The following is a Q&A that explores the reoccurrence of analog and obsolete technology within our highly-connected present day. It was inspired by Rick Liebling’s latest explorations of this topic.
1)Francesca: As digital kicks in and everything becomes convergent, there is also a big comeback of analog products like vinyl, radio devices, .., and yes typewriters. How much do you think this counter-trend is due to a ‘design’ factor, and how much it might actually be driven by nostalgia as reaction to fast change?
Len: We certainly can appreciate the design factor of antiquated technology. The craftsmanship and quality sometimes outpaces the low-end items we see today, but I think the counter-trend has more to do with nostalgia. Not nostalgia for doing something “the old way,” but rather an appreciation for using disconnected technology. When it comes to media consumption and creation devices, a connected (internet-enabled) one constantly taunts the user with the next best thing. Something that they’re missing that they could be digesting right now instead of what is in front of them. As much as technology can make our ageless stories more visually stunning, easier to research, or social, there’s always the reminder that the same benefits are waiting for us in the next piece of content. I don’t want to argue that static things prevent us entirely from distractions, (after-all we all have our smartphones next to us at all times) but they do at least remove some of the magnets that divert our the trajectory of our attention.
Gunther: I think nostalgia plays a role, but I also think analog products provide what I call “slow stimulus”, the idea that the rate of technology can only induce a chaordic experience with people when their senses are activated at full tilt. Vinyl records, for example, might allow you to skip tracks, but most often you are compelled to listen to the album as a total experience. Typewriting also has a similar effect: Each word, phrase and sentence is more carefully thought out as a more purposeful (and mostly permanent) result. The options to skip, erase or change stations are deterrents with many analog products, unlike the digital devices of today.
2) Francesca: Looking at analog devices from a digital perspective is important for companies and organizations that develop solutions for less developed countries. What are the benefits that this perspective can bring to a more sustainable development of economies?
Len: Bells and whistles are luxuries and luxuries by definition tend not to be sustainable. I appreciate seeing emerging economies focusing their technological growth on mobile. Communication often travels on simple channels like SMS and microblogs, and that critical information is shared lightning fast. Mobile payment systems are letting local entrepreneurs scale quickly. Analog devices today are not sustainable, nor practical, but they are a shining example of how developing nations can focus their digital tools to keep costs low and opportunities high. During last year’s Cusp Conference, Heather Fleming spoke to the challenges and rewards of this situation.
Gunther: One of the most important inventions of the 21st century, to my mind, has been the wind-up laptop. The sustainable benefits from a resource standpoint are clear — generating power without electricity presents tremendous possibility and scale in adoption. But I also think the behavioral elements are even more interesting: The act of up winding up and using power creates a sort of intentionality and efficacy in the use of the device, both in the consumption of information and in the creation of content. It’s been said that in the developing areas where these laptops have been used, sharing was more appreciated as a function of applied learning (I’ll wind, you drive), and in the sense that the discovery of information could be had through a single device by several people at once (I wind you, you search, he reads, she writes, we collectively make new meaning). I suppose it takes curation to a whole different level…
3) Francesca: What are the analog devices of our childhood that might make a big comeback among the future generations?
Len: Mediums evolve based on society’s needs as well as the opportunities (utilities) that technology reveal. Anachronistic mediums generally don’t captivate our time anymore because of the time it takes to create or consume content within those venues. Where they’re seeing the greatest resurgence today is when they’re used in tandem with digital, or in ways that differ from the original intended design. Personally, I’m a huge fan of typewriters because I love to write in an undistracted format. The analog device serves me well for creation, but for sharing, I rely on digital so I can share and experiment.
Gunther: I remember push-button cable boxes when they first came out in the late 70s and more formally around 1981, when MTV launched. Back then, you had a row of buttons, maybe 50 of them, all lined up on this plastic brown box, each with a channel number. At the end of the row was the “Z Channel”, which was one of the first cable movie channels. It actually played some cool stuff (and some racy stuff); I remember watching “The Man Who Fell to Earth” starring David Bowie and thinking, “Wow, this planet is really weird”, and then I would sort of switch around channels in intervals. Anyway, I thought it was kind of novel because you did your own form of passive programming without all the clutter, and without all the surfing (for one, surfing was clunky with buttons). I think it could make a comeback in a digital interface, in which all your channel choices are aggregated on a page, and in which you “push” favorites (like pinning).
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