AuthenticityBook.com

Books, while a great way to introduce an idea and start a conversation, for better or worse have a sense of permanence. Once they’re published, they’re done. Digital media, while not having this sense of permanence, benefits from immediate updatability, the ability to continue the conversation.

With Authenticity, authors Jim Gilmore and Joe Pine wanted to introduce the idea of, well, authenticity. To start the conversation. But how could that conversation continue from a digital standpoint? Instead of making a web site that simply sells books (starts the conversation), we created a web site that continues the ideas, thinking and conversation around authenticity. Part of being authentic is defined by how different people interpret the experience. What is “real” to one person could very well be “fake” to another. The authenticitybook.com site is a place to encourage this discussion, and for you to create your own authentic experience through comments, opinions, and contributions.

“Is it Real? Or is it Fake?” and the Real/Fake Matrix
One of the concepts in Authenticity is the idea of “real” and “fake,” and the arranging of these ideas on a matrix. Along the X-axis: is it true to itself? The Y-axis is: is it what it says it is? Something that is true to itself, and what it says it is, is considered “real-real.” Something that isn’t true to itself, and isn’t what it says it is, is considered “fake-fake” (their example: Niketown is neither a place to participate in athletics or a town… fake-fake). With this comes the other two quadrants, “real-fake” and “fake-real.” The “Is it Real? Or is it Fake?” section of the site presents experiences, and gives you the opportunity to vote your opinion on the Real/Fake matrix, as well as add your comments. As more Real/Fake experiences are added to the site, they’ll be mapped on the Real/Fake matrix, creating side-by-side comparisons of different experiences.

Axiom Violation Gallery
Another one of the ideas in Authenticity is “if you are authentic, you don’t have to say you’re authentic. Yet so many products, commercials and web sites proclaim they are the “real” thing, original, and authentic. The Axiom Violation Gallery allows you to submit your own photos, YouTube videos and web sites, and view the gallery of axiom violations. Using existing sites like YouTube, Flickr and del.icio.us, we’re able to create a place to keep and feed all the data. It’s basically one big mashup; using existing technologies together in order to create something new.

The Authenticity Journal and Real Links
Continuing the conversation, Pine and Gilmore have additional vehicles on the Authenticity site through the Authenticity Journal and Real Links. The Authenticity Journal allows the authors to share their experiences with authenticity as they find it all around them. Online stories and articles are shared through the Real Links.

All of the site content is shared through RSS feeds, so the Authenticity digital brand is extended well beyond the site itself. And those are just a few of the highlights… poke around the site, and if you have questions you can leave them below in the comments so everyone can hear the answers.

RELATED THINKING…
Time for Authenticity
Substance at thinkAbout 2007
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