I was recently invited to speak to third-year Ryerson University students about the influence “radical trust” can have on interior design.
At first I wasn’t sure what I would say, but now, after having completed the journey, I’m sure that the result was worth the effort. If not for them, at least for me.
Radical Trust (the notion that influence, rather than control, is more effective at guiding culture, commerce and communities) comes from one of the key principles identified in web 2.0. These principles are popping up in every vertical and horizontal.
Here is a re-cap of the principles of Web 2.0:
1 Content is the brand
2 In a state of perpetual beta
3 Rich user experience
4 User behavior not predetermined
5 Granular addressability of content
6 Play
7 Improves with use
8 An attitude, not a technology
9 The long tail
10 Radical trust.
Since these principles are written to describe successful web architecture and user behavior, it shouldn’t be a leap to apply these notions to building architecture and inhabitant behavior.
1 The form is the function.
2 The structure is never really completed, always changing.
3 A place you want to be.
4 Inhabitant behavior is not predetermined.
5 You can do as much, or as little as you want in this space.
6 Play.
7 The more the structure is used, the better the structure becomes.
8 An attitude, not a textile.
9 Make it for everyone, not just the masses.
10 Radical trust.
The form is the function, the content is the brand, the medium is the message.
Simple, but radical notions often are simple. Drawing parallels to various industries, cultures, businesses, NGOs, or to anything should be easy. Before you run off and write a book titled “Architecture 2.0″, remember that these concepts have already been applied to many things, so you are a bit late to that game. (and it’s about time this 2.0 term dies a thousand deaths). But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider embracing it as these examples have:
Film
Science
Art
Music
Advertising
Government
Sports
Fantasy
NGOs
Charity
Libraries
Public Relations
Online Advertising
Therapy
Toys
Invention
Reference
Religion
Traffic planning
Credit
Green Mass transit
Intersteller mapping
Radio
Environmentalism
Answers
This is not a commercial revolution, this is a cultural revolution. Social media is but an echo to the boom of this power shift. Some of these examples are marketing initiatives, some of them are complete business models, most of them are revolutionizing everything they do by blurring those lines.
There is a cost of entry: you must first believe that people are inherently good. If you believe that when given the opportunity, people will more often than not do the right thing, you will probably succeed in this space. If you don’t, you might find yourself getting alienated along this cultural shift.
People need hope, compromise, empathy, balance. That is the revolution we all need right now. Summarized in trust. I can’t wait until we’re ready to drop the radical.
Tweet This!
Print This Post
13 Responses to “A Cultural Revolution, Not a Commerce One.”
Leave a Reply
Additional comments powered by BackType
March 5th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
[...] [cross-posted from RadicalTrust.ca [...]
March 5th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
WOW, Collin – this is great. I just stumbled in here from a Twitter recommendation (Pistachio’s, I think), and this is GREAT. Right up my alley. I’ll be reading more and pillaging freely — with due credit, of course!
March 5th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Hi Collin
It was a real pleasure hearing you speak at Ryerson on Tuesday morning. You can rest assured you’ve significantly (but positively) changed my thought process and general outlook on our society.
As is typical, I was slightly skeptical before you spoke, wondering if you’d have new material to present because it seems too much is being reused. Barely 3 slides in you gained my support and I left unable to stop thinking about the principles you’ve implanted.
Radical Trust is still for the time being radical, even for me (I’m a rule follower), but I trust in trusting people.
Thanks again!
Slava
March 5th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Thank you again Collin, for coming in and talking to our class on Tuesday. We have had people in the past talk about the impact of communications on space, but I think you softly nailed the heart of a prescient balance between the physical and psychological realm of what makes a community, with respect and honesty.
As I said before, what you were able to say in 40 minutes has taken me 4 years to wrap my head around, and I still can’t get it to come out right.
We’ll see you in the future.
Looking forward,
JI
March 6th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Thanks for the kind words everybody. And welcome to Radical Trust Tim. Thanks for reading and leaving the comments. I had a great time speaking to the class. It is facinating to see the reactions of the people in the room. I have a great deal of respect for Ryerson University, and would really enjoy doing it again.
As always
All the best.
March 6th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Inspiring. Truly inspiring.
The [cultural] revolution may not be televised, but it is blogged. Viva La Revolución!
March 10th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Bar none. The best commentary I’ve read on social as culture.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Hey, Thanks Omar and Guy, I’m blushing
March 12th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Indeed, social media is seen in the light of cultural revolution. A wave of change is taking place.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
I really like the way you’ve put this, Collin. I agree with you. I think that many of the economic difficulties we find ourselves in at present are due to a lack of trust or a lack identification with the “other” which causes people to act unethically.
People feel deceived and (dare say) abused by the corporate world (subprime mortgages anyone?) and I think that successful marketing strategies in the future will have to be cognizant of that new reality.
Consumers will logically be more skeptical of the company that wants their business, especially if they’ve recently lost a home or a job.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:52 am
You bring up an interesting point Joseph.
Social Media (as a growing industry) may actually do very well because of the economic difficulties on the horizon in the US and elsewhere.
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 pm
I fell upon your site by accident, and am glad I have done so! Great article.
April 9th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
[...] we determine needs changing on something already built. I love this post on Radical Trust called A Cultural Revolution, Not A Commercial One, the themes are identified as key principles of the web 2.0 movement, but as Collin Douma points [...]