Catch up and Technology
I meant to post a link (last week) to Red Ant's great “
But is it Viral?” case study comparison of realestate.com.au and threadless campaigns. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't already
My recent and somewhat disastrous foray into office remodeling (a long story) delayed my plans and gave me time to contemplate a book I've been reading about Technology's impact on our culture, our society and our lives.
“I once was invited to examine Chinese bronzes at the Freer Gallery of Art. The purpose of the gathering was to develop suggestions for research into the technology of Chinese bronze casting, to share knowledge and to avoid duplication. We were about six or eight, and I will never forget the scene. Most participants were art historians or museum people; I was the only researcher coming out of Engineering. We were all looking at bronze fragments and we all had magnifying glasses, but my magnifying glass was different [...]. 'They' had magnifying glasses that they put to their eyes and then lifted the object into proper viewing distance. I had a magnifying glass that I put on the object, and I manoeuvred my head into a good viewing position. They took one look at my magnifying glass and I was out. I was classified as an outsider.”
The above quote is from Ursula Franklin from her CBC Massey Lecture “The Real World of Technology”. If you haven't guessed, this is the book I'm reading.
What is giving me pause is the method by which we create connections in the 'blogosphere“. The way we naturally connect with others who share our contextual view of technology. ie: The likelihood that we are all using these technologies in a similar way.
In my work with clients, we counsel them to get involved in real conversations (the good and the bad.) To take risks and reach out to both customers and opponents so as to better understand the conversations their company or products create. But then I asked myself how many conversations do I participate in where I don't agree with the author. How involved have I been in real conversations on both sides? Next to none.
Am I a hypocrite?
Or does it go deeper? Even those with whom I might not agree see the world potentially through the same big lens. All of us bloggers are using the same ”magnifying glass“.
If I use the same tools, in the same manner as those around me, I am an insider and likely preaching to the converted. And at what cost, I'm unsure. Nor am I clear on how to change this situation or if it even requires changing. But to blindly continue is not an option that sits well with me either.
I find all of this especially pertinent for social media when we consider our efforts in a global context. After all, so much of what we do is now for a global audience. And I always assumed that different cultures would require different social media tools. But now I'm curious as to whether the very act of using social media is creating a common culture and blinding us to what is outside of that "world". Removing our ability to gauge what is next.
I am now looking for example of people who appear to be approaching technology from a different perspective (as both process and goal.) I believe we can learn a lot by exposing our bias. I want to know what is in my blind spot before I change lanes and cause a major accident on the social media highway.
Have any examples to share? Or am I just breathing too many toxic drywall fumes?
Image Credits: kingjen and Noah Sachs via flickr.
Tags: social media, technology, intention marketing
So. You are riding a train and you see the "girl of your dreams." She exits. You tell yourself, "She's got a boyfriend," or "I'm not her type." But a few hours later, you are running a fever, and all thoughts are still on her. A day goes by and your friends refuse to hang out with you because you are beyond obsessing. What do you do?
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