If you're having fun, fun happens (so keep yourself entertained)

There are many reasons to have fun doing whatever you're doing.

For one thing, it's more self-sustaining. For another, fun is contagious: if you're excited, others, including journalists, will be excited too. (Disclaimer: there's probably no research to back this up, but it's true.)

Over the years, the Yes Men have changed things up pretty constantly. Sometimes it's been because things stop working the same way they used to, and new technologies coming into play. We had fun with social media for a while — with our Coal Cares, Chevron, Shellfail, and ArcticReady projects, for example — mostly because those technologies hadn't existed before. And sometimes it's because it might be just as fun to rebuild a bad organization as to demolish it.

One thing we've found increases the depth and intensity of our fun is knowing — or, ok, feeling — that what we're doing is making a difference. We just don't find it fun to do weird things for their own sake, or, heavens forfend, to make fun of those weaker than us. But doing weird things to punch up at oppressors — that's about as much fun as it's possible to have on this planet. (Skiing can come close, but only if you're good but not too good at it.)

Instances in which we learned this lesson

(First published in In These Times.) The hosts of the Homeland Security Congress were getting anxious. It was ten minutes past the time…
One leak, and over a 48-hour period we scuttled Chevron's campaign... and then many friends scuttled it a lot more. It remains scuttled today.
Because attacks on fossil-fuel industries tends to be about climate change, a large environmental organization jumped at the chance to make waves…
Having overcome a minor administrative hurdle, Mike and Andy arrive in Sydney (this time, the flight has been funded by various arts organizations,…
On Monday, Nov. 8, the Yes Men sent out a fake press release on behalf of private-jet outfitter Yasava with some very real news about this utterly,…
Around 1996, we'd started an "anti-corporate sabotage corporation" called ®™ark (don't ask why we called it that). ®™ark was ostensibly a way for…
In 2012, as part of helping Shell to (mis)launch their Arctic drill rig, we decided to "help" Shell with their "Let's Go" ad campaign too.  First,…