyond the atomized confines of digital modernity.
as vibecampers return home, the memes will spread from their humble hosts into the wider world, where they will work miracles. for this is how we are planting seeds of the next golden age for humanity.
we are vibecamp, and these are the memes we live by:
DELIGHT IN THE DEPTH
in a world that flattens people into caricatures, we choose to marvel at the kaleidoscopic swirl of stories animating every human. we approach new interactions not with suspicion, but as an opportunity to revel in the exquisite subtlety and depth of whoever stands before us. and of course we extend this wholehearted wonder to the human in the mirror.
HONE YOUR REPLY GAME
unexpectedly intriguing conversation is the bedrock of our bliss. so we toss out the scripts and surrender to the spirit of improv. we “yes, and” our way into conversational jazz that none of us could play alone. we riff in the key of curiosity, tap our feet to the rhythm of rapport, and turn humdrum banter into a dance of mutual discovery.
EMBRACE EARNEST DISSENT
in the age of echo chambers, we champion the disagreeable misfits who sincerely stand up for themselves and their ideas. those who cut against the grain. vibecamp is a communal garden where earnest openness reigns supreme, and the overton window widens. so speak your truth, anon. just don’t be an ass, ok?
YOU CAN JUST DO THINGS
where others wait for permission, we acknowledge that trying something new is always on the table. you’ve got the green light to tinker around, try shit, and make things around you a wee bit better. whatever you want to see more of in your world, you can just start doing it. you can even start today!
LEARN, GROW, BUILD IN PUBLIC
we strive to push our projects forward with the garage door open. whether learning a new skill, creating art, or building a company, we strive to share our process and progress, our missteps and milestones. for this is how we attract allies and opportunities, and perhaps inspire passive onlookers into their own acts of agentic mischief.
MAKE FRIENDS, HAVE FUN, REPEAT
this is our central meme. our raison d’être. vibecamp exists to foster friendships and perpetuate play in a world that systemically squashes both. no matter what you’re striving towards—be it a quiet life of community, or a boisterous bout with the biggest problems of our time—a steadfast squad of heartfelt homies, paired with a playful disposition, will pave the way forward.
can you imagine a world where these memes animate your life, and the people around you? a world where depth is celebrated, play is prioritized, trust is assumed, agency is everywhere, and friendship is the foundation for our greater ambitions?
we don’t have to imagine it, because it already exists. vibecamp is a microcosm of this world, and we’re working, day by day, to broaden its borders well beyond our humble beginnings.
our invitation to you, dear reader, is to take the memes for a test drive. see how it feels to divert your attention from the digital dumpster fire, and focus on delightful conversation, earnest sharing, and friend making. pay attention to what stirs and wakes in you. savor it.
if you’re like us, you will soon feel called to live these memes more fiercely, in-person with your newfound internet homies.
in which case, we’ll see you at vibecamp. 🫡
This is awesome