Actually I agree with Andrew and Felipe. Organic is the way to go.
another good practice when doing this kind of thing is a/b testing.
if we were to keep it simple, here’s an example of what could be done as such test, with both keyword phrases pointing to the same landing page (relevant to the implied topic here):
a) “how to be happy” or “how to be happy all the time”
b) “how to stop suffering/sadness” or “how to stop being sad all the time”
interestingly, i suspect we’d receive different results from those, both in terms of quantity and quality. for instance, i’d venture to say as an hypothesis that people looking to be happy would be more “shallow” or unwilling to stay and do the work entailed in being permanently happy, while the people looking from the negative angle would be more deeply in touch with their dark side and more invested in the need and urgency to find a solution, even as a life-or-death matter.
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I do actually have the beginnings of 2 articles. Maybe more.
One I think would help someone else avoid spending a decade before getting results.
The other is the 5 years overdue report on visiting Richard and Vineeto.
I could also write something to help ex-christians navigate to the starting point.
I think it would be good for me to help in whatever way. Perhaps curate articles, or create wiki links.
As Claudiu said, it’s not about rewriting the AFT. Rather documenting peoples experiences applying actualism.
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I agree abt the organic thing insofar as someone will be aware, “I’m clicking on an ad.” It’s a different thing than clicking on a regular google link via search, or hearing about it through some other means.
It raises some interesting questions though about how to get the word out, and whether ads might work against the perceived purity in some way.
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I am quite inspired by the whole idea.
I was pondering yesterday about the fact the AFT is not specifically written for me. Obviously not, it isn’t written to anyone specifically. Apart from when Richard was specifically writing to me. 
An article by me, about actualism is written for me. It will appeal to me, obviously. It may also be closer to appealing to someone else.
With enough articles, by the diverse group we have here, we could create essentially more “entry points” to the main gig, the AFT.
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What’s the organic / inorganic distinction being pointed out exactly?
My thought was to collect eg peoples reports of how they got their first PCE, what helped them get a second or third or others , what they wish they would have known etc. and then collect these into a page of a guide to PCEs. Instead of just me writing about it (like an article) it’d rather be a collection of people’s reports. My thought isn’t to write a guide to PCEs per se but to share what practically worked for people. It seems “organic” to me in the sense that it’s “community”-generated content , albeit with some curation and direction (so Less organic perhaps than just a forum post).
And then do this for a number of “hot topics”… but it seems spreading the knowledge of how to have a “first” PCE would be quite impactful
This is separate from the ad idea btw… it’s orthogonal to it. This is more about content to add on actualism.online
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While the ideas and arguments in the rest of your post seem good enough, your summary:
does not necessarily follow.
The last person I connected with Simple Actualism had known about the AFT site for many years. He always found it very confusing and off-putting. And Simple Actualism seemed to him much clearer and more pleasant. Of course, it’s anecdotal evidence, but for years others have said similar things about the AFT site. Why not try something different now that we can? After all, the AF Trust has (or can get) its own money to apply to advertising, SEO, site aesthetics, etc., if it wanted to.
Considering that the ideas we are discussing include, above all, the creation of another kind of material (i.e., we are not referring to “this place” only -the forum-, as it exists), I think there is a possibility that, indeed, new material could seem to many people less confusing and off-putting as an entry point to AF, than the AFT site.
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My understanding of the organic/inorganic distinction was about ads versus content.
Consensus isnt required. If you enjoyed the ad experiment, keep it running! I think it’s fun.
I really like that there could be a curated place for articles by us. I am going to write them either way, as it’s very clarifying for myself.
Again, as you said “idears” vs “doers”.
As long as we are having fun, it will happen. If anyone gets everything lumped on them, that doesn’t sound fun.
Hire a developer with some of the money!
Oh, as I had not interpreted @Srinath’s words as contrary to @claudiu’s idea (since I had also thought his idea “orthogonally”, i.e., that it could coexist with other authorial forms), I think it would be good indee to better detail the distinction between organic and inorganic.
Whether it follows or not is based on whether or not you agree with the following:
If you all reckon you can provide a better resource than the AFT website, a better place to learn about an actual freedom from the human condition than at the address of the person who (a) made its discovery, (b) lived the full meaning of an actual freedom, and (c) spent the next couple of decades meticulously articulating it to all and sundry, then you are correct. It doesn’t follow.
P.S. @Miguel There’s no need to justify our positions to any great depth. Everyone seems to want to go in a particular direction for one reason or another. I just felt I would regret it if I never voiced the direction I wished for things to go. There was the off chance that the collective mindset could be swayed by my input to move in the direction I thought most beneficial.
No, don’t worry. I think I really understand you, and you enrich our thinking (at least mine). But why don’t you like it as another entry point either? (like Simple Actualism, which states that "is intended to complement the information found there [on the AFT site]).
If you spend money to direct traffic to Simple Actualism, which is as you say, complementary material, i.e., supplementary, accessorial, auxilial, peripheral, etc., rather than spend money to direct traffic to the Actual Freedom Trust website, which is principal, i.e., primary, crucial, essential, foremost, etc., then there is tacit acknowledgement that you value the complement over the principal. Money talks. Because the AFT site has articles galore and links to complementary material such as this forum and Simple Actualism, on its front page no less, it seemed like a no brainer to me as to where to put the money.
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apologies if i created or contributed to the confusion, as i think i was the first employing the “organic” word. what i meant in that context wasn’t Google ads marketing vs SEO/content marketing; it was rather within the topic of where could ads point to.
i assumed some of those ads were pointing to pages that included this very forum, and i was advocating for that idea in the debate of them pointing to our content (including the forums) vs. pointing to the aft website.
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When I first decided to confess to @Sonyaxx that I am an actualist I specifically picked the simple actualism page over the AFT to show to her and I have spoken to her about this, she agreed that it was the right move. AFT is the shit in terms of being an unquestionable resource for actualists but it really doesn’t seem that newbie friendly.
Having something like the simple actualism page or reports of people on the forum seems to break the ice abit more for people fresh into these ideas. It softens the blow somewhat in terms of what is about to be discussed lol
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The funny thing is that the aft website also may be considered ‘organic’ in this context , as most of the words are essentially excerpts of the equivalent of a forum haha
And then those words are supplemented with some articles the actualists at the time wrote …
It’s really not fundamentally a different concept than having our forum and our site that has articles, except … …
1- the guarantee of authenticity
2- our forum is active
3- we are different people
#1 is simply irreplaceable. But that site already exists , we don’t need to make another one.
#2 and #3 are why it’s a good idea for us to do something ourselves
#2 because humans are social creatures. Seeing other actively doing it is quite a catalyst, whether this is “silly” in a grand scheme or not.
Example , my partner on the couch asks me if I want ice cream. I say no. She goes and gets some and comes back. Now I’m watching her eat it and … of course I want a bite! And I end up eating as much as her haha.
And #3 for a similar reason - seeing others do it than the 3 on the aft site. But also cause we have different life experiences and perspectives. So additional reports can only help broaden the field.
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Completely agree; the AFT has articles, diagrams etc, which were especially written, then millions of words of conversations!
Many of the articles started as replies to questions. It was one of the trolls favourite accusations to point out the amount of “copy and paste”. I actually like that aspect. If something was said really well in one of the threads, turning it into an article “ctrl C, ctrl V” , edit to suit.
It’s being that active vibrant generator of new content (which essentially becomes SEO and something to point an ad to).
Imagine being able to direct a newbie to an article we think will really connect with them?
I.e. “Ah, Claudiu wrote an article here hyperlink which really explains that aspect of feeling good”
Then a dozen hyperlinks later, freedom!!!
yeah, there are pros and cons of both options. i’d argue that the social proof aspect of this forum could be more powerful in the sense of appearing more authentic (being more difficult to fabricate vs. the aft website, which feels more anonymous and static), being current (the community is alive and even thriving, so the method has some merit and durability), and being dynamic (anyone can interact with it, not only by reading but by posting and getting feedback immediately).
on a personal level, now that i think about it, i do wonder what would’ve happened if i had come across the aft website without being “warmed up” by people i respected back then (the buddhist communities in their forums). maybe i wouldn’t be here at all, lol.
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Over time as this forum discusses more subjects it will come up in more google searches and gain more impressions & potentially more users, that might be a better way to grow gradually than ads
I think having ads makes actualism look more like a ‘product,’ something being sold to people, which has the implication of not being as genuine
But not everyone may have that same association
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