Hi Colin, I came across your blog after reading a Bloomberg article. Interesting thoughts! (and congrats for your startup successes) As I was reading the bad apple/bad money/cinema ideas I suddenly thought of something that also relates to the latest Nassim Taleb ‘Skin in the game’ about activist minorities that seem to take control of areas of society at times.

In short: to trigger a movement you not only need to be 1% or 5%, but you get an amplification effect if you grab the front rows. The same 5% or even more sitting randomly or toward the end rows would not be able to affect the crowd.

Some activist groups are very skilled, powerful or connected and able to occupy front seats. If you go back to the origins or PR with Berney’s ‘Torches of Freedom’ that’s exactly what he did with a remarkably small group.

Cheers,

Ben