As a woman in tech who's been in the trenches for a couple decades, I've always zigged when people zagged, perhaps to a fault. The first wave of people that built the foundations of the interactivity we have today were altruistic artists who were more about delivering a memorable experience than the ROI. Websites were fun, constantly upping the ante on creativity. A place to explore instead of catering to a few seconds of attention. There weren't schools teaching how to approach designing it. It was true design thinking in that lots of different ideas were used and iterated upon. The big questions were "What is possible?" The dotcom bust killed tons of ideas that were resurrected years later.
The second wave of people were more business savvy and used the creativity to start companies that were honed to make profits. YouTube and Facebook created a gold rush in tech. Interactive split into apps for smart phones and internet marketing. There are a lot more people that are attracted because of the money, not to create something. Well, sure to create something that will makes lots of money, even though the barriers are increasingly being raised as to who can participate. Schools began teaching the theory of interactive design and the salaries became commensurate with tuition paid.
Over the past decade, marketing has changed into a machine that has no room for wonder or engagement that is purely qualitative. The rulers of measurement now have more weight than the message itself. The analytical minds of number crunchers are seen as the way to success because there is something to show, a truth in numbers. Many approaches have become repeatable processes that give quick results without having to think too hard. Anyone can do it. That's awesome, but not likely to turn many heads.
Social media democratized the message to the point that it all became noise. Brands loved it because it was free, until they realized the spigot on "free" was gradually shut. It required advertising dollars to reach the same people that cared enough to want the brand's content. Then the same marketing prowess that made social media a darling became weaponized. We are still in the aftermath. It is too soon to tell what the longterm effects are, but social media will never be the same.
What's next? Bigger and more immersive technology? Will we go all in on augmented reality, mixed reality, or virtual reality? Or will the pendulum swing the other way, and we will again see the value in having real-life human connections? I'm sure some will go all-in on digital. We are raising a generation of digital natives that are already addicted to screens. I am also starting to see people actually being mindful of speaking to people. The phones are losing their grip a little.
I am right there with those people. Tech has created the most connected isolation. I stopped all social media 9 months ago. I don't participate in it anymore. I ended it, and it was a bit like having your own funeral and no one came. No one reached out. I reached out to a few of my friends, but most haven't reciprocated the gesture. It showed me I needed real-life friends, not pen pals. It's a painful lesson to not have invested time in real people that are around me. It's been a lonely year that has me thinking about the future and what the relationship with technology means. I don't have an answer, but it's certainly more top of mind than in the past.
