A series on communication

An introduction to a written series on how we (mis)use technology to communicate and ultimately on how to try to make things better

My career thus far has seen me working at various inspiring tech companies and creative studios; each experience leaving me more and more convinced that the ways in which we communicate and consume information are entirely and utterly broken - and I’m afraid it extends far beyond the walls of the office (whether you're WFH or not).

The type of communication I'm referring to is that of a digital nature (although some might argue that we have forgotten how to communicate altogether, but that's a story for another day).

It wasn't always like this

About 27 years ago there was a kid. A kid who happened to be a rather big fan of a particular band - such a fan that he was a member of the OIQFC. Mind you, Freddie had already tragically passed a few years prior, but that certainly didn't stop the Official International Queen Fan Club from publishing their quarterly full-colour print magazine covering all things Queen.

It's hard to explain the feeling of excitement I had when each package found its way to me - all the way to my parent's postbox in the local post office far down on the southern tip of Africa. There was no tracking number. There was no online status or link to be fanatically checked up on. It arrived when it arrived.

Queen? Yeah they’re alright I guess

The thing is, the magazine itself had no particularly time-sensitive information in it. There was nothing urgent within the pages that I had to know - and yet I absolutely felt a sense of urgency when it arrived. There was NO way that thick brown envelope, adorned with just enough British postage stamps to ultimately make its way into my hands was going to sit there unopened for more than a second. My name and official membership number (which I committed to memory for many, many years thereafter) written on the label made it feel even more personal and intentional.

I devoured every issue from front to back, thirsting after every nugget of information - reminiscence, stories, personal messages from the band and so many photos I had never before seen - some intimate and personal, some from any one of their numerous past shows in front of tens of thousands of fans all around the world. Even the short notes from fans just like myself, asking for pen pals from across the world were captivating to me.

Now though, I find myself longing for those days of excitement because they are harder and harder to find.

Flash! Aaaaaah!

Information now travels faster than ever - this is no new notion. It wants to travel fast and free - it's in its nature to do so. So, we humans have built ever more impressive systems to allow it to do exactly that, and we seem to be quite chuffed about that. Understandably so!

But at what cost to our sense of wonder has this come? What is the price that we have paid? …and have we even noticed?

The "we" I think about the most is made up of those of us that are both fortunate and unfortunate enough to have straddled both of these worlds. I'm of a generation that is alive, living and seemingly thriving in this "new" world, but it’s one that has also come from a world so vastly different that even the past 3 or so decades of transition weren't quite enough time to truly adjust in any deep or meaningful way.

So what the hell am I gonna do about it?

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be diving into a few areas that I feel are affecting the ways in which we communicate now, and I aim to get down into it so I can eventually unearth some ways for us to adjust our habits and expectations - so that we can get back some of the sense of wonder that I long for.

It might mean proposing and trying out some uncomfortable things. It might mean changing some deeply-learned habits. Either way, I want to find a way not to get back to where we were, but to bring back some of the things that used to be natural byproducts of the process of waiting. Of patience. ...and, the thing that may be the hardest to get back from that world:

Tangibility.

I wanna touch you

Why is it that the emotional impact of a physical experience is often so much more powerful than that of a digital one? How is this new world we are crafting and accepting taking that into account (or not)?

I intend not to fight against the advancements and technology that have put us where we are, but rather to understand them more so that we can make them work for us - not end up having us work for them.

I will be touching on urgency, synchronous and asynchronous communication, notifications, tangibility, silence, boredom and a whole host of other topics that all touch on how we communicate, create and consume information and content in the modern world.

So is this something for you?

Why do I think this will be interesting? Because I'm stuck in the middle, perhaps just like you. I have the growing feeling that technology might mean the end of the world as we know it, while simultaneously finding myself in awe of what we can do and have done; and how much better we have made our lives at the same time. In all of this confused flip-flopping from one side to the other, I have truly come to believe that neither side is exclusively right or wrong. Besides, it doesn't help to think in binary states like that. Unlike in computer science where 0s and 1s are unquestionably clear and defined states, this kind of conflict needs to be approached differently.

I want to have my cake and eat it, but it doesn't and likely won't ever get served to me in a way that I easily can - so instead I’m choosing to put my brain into it to try and make it so.

So, if this resonates with you in any way, please join me on this exploration. I want to have discussions and debates. I invite all that you have to say so that it can help us all to change how things are and how they can be, so we can all become better and more content humans along with technology, not end up either lying down and accepting it or fighting it like the enemy.