The concept of radical transparency was raised in the April 2007 issue of Wired magazine in an article by Clive Thomson called "The See-Through CEO. Thompson claims "Secrecy is dying. It's probably already dead."

Collin Douma, who writes a popular blog called Radical Trust and is a group creative director at a major advertising agency, used the concept at a Toronto social media event to challenge the value of, and values behind, the well-viewed bridezilla YouTube clip that turned out to be a set piece for a shampoo company.

In Connected Conversation #3, host Boyd Neil encourages Collin to say what he really thinks about corporate transparency in using social media as a marketing or corporate positioning tool.