Totally Transparent Transparency (AKA: Get quoted in Wired!)

Ironically enough, I just arrived in Las Vegas (what happens here stays here) just as Clive Thompson posted his public call for participation in his upcoming Wired feature on Radical Transparency. I think that growing recognition of the power of openness will be what marks the first decade of the 21st Century, and if that's not worth a feature in Wired, I don't what is.

Clive was a natural choice, not just because he's one of the planet's most thoughtful writers on how technology is changing our culture, but also because he penned perhaps the most important piece in the New York Times Magazine in the past year, a cover story on the prospects for "open source spying" (sadly behind the paywall--more irony, no?).

The three main ideas he's researching are:

- Secrecy Is Dead: The pre-Internet world trafficked in secrets. Information was valuable because it was rare; keeping it secret increased its value. In the modern world, information is as plentiful as dirt, there's more of it than you can possibly grok on your own -- and the profusion of cameraphones, forwarded emails, search engines, anonymous tipsters, and infinitely copyable digital documents means that your attempts to keep secrets will probably, eventually, fail anyway. Don't bother trying. You'll just look like a jackass when your secrets are leaked and your lies are exposed, kind of like Sony and its rootkit. Instead ...

- Tap The Hivemind: Throw everything you've got online, and invite the world to look at it. They'll have more and better ideas that you could have on your own, more and better information than you could gather on your own, wiser and sager perspective than you could gather in 1,000 years of living -- and they'll share it with you. You'll blow past the secret-keepers as if you were driving a car that exists in a world with different and superior physics. Like we said, information used to be rare ... but now it's so ridiculously plentiful that you will never make sense of it on your own. You need help, and you need to help others. And, by the way? Keep in mind that ...

- Reputation Is Everything: Google isn't a search engine. Google is a reputation-management system. What do we search for, anyway? Mostly people, products, ideas -- and what we want to know are, what do other people think about this stuff? All this blogging, Flickring, MySpacing, journaling -- and, most of all, linking -- has transformed the Internet into a world where it's incredibly easy to figure out what the world thinks about you, your neighbor, the company you work for, or the stuff you were blabbing about four years ago. It might seem paradoxical, but in a situation like that, it's better to be an active participant in the ongoing conversation than to stand off and refuse to participate. Because, okay, let's say you don't want to blog, or to Flickr, or to participate in online discussion threads. That means the next time someone Googles you they'll find ... everything that everyone else has said about you, rather than the stuff you've said yourself. (Again -- just ask Sony about this one.) The only way to improve and buff your reputation is to dive in and participate. Be open. Be generous. Throw stuff out there -- your thoughts, your ideas, your personality. Trust comes from transparency.

Hop over there and leave your thoughts in his comments, not mine. He's promising call-outs to those whose ideas he uses. And I can promise I won't edit them out.

Comments

[Eliot]

Hey Chris, I'm just curious: What brings you to Las Vegas? (my town)

[Thomas R. Clifford]

Perfect! I started blogging a year ago for some of the reasons mentioned.

Specifically, I saw a gap in my industry and decided to fill it:

1. Few corporate-image filmmakers had blogs. So I created one.

2. I wanted to generate and ignite conversations with others about the role of corporate films. Conversations are happening.

3. Create a place where I can share ideas from a producer/director's point of view on what makes a successful corporate film. Ideas now shared.

Thanks, Chris, for pointing this out :-)

[Chris Anderson]

I'm here to speak at NATPE

[abc123]

Actually, my New Years Resolution was (and still is) to stop blogging. I spent the last year spending all my time blogging, and all it did was take time away from me discovering new things through my feeds.

Blogging takes too long for what, some serps ego trip? I'm much happier now building up my delicious account for myself (and whoever wants to groke it).

After all, it's my time, this is how I get the most out of it.

[Andri]

It makes me feel good that we have such insightful people like you to share there thoughts on the world. If only politicians would read this post.

[John]

Really, my resolution of the New Year era to stop blogging. I spent the year last that passed all my hour blogging, and everything what it did it was time of the taking far from me who discovered new things through my feedings.

Blogging takes too much long for which, serps travels of the ego of some? I am much more happy now accumulating my delicious one I explain myself.