Risk management is a thing of the past

November 18, 11:39 PMDesign Trends ExaminerNeal Shaffer

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Image via Logic+Emotion/David Armano

David Armano, the VP of Experience Design at Critical Mass, is one of the best sources around for intelligent, relatable writing about the intersection of design, creativity, and business. His personal blog -- Logic+Emotion -- is a must read for anyone interested in these issues. Odds are I'll be mentioning him fairly regularly in this space.

As it happens, he gave me a great reason to do just that with his latest post, Everything Is Risky.

In it he breaks down the increasingly complex risk/reward calculation of participation in New Media. The old system where risk/reward could be managed, measured, and tracked has been replaced by a vast, essentially open field. Nobody's quite sure anymore of what will work and what won't, or even of the precise definitions of success and failure. Anyone who claims otherwise is selling something you'd be wise not to buy.

One need look no further than this past weekend's "Motrin Moms" controversy for proof. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is debatable, but either way it's here to stay.

According to Armano:

Put something on (the web) that you think is provocative—try to get people talking and you risk being ignored. Put something out that looks "safe" and you might inadvertently upset someone who you never new existed. Put something out that you think will appeal to everyone and you risk appealing to no-one. Stay away from the internet and someone will capture what you did with a mobile phone and put it on there anyway.

The question now is: how to handle it? How much risk are you comfortable taking? How willing are you to put something out that, no matter how well-planned, might be taken in a way you never envisioned?

The only thing certain is that anyone who chooses to avoid risk -- to stay on the sidelines -- will likely be left out of the conversation completely.