Six research collectives and collaborative reports

Across cultural spheres, written media has been an integral part of how communities share knowledge, ideas, and stories. From DIY zines, to online writing, people have come together across various timelines and disciplines to produce, publish, and distribute material that shares a collective point of view, sometimes with the goal of collectively conducting and publishing research reports for specific verticals, categories, or scenes.

Here are six metalabels with a focus on releasing research-based reports.

1. RADAR

RADAR was started in 2021 by Fancy, a pseudonymous founder, spearheading a collective of cultural researchers and trend forecasters. Together, the group gathers on a Discord channel, collecting signals of emerging trends, and releases collectively researched reports.

In addition to full-time contributors, the collective consists of many research professionals who moonlight with RADAR as a complement to more traditional trend forecasting work, and to work as part of a participatory community.

RADARS purpose is to accelerate better futures in multiplayer mode- and build the infrastructure for visionaries to validate, fund and launch their visions for the future, empowered by web3 and backed with foresight.

Key releases include:

2. Metagov

Metagov started in 2019 as a collaborative effort to create and rethink a governance layer for the internet. There are various ways to get involved, from attending weekly seminars to working full-time on internal collaborative projects.

Their purpose is to build and promote standards for collective digital self-governance through interdisciplinary research.

Key releases include:

3. K-Hole

K-HOLE was founded as a collective of artists and writers who joined to release consumer trend forecasting reports as free PDFs. Active from 2011 - 2016, the group released five reports, which adopted the form of corporate trend reports to comment on emerging cultural patterns, invent new language, and make a cultural splash in the process.

K-HOLE used trend forecasting reports to present critical commentary on corporatism, consumerism, and culture, through trend forecasting reports.

Key releases include:

4. Royal Society

In the 1660's, at a time when the Ptolemaic System — the belief that the Earth was stationary and at the center of the universe — was taught as scientific fact, The Royal Society formed with a goal to improve "Natural Knowledge” with a motto that translates to: “Take nobody’s word for it.” Through supporting and publishing scientific research, the Royal Society directly helped usher in the Age of Enlightenment. Today, the Royal Society still maintains a fellowship of scientists and is the UK’s national science academy.

According to their founding charter, the Royal Society's purpose is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.

Key releases include:

5. Other Internet

Founded by Toby Shorin, Other Internet began as a new genre of research organization, focused on how the internet is remaking our collective digital infrastructure, and reorganizing online economic models.

The group of contributors conducts research, and also works with organizations to develop prototypes for new institutional models and alternative network structures. Together, Other Internet publishes reports that comment on emerging online cultural trends and patterns.

Other Internet's purpose is to create alignment between social technology, values, and culture through study and application.

Key releases include:

6. Water & Music

Water & Music is a membership community, newsletter, and research DAO that collaboratively authors music industry reports. The organization is democratically self-governed and is coordinated, in part, through their own $STREAM community token which is used to measure and recognize contributions of members.

Through their collective reports, W&M aims to be the research and intelligence network for the new music business.

Key releases include: