BITES // 10.03.19 // SPACES OF EXPERIMENTATION
Every month we collect six of the best pieces of content published on the web and share them with you, because we believe that the most extraordinary thinking is inspired by looking to unexpected places. BITES is a reading list for those who want to bring a little of the outside, in.
1. CONTENT PLAYGROUNDS
A great story is one that can immerse you in a whole new world. In its recent analysis of behavior in the workplace, the NY Times has taken this concept to new heights by creating a microcosmic, multimedia experience of the modern-day office. Rather than telling you about the workplace, it transports you to the workplace — even going so far as to incorporate nuanced office sounds to evoke a sense of place (i.e. office chit chatter and keyboards clicking away). It’s a format intentionally designed for readers to plunge themselves in the world it’s describing — a playground where readers can interact and experiment with the subject on their own terms.
2. THE NEW PROTOTYPE OF RETAIL
Cross the business model of eBay with the curated interface of Instagram and you get Depop. In its purest form, Depop is a social experiment in how we sell things, where emerging trends in the retail space (sustainable & recycled fashion, the search for one-of-a-kind pieces) are being sampled and experimented with. Here, you can “like” and “comment” on pieces for sale, and user profiles serve as their own mini digital storefronts for them to post stylized photographs and descriptions of what they are selling. It’s a space where traditional retail models and barriers to entry are removed, creating an open and organic experiment where everyone has the opportunity to be their own successful “bedroom entrepreneur.”
3. INCUBATOR OF HOSPITALITY
Benjamin Franklin once said: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” This sentiment is being taken up a notch at the Statler Hotel, a “teaching” hotel on Cornell University’s campus, where hospitality students get hands-on experience operating and managing a hospitality business (with real guests as the subjects!). It’s a contained environment for experimenting and learning by doing; a space where theory meets practice. It’s an “IRL” classroom — safe enough to make mistakes without real-world repercussions (i.e. getting fired), but challenging enough to teach students lessons in patience and graciousness (something a lecture hall setting just can’t do).
4. THE SIMULATED TOWN
As the world becomes more divided and people become more disconnected from each other, it’s a rarity to find a community where everyone knows each other by name. Well, one glance at Lower Duck Pond will prove otherwise. Lower Duck Pond both exists and doesn’t exist — it’s a quirky, fictionalized town that lives within a subreddit thread — yet to its members the sense of community feels as real as real can get. It’s a simulated experiment where users play with the rules of online identity without real-world repercussions. It’s become an inclusive space for its users, showing that virtual spaces where people can be whoever they want to be can have a positive impact on the real world.
5. AMUSEMENT PARK FOR THE ELITE
What happens when an experimental space evolves into a new reality? Summit Series, an invite-only community of creators, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, is building an unorthodox village meant for communal gathering and wellness-infused programming in the sleepy town of Eden, Utah. From botanical herb tonic tastings to meditation sessions, Summit is a playground for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to rub shoulders with their own kind, all in the name of disruption and finding better lifestyle alternatives. It’s quite a revolutionary (and idyllic) model for how future communities can be built, but at what point does this utopian experiment become exclusionary… a way for the elite to remove themselves further from everyone else?
6. IDENTITY EXPERIMENTATION
The story of Instagram influencer Caroline Calloway is a compelling look at how experimentation with online identity can blur the lines between reality and performance, truth and lie, authenticity and marketing ploy. Calloway’s Instagram account is its own reality TV show, where at times she is playing the contestant and at other times the producer, cooking up dramatic storylines for the public’s consumption. The recent exposé on Calloway illustrates the conundrum we see with influencers today: how do we really know what’s an authentic story versus a manufactured one? Experimentation is good, but this scenario demonstrates the potential blowback that can ensue from experimenting with people who aren’t “in” on the experiment.
TAKEAWAY:
As the world becomes increasingly more complex and risky, we look for ways to minimize risk. Consequently, humans are finding new ways to experiment. We are looking to safe, contained spaces to play with new modes of doing things, including (but not limited to) the way we shop, learn, tell stories, and create community. Whether it’s an accessible creative space like Depop, or a fictional town on Reddit like Lower Duck Pond, or a contained educational space like the Statler Hotel, they all provide areas to explore and sample new realities. But there’s a watch out to be aware of — sometimes spaces of experimentation can be indicative of darker realities or warnings for society, as we see with spaces where lifestyle meets elitism or spaces where influencers can toy with identity.
