190 Free Humans: the Wave approaches 200, but it must now find its engine

I will be very direct.

FreeWillWave is moving forward. But FreeWillWave is not yet taking off as I would like.

From the beginning, I have done everything I can to try to get the Wave to take off. I improve the site, I fix what blocks, I test ads, I write, I tell stories, I look at the numbers, I start over. The idea is there. The site works. Humans are signing up. The map is moving. Energy is flowing.

And yet, something has not yet triggered.

We are now 190 Free Humans.

This is huge for an idea that only existed in my head a short time ago. But it is also the moment when I must face reality: out of these 190 people, no one has yet brought someone into the Wave through their personal link.

Not a single member-to-member invitation has yet succeeded.

And that changes everything.

I have therefore stopped the ads

I could not continue to pay for promotion as if the human loop was already in motion, when it is not yet.

Advertising can bring people in. It can spark a first flame. But it cannot, by itself, carry the whole story. FreeWillWave was never designed as a site where one person pushes everything, all the time, with money.

The starting idea is much simpler, and much more human: everyone can take an action.

An invitation.
A share.
A link.
A support.
A bit of energy sent on the map.

Nothing is mandatory. I do not want to be the leader of anyone. I do not want to impose any duty on anyone. But a Wave only becomes a Wave if several humans agree to carry it, even just a little bit.

For now, this loop has not been set in motion.

So I made a decision.

I will now focus on one very concrete thing: bringing in money to promote FreeWillWave much more strongly.

Not to turn the project into a commercial machine. Not to change its spirit. But to give it the means to reach many more people.

Because if the Wave is not yet launching naturally, it needs more momentum.

Looking for means, not giving up

I do not see this decision as a setback.

I see it as an adaptation.

When something does not work, you can complain, or you can change your angle. I choose to change my angle.

I will therefore work to create revenue around FreeWillWave, or alongside FreeWillWave, to finance broader, more regular, more solid promotion.

This may be exactly what should have been done from the beginning.

Because deep down, the problem is not that humans are not signing up. They are signing up.

The problem is that the Wave is not yet visible enough to meet enough people capable of understanding the idea, joining it, and then passing it on.

So I will continue.

But I will continue differently.

Sponsors are welcome

If sponsors want to join the adventure, they are welcome.

FreeWillWave is a global social experiment, peaceful, visible, measurable, built around a very simple question:

How many humans will freely choose to remain free?

If a brand, an entrepreneur, a media outlet, a creator, or an organization understands the meaning of this adventure and wants to help make it known, we can discuss.

I am not looking to sell the soul of the project.
I am looking to give it the means to exist on a larger scale.

There is a difference.

In the meantime, the Wave continues

And despite all this, the Wave is moving forward.

Since the last account on the evening of July 7, 18 new Free Humans have joined us.

We were 172. We are now 190.

Two milestones have been crossed:

Amanda, #180, United Kingdom, on July 8.
Claudine Saint-andré, #190, France, on July 9.

We are approaching 200 Free Humans.

And this time, the most visible movement comes from France.

France overtakes the United States

The ranking of countries has changed.

On July 7, France was still 4ᵉ with 23 Free Humans. It is now 3ᵉ with 35, ahead of the United States, which remains at 29.

The ranking this morning:

Canada 48 · United Kingdom 41 · France 35 · United States 29 · New Zealand 12 · Australia 9 · Belgium 3 · United Arab Emirates 1 · Antarctica 1 · North Korea 1 · Niger 1 · Senegal 1 · Tanzania 1.

As in previous days, some members have not declared a country. Therefore, the sum of the countries does not exactly match the total.

The French push is clear in this window. Among the arrivals:

Guilian David arrived on July 9 and has already sent energy on the map. This kind of gesture counts. It shows that the Wave is not just a registration. It can become a presence.

Energy continues to flow

Since the opening, 573 gestures of energy have been sent on the map.

On July 7, we were at 529. So that makes 44 more gestures in three days, including 24 in the last 24 hours.

And these gestures now come from 38 different people.

The energy podium, excluding Free Human #1, is very tight:

Alistair A, #40, New Zealand — 67 energies
Lionel, #2, Belgium — 63 energies
Samantha Read, #87, United Kingdom — 61 energies

The top three are within 6 gestures of each other.

This is not a competition in the classic sense. These are traces. Signs. Humans who return, who click, who participate, who keep the Wave alive.

A small improvement to the tool

A detail has also been corrected this week.

When you send energy on the map, the light animation now plays immediately, even if your tab has been open for a long time.

The reason is simple: I myself sent energy from a tab that had been open too long. The country lit up, but the little light clip did not play.

This visual feedback should not depend on an invisible back-and-forth with the site.

When you take an action, you should see your action.

This is now the case.

The number that makes you think

The most important number in this account may not be 190.

It is zero.

Zero member-to-member invitations succeeded.

Personal links received 18 clicks in total, from only 2 members. But none of these clicks resulted in a registration.

This is not a reproach. It is a statement.

And that is exactly why I am changing my strategy.

I do not want to stop FreeWillWave.
I want to give it the means to continue.
I want to give it a real chance to be seen, understood, shared.

The Wave is approaching 200 Free Humans.

Now, it needs to find its engine.

To be continued on The Wave and in The Wave in numbers.

Also to be reread: