Radical Trust
August 29th, 2006 by Jim SpadacciniOn the Assembly blog, Catherine Styles posted a paper she presented at the Austrailan Historical Association conference, How Web 2.0 will change history. It contains a brief introduction to Web 2.0 and some examples from mostly Australian websites. One concept (and term) in the paper that clearly stuck out was radical trust.
There is one aspect of the Web 2.0 landscape that is really significant for publishers, whether they are cultural institutions like archives or libraries or museums, or historians like yourselves. Web 2.0 demands a radical trust, on the part of publishers, of their users (Mazar, 2006).
That was the first time I had heard that term, so I decided to follow the source and found myself at Random Access Mazar blog written by Rochelle Mazar. She referenced a keynote speech by Stephen Abram which brought me to a post on Stephen’s Lighthouse blog. This post explained that the term originated with Darlene Fichter who, in her excellent post, Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and Radical Trust: A First Take, explains radical trust.
We can only build emergent systems if we have radical trust. With an emergent system, we build something without setting in stone what it will be or trying to control all that it will be. We allow and encourage participants to shape and sculpt and be co-creators of the system. We don’t have a million customers/users/patrons … we have a million participants and co-creators.
Radical trust is about trusting the community. We know that abuse can happen, but we trust (radically) that the community and participation will work. In the real world, we know that vandalism happens but we still put art and sculpture up in our parks. As an online community we come up with safeguards or mechanisms that help keep open contribution and participation working.
Many of the projects and discussions we’ve been involved in the museum realm have looked at this very issue. This is essentially the heart of what is “Web 2.0.” While it may seem obvious, it is nice to hear it so clearly expressed. It’s a big step for museum (or a library or achive) to trust (radically) the community online, but better understanding the issues involved certainly helps.
August 30th, 2006 at 9:16 am
I saw this too on Assembly, and stopped and thought. Very well phrased. What folks who have been interacting with in the blog communities know already is that good communities, along with smart software directed by good administrators, can take care of themselves. I’ve experienced it on several politcal blogs who believe in an open spirit and trust. Given the stresses of today’s world I have great hope for museums to help strengthen their own communities through the ease of the commuications capabilities of Web 2.0. If you can’t get to the museum and participate, you can at least connect in more than a surface way from home or work. Radical trust that it will work, you bet.
August 30th, 2006 at 9:21 am
This discussion ouf radical trust touches upon the public media arena as well. The Center for Social Media held a conference back in May called “Beyond Broadcast: Reinventing Public Media in a Participatory Culture.” They offer an overview in this 13 minute video:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/videos/beyond_broadcast/
More and more, projects I am involved in are exploring the convergence between museum, library and public radio / TV efforts. Funders seem to be aware of it as well. See:
http://www.partnershipforlearners.org/
An interesting read on the topic:
Partnerships for Free Choice Learning: Public Libraries, Museums, and Public Broadcasters Working Together
Urban Libraries Council (June 2003)
by Chris Walker, Carlos A. Manjarrez
Public ERIC full-text .pdf
September 1st, 2006 at 8:03 am
Susan,
Thanks for your comments. I agree, the polical blogs present an excellent example of radical trust in action. You (and other readers) might be interested in another post on the topic at fresh + new, Radical trust & Web 2.0.
Jim
September 5th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
Happened upon your blog in a search for more information on the web presence of museums. I’ve recently created a blog with links to museum exhibitions online. Any suggestions you have for additional museum listings or extraordinary ways to view art online would be greatly appreciated. Some museums seem light years ahead of others. There are so many wonderful museums with online access, particulary in Asia and Eastern Europe that do not have the ability to be translated into English yet. Ditto for the North American museums that don’t offer multiple language options.
Kind regards, Maigret
September 5th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
Maigret,
Please take a look at Museum Blogs, a directory with 68 blogs at last count.
Jim
October 26th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
[...] We’ll discuss the concept of radical trust. This was a hot topic first in the Library 2.0 world, and later in our own museum blogosphere (Fresh + New explored, Radical trust & Web 2.0 as well). Finally, it will be good to hear the latest on Science Buzz and RedShift Now they remain two of the more interesting Web 2.0 examples in the science museum field. [...]