Is this an authentic beverage experience?
Submitted for your consideration:
- Iced tea from a behind-the-bar multi-nozzle
- In a Mason Jar
- On packing paper
- Instagram photo filtered
- In a bar called Montana's
- In Ontario, Canada
Thoughts from people on the web, who have every ability to easily fake authenticity, on why being truly authentic matters more than ever. Feel free to submit your own thoughts to authenticity@posterous.com for inclusion. Full Disclosure: There may be an e-book coming out of this at some point; I will ask beforehand if you're to be included. Sign with a Twitter handle or website for contact info and to take some credit for your contribution.
In my opinion Levis has done an amazing job of creating a brand and marketing that brand over the years. I think that some of their marketing ads are just brilliant, and look outstanding. They have hit the mark in terms of visualizing a look. When you think of Levis, you think of cool. You think of a rough, yet durable product. You think of comfort. You think of something that lasts. You may also think of the type of young, tough, yet beautiful person who may wear these? Levis has also stayed true to their original branding from years past. But are they "Authentic"?
In my grandmother’s era there was no need to question what was authentically handmade – an item was either made by hand or it was commercially produced by machine or on a factory line in large batches for the consumer.
In my mother’s era, people stopped doing many things themselves – why bother to make something when you could buy it much cheaper and spend the time and money on something else?
I never know if I'm coming across to people as totally random geekiness or Aspergerian chic. Whatever the hell that is. I also have to reflect on my need to be seen as different, the contrary, the lone wolf heading in the direction that the pack ISN'T. Whether this tendency is self-protective, always staying isolated and so, difficult to quantify and judge, or simply the sign of an eclectic spirit—the jury's still out.
What do you think of when someone mentions the word "Authentic"? I think of the Starbucks logo, Converse, Coca-Cola. These companies have stayed true to the lineage of their original logos and original products. Having said that it is hard to differentiate between "authentic" and "original". Is there a difference?
When I think authentic, I also think colours. I think of browns, light blues, maroon reds. I assume it is because of the objects associated with the colours - baseballs, baseball gloves, hockey sticks, clothing, etc…
I also think of sports when I think authentic. I don’t think monster truck racing, but rather baseball, football, or even hockey. Original classic sports that have more or less stayed true to the original rules.
This is my perception of authentic, what is yours
I like the idea of this website http://authenticauthenticity.com/ and hope that others contribute. Interesting exercise. What is authentic? A great way to crowdsource the answer. (yeah I snuck in the word crowdsource)
This "Authentic" piece shown above was clearly manufactured to look authentic. The original was done in the 1990s or even 1980s, but the digital image was created just this week. And it was designed to replicate the feel of the meaning of the word authentic. The original lettering was done using an "authentic" 1980s calligraphy pen, Osmiroid, B2 nib using Pelikan Ink.
The digital effects were done entirely in GIMP software version 2.6:
-colour / curves tool to bring out the blacks in the original lettering
-colour / colour to alpha (on white) to remove all white, and leave black lettering on a transparent layer
-invert the layer to turn the black ink lettering to white lettering
-duplicate and merge down to thicken the white lettering
-filter / décor / bevel to give an edge to the lettering
-duplicate, and run filters / gaussian blur @ high 50px level, then use colours / invert to give it a shadow effect
-search for and locate this amazing backdrop image from flickr CC search
-resize for a 1920 x 1080 HD image
-save it as jpg, sign it, and do the write up.
I hope you liked this piece. Again many thanks to : flickr.com/photos/theseanster93 for posting their amazing baseball image under a CC-SA license. Many thanks to @AnthonyMarco for creating this blog that looks at the idea of Authenticity.
Looking back, I liked the original calligraphy, I liked the feel of the baseball photo showing a bruised and tattered baseball. I liked the fit between the lettering and the backdrop.
This podcast explains the impetus behind Authentic Authenticity and what I hope it will become. This recording was done for one of my other blog/podcast efforts, at lovehatethings.com. If you are of the aural learning persuasion, please feel free to listen.
Note: My first stab at an introduction to an eBook on Authenticity
The concept of personal presence has developed, especially over the past two digital decades, into a multi-foliate model incorporating aspects that reach far beyond the face-to-face. Bred by the ability to reach out and communicate with those we have never met in real life, digital media has opened a floodgate of interactions that carry murky waters of perceptions.
In simpler words, your presence has more faces, presented to more people, than ever before.
We have an unconscious ability to adopt masks and postures to accommodate each unique situation we encounter. We are adept at disguise and deception. We choose language and traits to achieve our needs and switch seamlessly between one-to-one and multi-person interactions with deftness and aplomb.
And for most people, we are the sum total of these masks and characteristics that we convey. The mangled status update or unkempt retweet forms part of the visage that has to be danced around, justified, and often recovered from. We are tagged in photos, misquoted and attributed, given thumbs down and embroiled in flame wars.
Through all these interactions we claim to value one thing above all else: authenticity.
We strive to associate with those who we feel bring genuine thoughts and opinions to conversations. We find lack of pretense refreshing. We find those things we perceive as “honest” to be unique and prized in the relationships we have in all aspects of our lives.
With all of this value in authenticity, one wouldn’t think there would be such a problem in working towards what we think are natural tendencies. And that said, it’s precisely the idea of manufacturing another layer on top of these masks (to convey the character of authenticity) that we should be avoiding. Instead, perhaps we should be looking to dismantle some of our “faces” and look toward a more universal presence that can integrate all of the new contacts that the digital tendrils bring in.
In a time where people feel that plans and guidelines are necessary to achieve the most natural and mundane things, we could hope that a realization of the need of authenticity would be the only push along the path one would need. Failing in that instant faith, however, perhaps a short primer is needed to re-discover that which has been forgotten.
Above all, we need to remember that authenticity does not mean stripping away ALL aspects of personality. Authenticity allows us to express the personality and traits that are the least forced and eliminate the false fronts that would entrap us.
Stop fearing your own ignorance as long as you’re willing to learn.
While you may not be an expert on everything, you are the sole expert on what you think. You will never be able to engage others in meaningful discussion unless you are willing to share ideas and contribute to the collective discourse. You may be wrong in your belief, but being in the conversation allows you to build dialogue and work towards common understanding.
The masks of ignorance or ambivalence that we adopt to avoid participation in conversations where we “may be” wrong, are built on fear. Rather than adding innumerable pieces to craft our perception of the perfect face of Authenticity, let us instead decide how many of the existing pieces we can strip away.
@anthonymarco
