Persona-Creating Startups





There are companies that help develop existing personas (you're a brand, whether you like it or not), or create fake personas for potential hires or potential clients.

What about a philanthropic organization that develops personas that they'd like to see in the world?

For example, I'd like to see more curators of middle-of-the-road news and political commentary to combat febrile polarization. What if I hired a writer to create some thoughtful blog posts, initiated a twitter and facebook account, and then recruited someone to maintain these?

It feels a little like a subversive Russian influence racket, but if I genuinely feel this persona would be helpful, and I find someone who genuinely agrees, then it doesn't strike me as wrong. I bet there are many talented people out there willing to maintain a certain public face, they're just not sure what. Priming them with the beginnings of a beneficial persona seems reasonable.

Other quick persona ideas:
- A climate change activist promoting geoengineering solutions.
- An animal rights activist interested in lab-grown meat.
- Someone introducing cause prioritization to campus activists.
- Someone aggregating clips that highlight the danger of nuclear weapons.

How about launching single issue presidential campaigns, like Andrew Yang's universal-basic-income-fueled bid?

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