Enlightened Capitalism

Essays about how to harness people's natural desire to create wealth and improve their quality of life to solve global problems such as war and poverty.

Friday, September 09, 2005

Messages To Outer Space

Ever since the first time I saw a satelite photo, I have wanted to write a message that could be seen from space.

For a while I researched buying land in Nevada or Wyoming, and by planting different kinds of grass and trees, I figured I could spell out words at a resolution of about 1 pixel = 1 acre.

But recently, flying over Phoenix, I got a better idea. Many suburbs are built on a square grid, and so the rooftops actually line up like pixels on a computer screen. If we could rent those rooftops we could spell out words extremely clearly.

The owners of the roofs wouldn't necessarily be affected, either, because using the same technology used to make those giant movie posters, comprised of thousands of tiny scenes from the movie, with just small changes to the tone of the roof, barely noticeable on the ground, we could paint clearly legible words using contrast.

What would we spell? Of course, advertisers like Coca Cola and Exxon would have an idea. But I think cities like Phoenix could also differentiate themselves with aerial signage, the way Hollywood does with its hillside placard.