I like what Josh Kamler at tiny gigantic has to say about authenticity.
Authenticity is a basic requirement for any healthy relationship, but it’s nothing more than that.
That’s why it rubs me so wrong to see decks and brand guidelines that trumpet authenticity as a value: We are authentic, they say. But here’s the thing: authentically what? That’s the real question. That’s what people really need to know. It’s what will make them care.
And once you’ve got that figured out, you won’t have to shout about it. You can just be yourself.
Kamler is calling for the truth, and for brands to be comfortable in their own skin. But “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH.”
What Kamler is saying and what the people who fill decks with this tripe (myself included) are saying is, “actually, WE CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH.” I’ll just add that “the truth” is increasingly hard to hide in a world made transparent by these very intertubes.
