# Calling All Protocol Entrepreneurs

*Preview of Information Session on Wednesday 20th, 9AM*

By [Protocolized](https://paragraph.com/@protocolized) · 2024-03-19

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### Join us for a Q&A about the program

On **March 20th at 9am Pacific (12pm Eastern)**, Venkat and Tim will be giving an overview of the upcoming summer program, including guidance on applications, important dates, and more. We'll be saving plenty of time for a Q&A, so if you have any questions, be sure to join!

[Add to Calendar](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r/eventedit/MTRiMmt1NzM4MG1kMGp1ajZ0NWY3bmJzZnQgY185YmEyNmFmM2I2MjFhOGNjMzFkZTY1YzJlODc5ODhlYTJiNGE5MDgzN2QwNDIzMjBhOWViMzllMWRkOWEyOTQ5QGc)

You can also post questions in the [Questions Thread](https://forum.summerofprotocols.com/t/sop-2024-question-thread/175/4) in the forum in the meantime.

Immediately after the program overview, Jonathan Blake and Nils Gilman will join for an SoP Guest Talk on protocol thinking at a planetary scale. [Prereading and livestream link](https://forum.summerofprotocols.com/t/jonathan-blake-nils-gilman-planetary-subsidiarity-a-proposed-architecture-for-governance-3-20/212) for their talk, _Planetary Subsidiarity: A proposed architecture for governance._

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### RFCs are trickling in

The [call for applications](https://summerofprotocols.com/research/sop2024#keydates) is open until April 12th! As a reminder, there are two grant tracks. The Protocol Improvement Grant ([PIG](https://summerofprotocols.com/research/sop2024#pigs)) is $90k for up to 5 two-person teams improving upon an existing protocol. The Protocol [PILL](https://summerofprotocols.com/research/sop2024#pills) Challenge is a $1000 development grant for up to 20 individuals to create protocol-themed work with memetic potential.

Several submissions have been made, each with a public [Request for Comment](https://forum.summerofprotocols.com/c/sop-2024-rfcs/10) which you can check out on the forum. It's a good idea to post this RFC component of the application early!

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### The Protocol Entrepreneur's Journey

If you're a visual thinker, these two diagrams are for you. There is a big but illegible opportunity space for nontraditional changemakers:

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/addaa4828f6af9ad23f05757eff37166.jpg)

That core attracts people with a certain combination of traits. In other words, the type of people we're looking for.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5ce507a30c027e221530e5caf77c3810.jpg)

[Apply Now](https://summerofprotocols.com/research/sop2024#pigs)

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### Recommended reading for autodidacts

A ["Top 20" reading list](https://forum.summerofprotocols.com/t/protocol-reading-list-top-20/200) was posted on the forum yesterday. In addition to last summer's essays, it's a great place to hone your thinking about protocol. Here are some of the suggestions (this isn't the full list - your thumbs don't want to scroll through all of that):

**PIG Reference List**

1.  What Makes for a Successful Protocol? \[[Link](https://yakcollective.substack.com/p/rules)\]
    
2.  Protocol: How Control Exists After Decentralization \[[Link](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262572330/protocol/)\]
    
3.  If Code is Law, Protocols Are Good Manners That Help Us Get Along \[[Link](https://circleid.com/posts/20230510-if-code-is-law-then-protocols-are-good-manners-that-help-us-get-along)\]
    
4.  Men, Machines and Modern Times \[[Link](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262630184/men-machines-and-modern-times/)\]
    
5.  The Checklist Manifesto \[[Link](https://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right/dp/0312430000/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mWp-l_VaKQSGcOiF2W8ZEU7sc41bgJEHFStJai6eP_0P6C5NxAsLuEm-H-trqD-5uo9mBrvzrZbYXbsTT2ocv-ja33HKDzryZMVfFabJOE-Hhf5A67pBL97MZ7KcsYVDtk6XjX9VDOzMDtsvKhB15wf1UWZ82vWGf_RTbmttKrSTRlRGH86a7DpUSIvzjOsTSiZmumjRrwUVr7LP4cECeihjs0Vw6EFRvEgWWBOacP0._kMEprxmwai_AyFyyb0Pp2QLRJR-lB6Zo8an8ENXB3o&dib_tag=se&keywords=checklist+manifesto&qid=1710265590&s=books&sr=1-1)\]
    

**PILL Reference List**

1.  XCXD #2347: Dependency (Nebraska Guy) \[[Link](https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2347:_Dependency)\]
    
2.  Die a Vibe or Live Long Enough to Become a Protocol \[[Link](https://twitter.com/tmbr_ss/status/1677193870105346052)\]
    
3.  Who Could Write Protocol Fiction for Speculative Infrastructure? \[[Link](https://interconnected.org/home/2022/08/11/casi)\]
    
4.  Bureaucratic Heroism \[[Link](https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/bureaucratic-heroism/#:~:text=lame%20authority%20figures.-,Bureaucratic%20heroes%20are%20%E2%80%9Cultrareal%E2%80%9D%20heroes%20for%20working%2C%20law%2D,morality%2C%20or%20even%20common%20sense)\]
    
5.  The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction \[[Link](https://otherfutures.nl/uploads/documents/le-guin-the-carrier-bag-theory-of-fiction.pdf)\]
    

These links are all good places to look for inspiration to bolster your application. [Visit the forum](https://forum.summerofprotocols.com/t/protocol-reading-list-top-20/200) to see the full list!

Also - more research from last summer is live online! [Check out](https://summerofprotocols.com/research) _Dispatches from Cascadia, Weaving Memory, Exit to Protocol, Addressable Space,_ or _Control and Consciousness of Time._

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*Originally published on [Protocolized](https://paragraph.com/@protocolized/calling-all-protocol-entrepreneurs)*