We’ve had a shift. With accessible micro-finance platforms such as Kiva, a surge in small donations such as the Obama campaign, a growth in micro-payments in the music industry most prominent in the iTunes store, and even light-weight physical payment systems such as square, small is the new big. I don’t have to mention the Next Billion, represented by the growing middle class in India and China, or the Bottom Billion, many now seen as viable business operators. I won’t talk about the power of the internet to bring a product to market and to *scale in comparatively miniscule timeframes. I might point to the growing concern in consumers that goods should be produced, sold, consumed, and re-purposed in an ethical & well designed manner. I have to accept that people continue to base 80% of their purchases on *emotional criteria. I will just say that this is the world in which we operate, and it is a new, and different, age of patronage.
My recent audiobook has been a challenging look at the ineptitude of the common man: *The Foundtainhead. I should say I’m not yet finished, so I might change my mind should there be a twist ending. For now I’ll keep my mind changed. The book highlights the failure of most people to recognize what is “good” from what is “contrived”. In fact it proposes that the property that makes man great is his ability to value one thing over another. When you look at something, and say “yes” to it, you own it, it becomes yours in your individual way. The author is an outward support of free market capitalism, I assume this is because of such a system’s hands-off nature on where individuals place their value(money). Though this may be the case in a pure market, where all are born with the same account balance, all given the same ability to assess potential purchases, it is not the case today. Again, this is not a problem, it simply “is”. But there is a point of optimistic difference.
In this new world where there is a striking financial imbalance from north to south, there is an equal and opposite force: the ability for individuals to find and support operations of value. In the fountainhead, as is true in the past, the major form of media is the newspaper. This newspaper acts as influencer of the common man, not intentionally warping people’s views, but rather giving the sad masses what they really want: gossip, scandal, and fluff. The internet changes this. It allows individuals to find, then support, what they see as valuable. This is why we want to see the business operator we’re funding for $25. It’s why we want to eliminate the middle man between us and our favourite bands. Why we look to local cafes that are interesting and human rather than a Starbucks. Why we see a demand for charities to be transparent, innovative, and efficient. Even why we see charities themselves should build up capacity not by handouts, but by stimulating small business growth. Its why we buy the organic apple juice for 10 more cents. All of this is because we can now find and spread what we value, and we can do this because of the web.
Kickstart is one example among many, but it is beautifully articulated. A creator can explain what they have, or will, create(a song, a book, an event). People can then contribute. Based on contribution, varying levels of rewards are given(a personal concert, a gold edition, a front row seat).
Just as a king values a jester, or wishes a large church instead of a painting, we are choosing who we’ll support. The point is that we are all patrons now, and there are plenty of artisans seeking to perform. The difference is that we are not patrons alone, we are micro-patrons, and our aggregate can support many more, and divergent, activities. In the fountainhead, the genius architect doesn’t need much. He continues architecture whether on a remote country house, or a resort people will never see. It is his commitment and resolve which creates beautiful work. He finishes his buildings for himself, and his clients “happen” to find value as well. For him there is one overriding purpose: to shape the world in the way he knows it should be. For him it took decades to meet the people who “get it”. If it were today he might find them much faster.
A purchase is not just filling a need. Its not voting with your dollar. Its not being a conscious consumer. A purchase, or lack thereof, is a contention of feel the world “should be”. From bath soap to bannisters, purchases will become the vehicle for patronage. Do you know who you’re patronizing?