Precedent Brief
Targeted research connecting your current technical challenges to historical analogues.
Overview
In tech, we often feel like we are the first to encounter a problem. We rarely are. The Precedent Brief is a research service based on the conviction that history is a rich repository of data. Whether you are grappling with content moderation, surveillance, or digital identity, there is almost certainly a historical parallel—from the printing press to the telegraph to early urban planning. I dig into this history to provide you with a "cheat sheet" of lessons learned, so you don't have to make the same mistakes your ancestors did.
What You Get
- Historical Context: A concise report comparing your current challenge to relevant historical case studies.
- Pattern Matching: Identification of recurring social dynamics (e.g., how communities react to new forms of visibility).
- Strategic Wisdom: 'Old' solutions to 'new' problems, reframed for the digital context.
Format & Duration
Duration: 2-3 week research sprint
Format: Written Brief + Debrief Call
Best For
This service is ideal for:
- Policy teams drafting platform governance rules.
- Founders pitching a "revolutionary" idea who want to understand why previous attempts failed (or succeeded).
- Simply, anyone humble enough to learn from the past.
Process
- Query — You pose the problem: "We are struggling to govern a decentralized community."
- Excavation — I look for the rhyme in history (e.g., "Let's look at how the early Quakers managed consensus").
- Translation — I distill the academic history into actionable insights for your product strategy.
Investment
Research Fee: Fixed price per brief.