A few years ago, Duncan Watts — a network-theory pioneer at Yahoo! Research — wanted to test a theory. He ran a series of tests to see if popular music could be made popular again or if the original success was just plain luck. Watts wondered, can you browbeat people into thinking something is popular [...]

Today’s post is from Guest Blogger James Pew, owner and head soundwave cruncher at Euphonic Sound and blogger at Studio Manifesto, who offers a unique perspective on radical trust. – collin

In order for recording artists and music producers to fully commit to trust, they must let go of the Loudness War.
Loudness War Background:
The loudness [...]

RIP: A Remix Manifesto is an open source documentary about copyright and remix culture. Created over a period of six years, the film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to this website, helping to create the world’s first open source documentary.

Larry Lessig:
“Corporations are completely taking over our culture and [...]

According to the book “Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)” by Tom Vanderbilt, “Caution: Children Playing” signs have not been shown to reduce speeding or accidents. The evidence is so compelling that most traffic departments don’t plant the signs voluntarily.
Yet these signs are nearly as ubiquitous as, [...]

Consistency and trust continue to challenge corporate communicators in the social media space. As Sr. Counselor with Hill & Knowlton Canada, I worked with the digital team to create a concept for corporate social media communications.  This concept illustrates a consistent, consolidated approach to integrated social media communications.
Dubbed “The Social Media Platform,” the model below [...]

It’s been 28 months since I started blogging about radical trust and social media. The following is a compilation of hard lessons I learned and attitudes I needed to adjust to understand the potential of this extraordinary media.
28 months later, there’s so much more to learn.
“Social Media is a cultural revolution, not a commerce one.” [...]

When I worked in mass advertising, I asked the CEO of an ad agency to recommend the best book on strategy in advertising. Without missing a beat he replied, “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu.
During my read, I recognized many parallels between advertising and war, not the smallest of which was the lexicon. The [...]

Welcome to the first of radical trust’s series on “Best Practices for Facebook Fan Pages”.
Every Facebook Page is a unique experience where users can become more deeply connected with your business or brand as they would a friend or family member. This first of several posts will deal with understanding the Facebook fan page user [...]

When eBay founder Pierre Omidyar was asked what the most significant lesson he had learned from his peer-to-peer auction site, he replied, “…that 135 million people have learned they can trust a complete stranger”.
The story goes that Pierre sat down over a long holiday weekend about 13 years ago to write the original computer code [...]

Joe Jaffe got a book cover and many of us got link love, but was the 2k bloggers list really worth it?
In late 2006, a colleague invited me to join a compiled list of over 2000 bloggers. The purpose of this opt-in list was not clear, nor was any sort of strategy beyond gathering a [...]

Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom, also known as VMK, was a free multiplayer online community run by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online. It was created and operated as a virtual representation of both the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom theme parks, containing areas and mini-games which were based on real park scenery and attractions. VMK [...]

You can’t buy your way into social media. What may require tens of millions in traditional media simply isn’t necessary in the social media space. In fact, tossing more money at your advertising issues simply will not solve them the way it may have in the past. You must look at your goals [...]

Around the time radio started broadcasting, so too began radio advertising. It wasn’t long before entrepreneurs saw strategic opportunities in this highly-engaging new medium. Radio advertising began with basic sponsorship schemes and product placements. Their biggest challenge, however, was to develop a strategy that reached consumers effectively at a time when few consumers had [...]

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 [...]

Attitude has a lot to do with social media. If you want to change the way the world sees your organization, you first have to change the way your organization sees the world.
Gaping Void once wisely scribbled;

Ask yourself:
If a consumer decided to take a swing back at you for saying something stupid, would you win [...]

There are two areas of my life that are colliding in a big way; fatherhood and the notion of radical trust.
As you may already know, Danielle and I are expecting to become parents for the first time in July . The significance of fatherhood is creeping in at a quickening pace. Many hours [...]

The conversation can be deafening, like the screaming buzz of a stadium at the peak of a rock concert. Other times the conversation is mute, like smiles exchanged on a jogging path. Friendly gestures or screaming anguish, it’s conversation that literally defines our humanity.
Good conversation can be traced to antiquity, if not on record, then [...]

#1 Focus on success in social media
2008 will be the year that determines which agencies actually understand social media, and which ones should stick to their core competencies. In 2006, most people were asking, “what is social media?” By 2007, the tone had changed to, “how can we participate in social media?” In 2008, success [...]

There is a significant cultural revolution going on right now which affects all forms of communication. This boom is redefining every aspect of how we communicate and relate with one another. Social media is the echo to that boom and we should all remember that people are not mediums for our messaging – agencies [...]

Nothing replaces passion for a particular subject when determining who should write for your corporate/collective blog. You can recognize a good blogger from a mile away. It may be the gleam in their eye when they talk about their work, it might be their gift to consistently teach something new. Whatever it is, rank in [...]

When developing strategy for a group or corporate blog, don’t forget that “blogger motivation” is a key factor in the formula for overall success. As in any other community, the needs of its members must be considered to ensure each remains active, current and topical. Even with the best technology, design, widgets, etc, the [...]

As marketers continue to strategize around the notion of community-building for their brands, it’s important to consider which tools and concepts foster a ’sense of community’ and keep an online village from becoming a digital ghost town.
A sense of community can be broken down into four main categories:
Membership
Membership may offer boundaries, emotional safety, belonging and [...]

Social media communities are online properties in which members relate common experiences and interests. From micro-stock photo offerings like SnapVillage to colossal social networks like FaceBook to the ever-expanding blogosphere, communities online are as diverse as those found offline.
Just think of metropolitan areas where most neighborhoods are known for offering a different experience. When in [...]

Curiously, the Dutch have a word for “free of traffic signs” and it’s “verkeersbordvrij”. My ancestors over in the mother-province of Friesland, Netherlands are up to a very interesting traffic-planning experiment and it just may spark a world-wide trend in radical trust.
In order to make the streets safer for everyone, traffic planners have removed all [...]

Most people would agree that social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Flickr are largely about ego. The more ego you stroke in a social media application, the more addictive the platform becomes. A quick look at a Facebook user profile illustrates how many addictive little ego strokes there are, and how they contribute to [...]

Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was famous for being many things. He was an entertainer, an entrepreneur, an author, a debunker, a politician and a reformer. Perhaps at present he’s most notably remembered for his showmanship and fantastical hoaxes.
A man infamous for hoaxes may not be the most credible [...]

How many times have you heard (or thought) “this is too risky. What if they say something bad?” when weighing the merits of social media for your client or product? The fact is, if your product or service fails, disappoints or inconveniences the customer in any way, count on them to say something negative.
Gone are [...]

Understanding the demographics of social media is to understand the demographics of any society. No matter how you slice it, vertical or horizontal, age, wealth or interests, there is a call to action in the empowerment of any demographic.
As marketers, we’ve been profiling consumers for years, categorizing them into demographics for our convenience. It’s a [...]

There’s no doubt that social media is entering the “fatigue” phase. Friendster begets MySpace begets FaceBook begets Twitter, how does one keep up? With dozens of social media outlets competing for various inputs, profile updates, content management, etc – is there any wonder why people are tossing in the towel and walking away from their [...]

I think we will agree that content on the web is ubiquitous these days.
We’ve entered an era in which we’re having to place a tremendous amount of trust in our consumers to persuade them to pay for content.
Consumers tend to value ubiquity over quality – ask any professional photographer who’s feeling a little “undervalued” right [...]

Have you been open to the idea of social media for some time now, but are still unsure whether you’re ready to go all the way? Frankly, you are not alone. The conflicting reports are numerous, arguing both for and against “letting go” of brand control.
Unfortunately, the “con” arguments often read as “what were they [...]

Let’s be frank for a moment. Digital Rights Management (DRM) is antitrust and anti-radical trust. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the iTunes music store because of its DRM. Why should you pay $1 for a track loaded with DRM when you can download it for free from a torrent with no restrictions at [...]

The Step Forward

A couple of months ago, I wrote about Universal’s deal with YouTube.
Myself:
“Lucky for Universal. Not only do they get a cut of the revenue for their videos posted by fans, they also get a cut of the revenue from the videos created by fans. As for the fans, they’ll continue to create new [...]

The task of the marketer today is not to buy media for persuasion, but rather it’s to construct a platform of influence. But who will use this platform and how will they engage?
It’s a fact: younger people tend to use technology to fulfill social, entertainment and career objectives. This makes for countless entertainment portals, [...]

Event, direct mail and online marketers know that integrating to mass creative has been a measure since forever. As we strive to “integrate” products from various divisions and disciplines within the ad agency world, much debate and debacle has ensued.
Most ad agencies still have mass creatives leading ad campaigns, encouraging other divisions to turn their [...]

If “surfing the web” is a phrase befitting of its task, surely participants of social media are “scuba diving the web”.
On a grand coral reef, scuba divers commune with the fish while they enjoy the vast scenery and truly connect with a world more wondrous than their own. Scuba divers, however, can also devastate the [...]

Is telling someone something communication? It half is.
Communication is defined as the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information. According to this definition, neither television, radio or print can be considered communication mediums. In contrast, the internet enables millions of conversations amongst countless participants from every corner of the globe. Is the internet the first true [...]

Awareness of “Social Media” grew considerably in 2006. Media outlets poured steady reports of Google gobbling many “2.0″ properties, most notably YouTube. Time Magazine named “You” the person of the Year. (Have you updated your resume yet?). Yet, even with these stories reaching the masses, many of us marketing-types still spend more time selling the [...]

TIME’s Person of the Year for 2006 is YOU.
You? It’s about TIME!
Of course You.
It always has been you. It always will be you. However, you are not a given, are you?
You create, you consume, you contribute, you criticize. You start, you finish, you speak, you listen. You build, you destroy, you laugh, you cry. You [...]

Be innovative or die, it’s that simple in the contemporary marketplace. Take this quick radicaltrust.ca survey to find out how innovative your company is measured against emerging needs of the contemporary consumer.
Instructions:
Raise a fist to your chest, raise a finger for each “Yes” response to the 5
questions. Results are listed below.
Let’s begin.

Is the executive team [...]

Have you started your brand plans for 2007 yet? I hope so.
I also hope you’ve considered the current trends in consumer trust. The numbers are revealing.
According to recent Forrester data: between 2002 and 2004, consumer trust in content dropped in every form of mass media; TV dropped 10%, print newspapers went down 5%, radio tailed [...]

Social Media is not a fad. If you’re a marketer, count on it being a large part of your daily future. So what are the leading types of social media and what are the best business opportunities presenting themselves in this early growth stage?
To answer that, I give you:
radicaltrust.ca ‘s top 10 Social Media [...]

Why not spend a few minutes getting reacquainted with The Road to Oceania written by William Gibson for the NY Times back in 2003. Gibson connects the dots between corporate transparency, radical trust and George Orwell’s bleak vision of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Here are two quotes to tease you into a click;
The media of “1984″ are broadcast [...]

Something I read today:
“If you have to be naked, you had better be buff. We are entering an extraordinary age of transparency, where businesses must for the first time make themselves clearly visible to shareholders, customers, employees, partners and society. Financial data, employee grievances, internal memos, environmental disasters, product weaknesses, international protests, scandals and policies, [...]

Anyone who has suffered the wrath of a collection agency can attest to the demeaning position they put you in. The collections industry often resorts to strong-arm tactics which can leave the debtor feeling threatened and disconnected with the creditor’s products and brands.
Not so with Genesis, a debt collection company that radically trusts people with [...]

Myth #1 Radical trust is blind trust.
Radical trust is placing faith in the deserving: your customers, your intenders, your enthusiasts. Blind trust is placing faith in the complete unknown. Consider it radical vs. fanatical
Myth #2 Radical trust means losing control.
If your company is not trusting, your consumers will make decisions for themselves and you are [...]

As in all relationships, communication is important for any form of trust to exist. The communication triangle between the client, marketer and consumer must be equal, with everyone getting some say. I have noticed that the larger the client and advertiser, the more likely the dialogue is between them, excluding the consumer almost entirely.
Have [...]

“Don’t waste your money on any consumers who haven’t first told you, by responding to your invitations, online or otherwise, that you will be welcome on their cellphone or iPod (etc.) … Otherwise, they’ll just resent your intrusion into their lives.” says Shelly Palmer Advanced Media Ventures MD
“It’s a very interesting time to be in [...]

I can think of a thousand reasons why marketers want consumers to build and maintain their own content when dealing with a brand. The enormous cost savings in content creation (how much would it cost YouTube to make all of those videos?) has got to top that list. And let’s not forget that you can’t [...]