We Are Being Shaped by Technology
How about Facebook? If you were forced to look at those pages in a moving vehicle, you’d vomit.
Recently I wrote about blandness in web design. I wanted to take this topic a little further because I think it stretches into how we talk to machines.
We each started off with the Internet and computers in general, like we were rough stones with pointed and sharp edges. Instead of using our sharp edges to carve these technological tools to shapes we wanted, we let them turn us into soft rolling shapes like stones you’d see in an old river bed.
Could it be that technology is shaping us and not the reverse?
How many times have you sat in front of your computer almost apologizing to it or feeling stupid because you did not know what to do? How often do you scratch your head like a monkey to come up with yet one more username and password?
I know we choose all these things we get involved with, but surely there must be a better way of designing the interfaces we work with.
The interfaces we use are clunky and ugly and we somehow think we are stuck with them. In fact, we don’t even think about them anymore; we just accept them (much as we accept Muzak as my friend Tom recently wrote about)
Google has great tools, but with the exception of their search page, look at their user interface! “Butt Ugly” comes to mind.
How about Facebook? If you were forced to look at those pages in a moving vehicle, you’d vomit. It’s like the time I saw the Blair Witch project in the third row and got motion sickness.
I know we want these tools to do more and more so companies build more and more, but surely, the experience can be improved, can’t it?
Apple does a pretty good job most of the time by simplifying, but really, I think we’re so far down the drain with all of this now that we don’t even think it could be different.
Solution?
Blandness Rules
A double-edged sword.
In the web design side of my business, I feel like I am spending a lot more time dealing with technical details and minutiae than I am more creative aspects.
I think this has gotten worse recently and I know what’s partly to blame: WordPress and social media tools.
Now, I’m a big fan of WordPress for hosting websites. It allows me and my clients a lot more control over posting new content and linking with other social media tools like Twitter and Facebook and being a media channel, but it’s also limiting for me to add graphical interest and variety.
Here’s the thing: I’m not a geek (despite what some of my friends think).
I learned a long, long time ago that I am not inclined to writing code and have very little patience for the details that are needed to do more of the back-end or behind-the-scenes coding work of websites. My brain simply doesn’t go there. I’ve tried and tried.
This means if I want to manipulate WordPress into doing more interesting things, I need to go for outside help. That’s ok, but for the small sites I build, there’s rarely a budget for this and even if there is outside help, the sites still end up looking a little uniform.
Being realistic, I know the days are almost gone for static websites, but boy, do I miss the flexibility I had with those when I could spend a lot more time creating interesting graphical elements, because I could.
There is a “sameness” in the look of many small sites and it’s rather sad. Earlier this year I read Jaron Lanier’s book You Are Not A Gadget and I found his argument compelling when he suggested we create websites that are unique and different from the cookie-cutter types that are so prevalent.
It’s ironic that we have so many tools now to connect and engage and show our unique qualities but we seem to be forcing ourselves to work in the world of the graphically bland. In trying to “think outside the box” we are living more in the box than ever.
Look at my own website! I’m a graphics guy and it’s bland as hell. Jesus! What’s happened to me? Have I drunk the kool-aid but just don’t know it?
Maybe it was just a bad day I was having dealing with all the back-end side of things in developing a new website for a client, but I found myself totally disinterested, not because of my client’s content—which is wonderful, colourful and exciting—but because of the way it all has to be shoved into a box with technical limitations.
Taking this one step beyond the web design world, I wonder if you are feeling controlled and constrained by the technical infrastructure. Is your website a Starbucks—clean, efficient, predictable—or a corner, custom coffee shop with a real espresso maker and a staff that doesn’t wear a uniform?
So, the double-edged sword is that so many more of us have a voice now, and that’s great, but in so doing we becoming somewhat “the same.”
I have no clear-cut solution. If I were bold and brave, I’d start by smashing my own website into pieces and starting over. I’d also look at how I spend my seconds, minutes and hours every day in computer-land and change more than just my site. I’d change the time and way I interact with all this electronic, technical world.
If My Family Were Trees
While walking on a trail on Hornby Island I came across a Douglas Fir tree that had fallen. I counted the rings—80—which represent one year’s growth and it got me to thinking about something I often do when I’m in a forest and contemplate the age of trees compared to what was happening in history when they were born.
Not only does looking at the rings of a tree tell you how old the tree is, but also what years had a lot of growth and what ones didn’t due to environmental factors such as the amount of rain or drought.
I thought our lives are like that too. Some years are tough while others are rich and we grow a lot.
I then came to a part of the forest with Douglas Firs of various ages and when I thought about how old each one was, I realized a correlation to my age and the age of various family members.
I admit this is a little abstract, but here is my little video showing trees and who they represent in my family.
Is The Internet and Social Media Making Us Shallow?
(Caricature of the Algonquin Round Table) See Wikipedia
I want to have deeper conversations.
Maybe it’s just my imagination, but it seems to me that we are having fewer and fewer deep conversations with other people when we are in person.
Studies seem to suggest that our brains are changed because of the skimming and light reading we do online. Every time we see a link we have to decide whether to click on it. Every time an email comes, we are drawn to checking what it’s about. We want to check Twitter or Facebook for updates.
We check all these channels and then we often respond with quick notes in email, short blurbs on Facebook or retorts and snippets of 140 characters on Twitter. We do this over and over through the day.
When we meet with friends we start doing the same thing. Rarely to we ponder and discuss one topic for more than a minute or two before flying off on some other tangent based on a comment. The next thing you know we’ve spent two hours discussing 40 topics for three minutes each.
Maybe we did this before social media and the Internet. Was Dorothy Parker’s Algonquin Round Table all jokes and frivolity or did they get into deeper matters for their daily lunch that happened for ten years? I don’t know.
Call me old-fashioned but I miss deeper conversations and I can’t help but think the Internet is partly to blame. Social media does get us conversing and connecting but usually, in a really shallow way.
Perhaps it’s time to organize “Dorothy Parker Lunches” with friends or even have Meetups where the topic is pre-defined and all in attendance agree to stick to the topic for two hours. Maybe there’s a way to form a “discussion club” like there are book clubs where people in the group would take turns choosing a topic for the next meetup. It would then be up to each person to research and lookup the topic and consider it prior to the meetup so a good conversation could take place with varying points of view and shared ideas.
I’m not sure what to do, but I would like to have deeper conversations that get beneath the veneer. Of course, the irony is, I’m writing a short blog post about this!
Am I A Deadbeat Lead?
“A-I-D-A. Attention, Interest, Decision, Action. Attention – Do I have you attention? Interest – Are you interested? I know you are, because it’s fuck or walk. You close or you hit the bricks. Decision – Have you made your decision for Christ? And Action.” Blake, played by Alec Baldwin from Glengarry Glen Ross
I’m all for commerce and sales, but the way it’s done sure is amazing sometimes. Just as I’ve written about big corporations and their ridiculous claims or slogans (The Future is Friendly) in previous post such as this one I also find myself feeling hyped and pitched in disingenuous ways by very small companies. In fact, companies of one, such as some bloggers.
I follow many blogs about social media, business culture, arts, blogging and lifestyle design. I have to say that the categories with the most strident marketing and sales pitches are lifestyle design and the “how-to-blog” writers. I enjoy the general flavor and focus of these writers and admire them for living a life they like, but where my problem comes is the crass pitches they make after coming across as so warm and fuzzy.
Here’s what happens:
I read a blogger’s posts for a while, enjoy what they’re saying, participate by commenting on some posts and then I get a pitch for one of their e-books or online classes that goes on and on and on down the page. If you haven’t clicked on the “buy now” button, there’s more text telling you how it will change your life. Keep reading and you will find another “buy now” button but if you don’t click that, guess what?
Wait, there’s more…
I’m left feeling like the poor people in Glengarry Glen Ross who get pitched by scammy salesmen (great movie by the way). The problem is, I expect more from these bloggers but instead the ones using these techniques have just become crass salesman.
I really dislike being pitched to in this fashion. I have often been in stores where I’ve wanted to buy something but the salesperson goes too far and I can tell they could care less about me. I will leave and not buy. This happens so often, it’s sad.
Just as I leave a store and never go back if I’ve been pitched too in a too-strident way online, I stop visiting these blogs.
Their integrity is lost in my mind.
We all have to pitch, to make a sale, but there are so many ways of doing this. To me, the longterm is what matters most so though getting that quick sale may be tempting, what about over the long haul?
If you aren’t trying to scam someone with bogus real estate, don’t treat potential customers like the salesmen in the movie I’ve mentioned. Not, that is, if you want my business.
Life Is An Editing Job
Command-Z (Control-Z on Windows)
I work in the graphic design field so I work with text and documents that involve lots of iterative work. Editing happens. A client of mine once remarked that life was an editing job too, and it struck me as particularly accurate.
I’ve been editing my life for years. I edited it when I went to college to study music, when I started my music career in 1985, when I learned bookkeeping at a dry time during my music career, when I started doing web and graphic design in the 1990s, when I stepped into a management role at an arts organization in 1998 and again in 2002, when I stepped back into design work after that and when I started administering arts grants a few years ago in addition to my design work.
All, edits to my work life that have allowed me great flexibility with my time.
To me, work and “non-work” have often been mixed. I grew up with a dad who was ahead of his time. He worked freelance, which, in the 1960s was rare. I think my mother’s father was a little unsettled when he found out his daughter was married to someone with such an “insecure” job (my grandfather was a company man as head of human resources at BC Hydro).
To me however, the self-employed model made sense. I observed my dad who did very well with his business, but like any freelancer, had busy times and quieter times. If he had a quiet afternoon, he’d slip down to the basement and put in an hour or so on a model airplane or edit an 8mm movie he was working on.
In the current lingo of the corporate world, he had “work-life balance” but he never thought of it that way. I’m sure it wasn’t always so well balanced, but in general, it worked for him.
Now, I’m editing my life again. My partner and I are going to move to a small island off the coast of western Canada to build a house and live and work in a different way.
Since spending summers on Hornby Island as a child, I’ve often wondered if I could ever live there. For years, I didn’t think it would be possible, but two things have happened that have changed that view. My work happens because of the Internet and the Internet certainly reaches there, and, I got older and developed a different perspective with different needs and wants.
To chronicle this journey, my partner and I have started a web site called Living Out Beyond as a way of documenting our shift from a downtown, urban landscape to a more rural one on an island that is six hours and three ferry rides from Vancouver.
We’re going to be editing as we go but hope this new site will be a place where others who may be considering such a move (not just to an island, but to any small community) can learn from our experience or offer advice to us on house building and more importantly the mind shift ahead of us.
Let the editing begin.
Is Minimalism For Me or You?
I’ve been very interested lately in minimalism and have been reading a few blogs about the subject.
The range of how far one can take this is considerable. There are those who have reduced personal belongings to 50 items and can travel and work just about anywhere. (see Far Beyond the Stars and Zen Habits) For others, it’s about slowly reducing to a point that feels comfortable.
I’ve been trying to tackle the “too much stuff” issues for the last few months (see post). It’s very difficult in a world that only wants you to have more and more. By looking at my “stuff” I have realized a few things and I’ve started to change my relationship to it.
Physical Stuff
For physical things, I’ve done much cleaning out and giving things away as well as simply tossing items. It’s stunning how much there is. I have so many little cables for computer-related equipment, batteries for mice, chargers, adapters… the list goes on.
It’s easy for me to get rid of stuff. What’s tricky is just not buying it to begin with. I’m trying to reassess my way of buying things.
Mental Stuff
It’s not all just about physical items either, there’s also mental “stuff” and the theory is that by reducing the clutter in our brains we become clearer and more able to focus on what matters.
As with physical stuff, mental stuff is easy to “buy” as well. We get an idea for something, we start a new project or we do something as simple as adding a third email address but the next thing we know, we’re managing too many things which simply makes for days of scattered thoughts and no focus.
With the Internet and social media tools it’s even easier to get clogged up with mental clutter. Just keeping track of usernames and passwords can be huge not to mention all the incoming and outgoing communications through myriad channels.
When it gets to be too much, we start to lose our sense of control. Lack of control is what leads to anxiety and anxiety leads to stress and anxiety management techniques such as addictions (food, drugs, alcohol).
In de-cluttering our physical and mental spaces we are trying to bring order and control to our lives. Becoming obsessed with this path is probably just as unhealthy as having stuff taking up space. Finding a path that’s right is the key.
A central theme that runs through my thinking is that most of us don’t ever question our current situations and assumptions to even see if they make sense. We don’t even give a second thought to all our stuff, mental or physical.
How about you? Is your office, house and mind cluttered?
Transparency: Let’s Get Naked
Have you ever noticed how your actions change when conditions change?
When you’re young, you may tend to dress better, groom more and try to be in shape because you’re searching for a partner (mating game). Everybody does this to a different degree, but it’s definitely done
When your business is young, you do all kinds of things to dress it up, groom it and make it look in shape because you are courting customers.
When you are with people who may pay you for what you do (or will continue to pay you) you act differently, you speak differently and you dress differently.
Maybe the reason we do all these things is that they are ingrained in us from evolution where mating or being in favour with the tribal leader meant a better chance of survival.
In many ways, we do all these things because we want something from someone else.
What if we were all naked? There’d be nothing to hide us and obscure our differences and similarities.
Young people would probably strive even harder to “look good” but the upside is, at least the truth would be out there and not covered up by clothes and perfume and expensive jewelry.
Businesses starting out wouldn’t have fancy logos, buy ads telling people how their teams of customer support (one person) will handle your every question.
Individuals would only be hired based on what they do and are known for, not on hype or clever show
There is much talk in the social media world about transparency. We show this when we discuss things more openly (strategy, personal thoughts) but I still think we still live in a world of dress-up.
Let’s get naked! What would your business look like?
Pointless Projects
Ever have a job, project or task at hand that feels pointless?
Pointless to the extent that it makes you angry to keep on doing it?
Pointless to the extent that you wonder what’s happened to the world to have even thought up these projects?
Angry at yourself for having ever said “yes” in the first place?
This happens to me from time to time. I get in the middle of something and realize that though I’m doing what is expected of me, I start seeing how full of baloney the job is. I start feeling so agitated to be spending my time doing it. Life is too short!
I start wondering why I didn’t see this coming? I don’t generally work “just for the money” because when I do, I find it’s often not a good fit with what I like to do. Almost everything I’ve worked at in my life has had little connection between what it pays and what I get out of it on a personal level.
Ideally, projects and jobs meet both objectives: They are up your alley and they pay well. If they don’t pay well, but they are up your alley, at least you can enjoy the work. If they pay well but turn out to not be up your alley, it’s very unpleasant, and well, pointless!
What do you do when you are in the thick of it and it’s not your thing? How do you “suck it up” and carry on?
Please, I want to know!
Stop the Presses and Quit Advertising in Print
Our unquestioned assumptions always hurt us.
We have these assumptions that we have to advertise in print. I think that in most cases, it’s a complete and utter waste of money.
I’m talking here about artists and arts presenters who take out advertisements in trade publications, conference programs and other business publications related to their field. Perhaps arts presenters still need some advertising in local newspapers for events, but even there, I wonder how effective those ads are.
[ Note: How dare I say these things. I derive a portion of my income from creating ads ]
Why do you continue to advertise in print?
- “It’s always been done that way and that’s what you’re supposed to do.” My guess is you aren’t even aware of this assumption, but we all tend to do things because they’ve always been done that way, without much questioning.
- “It’s easy.” Yes, doing an ad is easy. You create it, send it off and you’re finished. You feel great that you’ve done what you’re supposed do: promote yourself or organization. How tidy! It’s so nice just plopping down $400 in that conference program knowing you’re all finished.
The times have changed and so should the tactics for advertising, even down at the arts level . In fact, especially down at the arts level (budgets are always tight).
It’s money down the toilet folks. Stop and consider this before you flush again:
Save your money and put your time into developing, slowly and surely, your presence on the Internet. You call this “building social capital” (See “Feeding your System” by Chris Brogan) and it’s so important now. This is not some fad or phase we’re going through and the sooner you develop it, the sooner your capital will increase.
What’s so different about this approach is that it takes time. It’s the opposite of a print ad that appears in the conference program that is “maybe” seen once and then discarded.
There are many avenues to move into such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, Flickr, Myspace and perhaps most important for artists and arts organizations is a web site that includes constantly updated material on what you are up to such as a blog site.
You’ve got to build your network. It takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight so start now and don’t expect returns quickly.
Oh, by the way, what was the response to your last ad?
