Archive - The Participation Exchange

Murmuration: What Starlings Know About Brand Coherence

Every winter evening over the wetlands of Gretna Green, Scotland, something impossible happens.

Mar 2 • Christian Jacobsen

February 2026

The Blank Square

How the Crossword Invented Participatory Media

Feb 23 • Christian Jacobsen

The Third Wave of Wild

Every major technology shift starts with beautiful chaos. We've seen it twice before. The third time is happening right now.

Feb 16 • Christian Jacobsen

We Won: The Primal Participation of Sports

Listen to how fans talk after a game and you'll notice a quirk of grammar…"We won." "We got robbed." "We need to fix our defense." "We're going all the…

Feb 9 • Christian Jacobsen

The Degenerate Wisdom

Prediction markets are participation markets. That’s why they’re winning.

Feb 2 • Christian Jacobsen

January 2026

Framework: Invitation Architecture

Last week I published “Becoming Chinese,” about the trend that should have gotten cancelled but didn’t.

Jan 27 • Christian Jacobsen

How “Becoming Chinese” became 2026’s first participation masterclass

“Tomorrow, you’re turning Chinese.

Jan 22 • Christian Jacobsen

The Pheromone Trail: What Ants Know About Brand Communication

Fun fact: The most sophisticated human organizations consistently get outperformed by brainless insects.

Jan 20 • Christian Jacobsen

2025’s most engaged brand had no product. No purpose. No meaning.

A teacher says, “Turn to page sixty-seven.”

Jan 14 • Christian Jacobsen

The Future of Brands Is Participatory

The most magnetic brands today aren’t fueled by campaigns.

Jan 8 • Christian Jacobsen

Welcome to The Participation Exchange

For 300,000 years, humans survived by participating.

Jan 7 • Christian Jacobsen

Participation Is the New Platform: A 2026 Forecast

For anyone following news of the ad industry, 2025 was defined by upheaval.

Jan 6 • Christian Jacobsen

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