scale the truth.

In a world full of noise, truth is the only signal.

Let’s get something straight. We’re not drowning in content. We’re drowning in copies of copies of content — stuff optimized for reach, built for algorithms, and stripped of anything that might actually matter.

The problem isn’t production. It’s proliferation without purpose.

So here’s my new theory (lol): Content should scale truth. Not trends. Not templates. Not a/b-tested dopamine bait. Truth.

wait—what do we mean by “truth”?

Not verifiable.
Not quantifiable.
Not designed for a dashboard.

We’re talking about resonant, situated, lived truth — the kind that emerges when cultural tension meets emotional insight. The stuff that rings true because it’s been earned through observation, embodiment, or experience. Not invented in a brainstorm.

Truth = cultural clarity + emotional alignment. It’s not always comfortable. But when it lands, it cuts through the noise and builds trust.

Truth, in this sense, is not absolute. It’s relational. It lives in context. It shifts with culture.
It’s not “what happened” — it’s what it meant.

okay. so what’s “scaling”?

Scaling isn’t just repeating. It’s not virality for virality’s sake. Scaling is intentional amplification. It’s turning one sharp signal into a shared frequency — without flattening the message or betraying the source.

In other words: how do we make an insight travel, without killing what made it powerful in the first place?

You don’t scale truth by shouting.
You scale it by making it contagious in the Berger sense:
emotional, useful, specific, and easy to share.

how to scale truth (for real)

Let’s break this down:

1. insight > opinion

Hot takes travel. But deep takes stick.
An opinion says, “here’s what I think.”
An insight says, “here’s what we’ve missed.”

Insight is pattern recognition. It comes from listening, watching, collecting fragments until something clicks.

Sarah Pink’s sensory ethnography shows us: truth lives in the banal — how people shop, scroll, wait, mourn. If you’re not grounded in how people actually move through the world, you’re probably projecting. Not scaling.

2. package it with precision

If people can’t remember it, they can’t repeat it.
If they can’t repeat it, it won’t spread.

You’re not just sharing an idea — you’re giving it a vessel. That means:

• tight phrasing

• strong visuals

• emotional tone

• cultural cues

Chip & Dan Heath call this “stickiness”: simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, story-driven. TL;DR: a good idea needs a good wrapper. And no, a Canva template is not enough.

3. design for transmission, not translation

Most brands still think scaling = copy-pasting into more markets. Wrong decade.

Transmission means cultural embedding. Make your idea feel native to the spaces it enters — whether that’s a group chat, a protest, or a TikTok audio trend.

Ryan Milner nails this: memes don’t spread because they’re explained. They spread because they’re felt. They belong to the community that shares them. Scaling truth means designing content that wants to be passed on — not explained in a caption.

4. don’t flatten for the feed

The moment you optimize only for reach, you start sanding off the edges that made it resonate in the first place.

Zeynep Tufekci warned us: algorithmic systems favor extreme or bland. Either way, nuance dies.

Texture matters.
Tension matters.
Contradiction, even.

If your content isn’t a little bit risky, it’s probably forgettable.

5. be consistently coherent

This isn’t about repetition. It’s about pattern recognition. When people see or hear something and know it’s you — even without a logo.

Kevin Lane Keller’s brand equity model says it straight: Trust is built through coherence. That doesn’t mean always saying the same thing. It means always saying things from the same place. Don’t repeat the format. Repeat the frequency.

6. let go of the mic

You don’t scale truth by owning it.
You scale it by letting it become language for someone else.

If people remix your phrasing, adapt your insights, or reference your work without tagging you — that’s not theft. That’s proof of impact.

This is participatory culture (Jenkins). It’s also humility. When people start saying it better than you? That’s how you know it landed.

what happens when it works?

Truth becomes cultural currency. It moves. It sticks. It loops back to you in a different format.

Your phrase ends up on a tote at a niche festival.
Your slide makes it into someone else’s pitch deck — uncredited, of course.
You’re quoted on a podcast you don’t even know of.
You become the reference.

And suddenly?
You don’t just have reach.
You have resonance.

The truth is already out there. Our job is to give it shape, give it language, and let it scale.

references

• Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

• Sarah Pink, Doing Sensory Ethnography

• Chip & Dan Heath, Made to Stick

• Ryan Milner, The World Made Meme

• Zeynep Tufekci, Twitter and Tear Gas

• Kevin Lane Keller, Strategic Brand Management

• Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture