commercially incomprehensible
high-five, we did it, we're successful at being weird
commercially incomprehensible.
we joke that this is the best compliment RADAR ever received. but, embracing that has been one of the many insights we’ve discovered as a community through our intentionally emergent and keeping-it-weird ways.
many of us came to RADAR from profit-centric places. we knew what happens when money is a metric. we wanted to play without justifying r&d. we wanted to meander and uncover in multiplayer mode.
we’re not just diddling on metaphorical banjos for no reason though, we’re making space for serendipity. through research, collective digestion, and miscellaneous making – we are shaping infrastructure for possibility.
praxis.
last year i heard a record producer named Tony summarize the practice of another record producer (coincidentally also named Tony) as ‘praxis. doing something just because and figuring out why later.’ the internet adds this to the definition: praxis is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, or realized. apparently this other Tony ‘used this idea to justify the label’s unconventional, and often financially disastrous, decisions.’ how metal.
and so, yes, it’s this intentional experimentation that has meant that at times when i’ve elevator-pitched RADAR, i’ve gotten “huh? is it a cult?” and i’ve answered, “ummm, yes and no?”
it also means that people, like our newest member Tracee, say delightful things like “this is exactly the kind of serious thomas foolery that warms my heart.”
it’s why we get to do things like host a funeral because that feels like the right thing to do, to “ritualize what’s already happening.” also a Tracee quote.
it’s also why RADAR agency was born from our community. so that we could have a way to channel our brilliant learnings and collective intelligence into client work. led by wizards Sarah and Alex with Wilmarie on design. in a separate space (different server) to protect non-competes, NDAs and most-importantly on-purpose weirdness in the community. so, if you’re a brand, client, company that’s curious about how globally hand-tended signal channels become signals of change and beacons for business – you can talk to Alex.
if you’re a benevolent billionaire or a regular person with some enthusiasm in your heart for a global collective of curious humans thinking about and building better futures in multiplayer mode – we are grateful to patrons of our work, especially our upcoming funeral, and you can contribute here.
if you’re a weirdo that has niche interests, learns for fun, and likes to make stuff. apply to join our community. we love making new friends.
the future belongs to those who think about it.
********
people whose names start with T mentioned above:
h/t to longtime members Patrick Tanguay for calling us “commercially incomprehensible” and Joe Carpita for always affirming pro-weird. appreciate yous.
