manifesto craft

notes on writing manifestos that light both yours and readers’ hearts on fire

Standing for something isn’t just about writing it down. It’s about believing it and living it.

David Heinemeier Hansson • Rework

1. Manifestos usually include a list of numbered tenets.

The format has been de rigeur since at least as far back as The Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789). It conveys a sense of urgency and straight talk. This is also why manifestos feel so contemporary: their close resemblance to click-bait top 10 lists.

Julian Hanna • The 10 Things All Great Manifestos Need

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“Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfucker who plays it is 80 percent.”

― Miles Davis

Poetic Outlaws • Tweet

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Demons must be named to be defeated, just as our deepest and most vile urges or emotions must be acknowledged to be integrated

Θωμᾶς del Vasto (soul/acc) • Tweet

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"Even if my expectations are unreasonable I would prefer to keep them"

Simon Sarris • Tweet

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Caught in a contradiction, playing both despot and revolutionary, artist and critic, “straight man” and clown, the manifesto writer must persevere. The secret to this perseverance is drama. The theater of the absurd. You build a little self-contained world and invite the audience in. Describe this world in detail. Don’t be afraid to make it enterta

Julian Hanna • The Manifesto Handbook

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Criminalsimpsons • Tweet

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this is part of why i think many startups could benefit from a bold manifesto. helps break free from race to the bottom commodification, and re-position themselves in a more premium way.

In its highest form, the manifesto acts as a magic spell incanted by the visionary artist. It is a performative speech/act that attempts to bring a new reality into existence.

Julian Hanna • The 10 Things All Great Manifestos Need

rob hardy added 6mo

At Coinbase, we distilled our positioning into the phrase, "Trusted, safe, and easy to use." This message became a guiding principle for our marketing, content creation, media outreach, and even our approach to attracting top talent. In order to reach new people with this message and fast, we knew we needed to kinda meme it into existence. And so w... See more

Writing | A Marketing Mantra for Founders

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well-arranged words rearrange reality.

Visakan Veerasamy • Tweet

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