Great read on how the Amazon Fire Phone came to be, and ultimately it’s demise:
“And I thought, This is a CEO who cares about design; what a wonderful place to be.” Eventually, however, this designer grew frustrated, as did others. “In essence, we were not building the phone for the customer, we were building it for Jeff”
IPOD INTRODUCTION
The iPod was introduced on October 23, 2001; after discussing iLife and Apple digital hub strategy, the iPod section begins at 11:30. However, the iPod itself does not actually appear on a slide until 20:48, and Jobs pulls it out of his pocket at 21:07, nearly 10 minutes after he begins his introduction. The intervening 10 minutes were spent explaining the music market, why Apple thought they could succeed in that market, and what was special about the iPod.
IPHONE INTRODUCTION
The iPhone was introduced on January 9, 2007. However, the iPhone itself does not actually appear on a slide until 7:03, and only then to introduce multitouch. The rest of the device wasn’t seen until 12:20. Jobs spent all of that time explaining the smartphone market, why Apple thought they could succeed in that market, and what was special about the iPhone.
IPAD INTRODUCTION
The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. After a few updates, the iPad section begins at 5:15. However, the iPad itself does not actually appear on a slide until 8:55. Jobs spent the intervening time explaining that Apple saw a market between the iPhone and the Mac, but that any device that played there needed to be better than either device at a few specific use cases.
WATCH INTRODUCTION
The Apple Watch section began with the iconic “One more thing…” at 55:44,1 and these were the extent of Tim Cook’s words before we got our first glimpse of the Apple Watch:
“We love to make great products that really enrich people’s lives. We love to integrate hardware, software, and services seamlessly. We love to make technology more personal and allow our users to do things that they could have never imagined. We’ve been working incredibly hard for a long time on an entirely new product. And we believe this product will redefine what people expect from its category. I am so excited and I am so proud to share it with you this morning. It is the next chapter in Apple’s story. And here it is.”
Then came the introductory video, and we never got an explanation of why the Apple Watch existed, or what need it is supposed to fill. What is the market? Why does Apple believe it can succeed there? What makes the Apple Watch unique?
Now it’s very fair to note that the biggest difference between the introduction of the iPod, iPhone and iPad as compared to the Apple Watch is that Steve Jobs is no longer with us. Perhaps the long introduction was simply his personal style. But the problem is that the Smart Watch needs that explanation: what exactly is the point?
To be clear, the hardware looks amazing, and I love the idea of the Digital Crown. It’s one of those innovations that seems so blindingly obvious in retrospect, and Cook was spot on when he noted that you can’t just shrink a smartphone UI to the wrist. **But that was exactly the problem with too much of the software demo: there were multiple examples of activities that simply make no sense on the wrist. For example:
There were sixty-four applications (I counted) on the demo watch, and the tap targets are quite small. I can definitely see some compelling Siri use cases for the Watch, but scrolling through movie times is not one of them. If you’re looking for a movie you’re almost certainly in a state of movement and mind that makes it possible to pull out your phone and use a screen much more suited to the task.
“We also looked at how you can carry your photos with you.” Here’s an idea: on your phone!
The Maps demo was the most frustrating: it included panning around, searching for a Whole Foods – including the phone number! – all activities that by definition mean you are stationary and can use your phone.
But that’s when the demo got really good:
While you’re actually traveling, the watch will not only show directions, but will actually use the Taptic Engine to indicate turns by feel. That is awesome, and an amazing use case for the watch. Who hasn’t been dashing somewhere, running into things while looking at their phone? A watch is far more suited, particularly one that doesn’t even require you to look at the screen.
I also like that you can use the iWatch to control your iPhone or any other AirPlay device. This would be incredibly useful around the house, etc.
The “Taptic Engine” makes sure only you know about a notification that you have previously agreed to receive. There are smart options for replying, as well as Siri and emoticons, but you can always use “Handoff” to compose a more extensive reply on a more suitable device.
There is a clear pattern to these examples:
**The bad demos are all activities that are better done on your phone. They are also the activities that make the Watch seem the most like a real computer.
**The good demos are all activities that extend your phone in a way that simply wasn’t possible before. They are also activities that make the Watch seem less capable as a self-contained unit.
This is why I’m worried that the lack of explanation about the Watch’s purpose wasn’t just a keynote oversight, but something that reflects a fundamental question about the product itself that Apple itself has yet to answer: is Watch an iPhone accessory, or is it valuable in its own right?
The question is likely more fraught then it seems: the entry price for Apple Watch is $350, nearly half the price of an iPhone (and $150 more than the up-front cost for a subsidized consumer). Moreover, I suspect Edition models will go for ten times that, if not more. Surely such a price demands a device that is capable of doing more, not less.
In fact, I would argue the contrary. Swiss watches are less accurate, but the benefit they confer on the user are so much greater. Those benefits are about intangible things like status and fashion, but that doesn’t mean they are worth less than more technical capabilities like telling time accurately. Indeed, they are exponentially more valuable.
Moreover, it seems clear to me that Apple wants to play in this space: Jony Ive wasn’t joking when he allegedly said that Switzerland was in trouble. I believe Apple’s long-term plan for Apple Watch is to own the wrist and to confer prestige and status with options like premium bands and 18-karat gold. To do that, though, they must compete not on technical merit but on the sort of intangible benefits that they always win with; chief among these is the user experience. A premium smart watch will win by yes, being fashionable, and yes, conferring status, but above all by doing a few things better than any other product on the market, and – this is critical – dispensing with everything else in the pursuit of simplicity.
To me the instructive Apple product is the iPod. What made the iPod so revolutionary was not just its size and industrial design; it was that Apple’s MP3 player did less than its competitors, thanks to its symbiotic relationship with iTunes. Sure, you couldn’t really make playlists or buy music, but that’s what your computer was for. What remained was the very essence of a music player, and it was because of that simplicity that the iPod became such a success.
It’s worth noting, of course, that the iPhone is in many ways the evolutionary iPod – Steve Jobs even introduced it as such. Similarly, I’m pretty convinced that one day our primary computing device will be something that we wear on our body. But that is many iterations and technical (and battery) advances down the road. Why is Apple in such a rush to get there by 2015?
Ultimately, I’m positive on the Apple Watch, if not for me for Apple. I think the Digital Crown is a big deal, and it’s a perfect companion for the 5.5″ iPhone especially (the device that many fear will cannibalize the iPad itself necessitates another iOS device). I also think the customization and segmentation is really smart and will enable Apple to sell at multiple price points. Moreover, some of the demos were quite compelling, including the very personal messaging; it was telling that Apple gave that functionality a dedicated button.
To ensure the Watch’s success broadly Apple needs to really articulate “Why”, not only externally in their advertising but internally to their product managers who ought to remember that Apple’s greatness is built on saying “No.”
http://www.avclub.com/article/facebook-tinkered-users-feeds-massive-psychology-e-206324
Hopefully now, my post on facebook and death wont look so far fetched to some….
It’s no secret that technology is in constant change. If you’re not privy to this, do yourself justice and look around. 10 years ago nobody was face-planted into a 4 inch device, yet here we are. Technology is an extremely powerful outlet. It effects every aspect of our life, and whether you agree with it’s existence or not one thing is certain, technology is here to stay.
As a tech follower for sometime now, I have learned a few things that remain true. The most important aspect and guarantee you can take from the tech industry is: it won’t stay still. It’s here to progress. It has to. Because it’s customers do. New customers (age groups and demographics) bring new needs. Different trends spawn fresh redesigns and feature sets. Nothing in tech is by accident. This is an important fact to remember simply because we are the customer and we should be aware of what is trying to target us, our time and our priorities. We should enjoy the product to an extent but also be knowledgable of why it is doing what it is doing. For example: When google starts asking you why you are searching for something instead of just searching for you, that should raise a bright red flag.
The future of the tech world is of immense interest to me. I find it fascinating how culture shifts with plastic tech products. I am always thinking of what could come next. These answers aren’t hard to gather if you look closely and due diligence in research. Like I mentioned, Tech’s target is us. What do we want? Do we even know? Some companies think we do. Some think we don’t. But no other company as of recent has fascinated me more than Facebook. In my opinion, the most influential company in the world.
I guess it’s only fair if I tell you my personal relationship with Facebook. Consider the source right? I joined Facebook in 2006. Right as myspace was slowing down. It was actually quite fun at first. There wasn’t many people on, you basically friended your friends, which was nice. And the end result was a nice compartmentalization of your life, nice and neat. It wasn’t long before everyone came in and flooded the servers of Facebook. And personally, it just got to be too much for me. It was too much to control, too much content to take in intelligently and too overbearing. When a tech product starts to control me, I leave. And I did. Sure countless people asked me why and how it was dumb to leave. But as for me? I knew it was the right move personally.
Facebook did something really clever before I left though. They prompted a screen in the exit process. First off, they wouldn’t let me delete my account. Only to add that they knew best and they would intelligently “deactivate” my account. (RED FLAG #1). This didn’t seat well with me . Maybe to an uninformed regular human this doesn’t matter. But to me it meant I was still living on Facebook’s servers. Since there is no option, I had to agree and so I did. I would rather be “deactivated” on their servers than participating in the confused nonsense. What also bothered me and is the point of this post is what came next: The “don’t leave, your friends will miss you page.” (RED FLAG #2). Facebook intelligently took my closest (most interacted with) friends and placed them in JPEG holders and proudly stated “they” would miss me. As if they didn’t exist beyond my computer screen. As if they weren’t real people living in the real world.
As of present day, It almost feels like everyone is attending a party that I chose and continually choose not to attend. As an introvert, this kind of makes me feel good, but as a human being , I still peak in from time to time. Facebook is attractive. It gives you up to the second news feeds of people you seemingly care about and continually refreshes to birth a new stream of content at an exhausting rate. Although in print, that description probably seems crazy, in real life usage it actually works quite well and is extravagantly addictive.
Facebook as a company fascinates me. More so, Facebook’s future as a company is the most interesting future any tech company has to offer in my opinion. Not Apple, not Google, not Samsung, not Tesla, not Twitter but Facebook.
DISCLAIMER: I would like to run at a disclaimer at this point: I am not a shareholder of any Facebook stock. Besides Apple Inc, I don’t have any internal knowledge of future product roadmaps (hardware, software or services) of any tech company. Everything I am about to put on the table about Facebook’s future is completely speculative. But it should be stated that these are informed guesses from obtainable information that any individual can dig and find on the interwebs.
PAST
To look at Facebook’s possible future we first have to look at what Facebook is capable of. The best way to do this is to simply look at their past. This is a company that started at a small university level, a limited social network that grew like no company in the history of any industry in the terms of users and marketing profit margins. So to make a long story short, Facebook has set the gold standard for a rising startup. They quickly spread and grew across the world, flicking the switch in an obscene amount of time in a ridiculous amount of places.
They also are a company who is ran by a very smart man. Enter Marc Zuckerburg. Since Steve Jobs, the smartest man in technology in my opinion. We all know Zuck’s story. Its what every young college computer science major wants to do. Start a company, be a billionaire, change the world. But personally, I don’t think Zuckerburg wanted the first two nearly as bad as he wants to change the world. And he did it and he’s doing it now. But this article will focus on how he will continue to do it.
PRESENT
By the end of 2013, Facebook boasted 1.23bn monthly active users worldwide, adding 170m in just one year. According to Facebook, 757m users log on to Facebook daily, as of 31 December 2013. Maybe you didn’t get that because those numbers seem fairytale-ish. But 757 million user log in daily. Thats an extreme amount of people giving you information, Personal information as well as public.
As good as those numbers sound though Facebook is actually on the decline in the present day. Internally they are struggling to reach core demographics of teenagers believe it or not. Twitter is actually getting more and more teens by the day, Many analysts think this is because teens do not desire to be on the same social media outlet as their parents. So the problem for Facebook now is they have too many users and they are “sherlocking” their own product. Actually that is quite fascinating and funny all at the same time.
All of this success has not made Mark Zuckerburg ignorant though. He understands as well as anyone that revolutions come from below. A small start up could one day dethrone a big giant who is basking in their own success. The innovators dilemma – where you get so caught up in your own innovation you miss the next wave of real innovation. Zuckerburg knows this all to well and he is consistently on the look out for the next big thing. Take into account his three big recent purchases:
1. Instagram – A social networking photo service that works flawless and simple. PURCHASE PRICE: 1 BILLION
2. whatsapp – A multi-platform, worldwide messaging service that was highly successful for teenagers mostly in Europe. PURCHASE PRICE: 19 BILLION!
3. Oculus Rift – A virtual reality start up that was leading the charge in real time virtual reality creation. PURCHASE PRICE: 2 BILLION
Do you notice anything about those companies? They’re all about connecting. Here it is: Facebook is about connecting you with data, in a simple sentence we have just discovered Facebook’s mission statement. Data is their business. They collect everyone’s data and literally sell it to companies and then you will see smart ads pop up on the sidebar of your pages. Coincidentally with content of your interest. This is no coincidence .
FUTURE
You see the truth and future of Facebook is right in front of you and users hardly realize it. Your information, your tendencies, your likes and dislikes your time spent on and off. Your friends, your new friends your old friends, the friend you just unfriended, the boy or girlfriend you just broke things off with, your husband, your wife, your kids, your kid’s kids, your grandchildren, their friends and your pets. Are you getting the picture yet? They keep EVERYTHING logged and they use it to their advantage, literally. It’s their business to know you. Remember YOU are the reason they exist. And they take complete advantage of such information.
Lets fast forward now and take a look down the road:
APPS
Down the road Facebook will no doubt continue it’s mobile presence. They already are turning out new iOS apps almost weekly by some of the best designers in the industry. Mike Madas and Loren Brichter just to name a few. They have released (in addition to a new revamped official app):
1. Facebook Messenger
2. Instagram
3. Facebook Page Manager
4. whatsapp
5. Facebook Paper
These are all available on iOS platform, and you may think to yourself so what? But if you look even 2 years ago, none of these existed under Facebook’s authority except their official app. Its clear Facebook is making a huge push into mobile. But why?
They are working extremely hard to be mobile-only and they will certainly continue down that road because mobile is the future and Facebook needs to be there. And they will be. Thats where the users are. Thats where the data is.
HARDWARE
This is quite tricky actually. Facebook has attempted hardware in the past, most notably the HTC Facebook phone. As far as numbers show, the phone was introduced with subpar selling number and since HTC has halted production.
Facebook’s purchase of Oculus Rift is very interesting though. Oculus Rift is an actual headset you wear to turn your world into a virtual world. So is Facebook trying to make a Facebook headset you wear to create dystopia for you to live in? Im skeptical of that, but it can’t quite be put to bed either. The jury is still out on a hardware future for Facebook.
SERVICES
Ah, here is where I want to land. This is the backbone of Facebook. Internet Services, data consumption and “connecting” users. Surly, Facebook’s future depends on this. But how? How will they and Mark Zuckerburg ensure no small start up does something fresh and unique to make Facebook look like a dinosaur. Simple answer in my opinion; They use what they already have: “data.” Your data, my data, everyone’s data; living and dead. Yes, dead.
If you’ve made it this far then I applaud you bearing my ramblings. But at last, here is my prediction:
VIRTUAL IMMORTALITY
Facebook, one day will allow you to “connect” with dead people. I know this is a dark subject but please bear with me (for a little longer). Think about that as a feature and don’t be so naive to tell me its impossible. Consider these points:
A. No one can delete anything from Facebook’s servers. Ever.
B. We’ve already established they are data hoarders.
C. Their main source of income is information.
D. Their company goal is to “connect” people.
So don’t tell me they can’t. They most certainly can and most probably will. Facebook is a publicly traded company which means numbers matter. Profit and growth matter. What better way to make growth happen to keep users “active” after they die.
The idea of replicating a personality is quite interesting. Isn’t that what actors do? They get into a different mind set for each role they play. Well, why is Facebook any less capable? If anything (in theory) they’re much more capable. An actor has to go out and do many hours and days of research on his or her role. Facebook’s research is already done. You have already given them the data. They know your personality, they just have to mirror it.
Facebook can and will intelligently replicate you after your death. Keep your profile active and operating. Think of it. If a dear love one of your’s passes away but their Facebook profile stays and more than that, you can interact. Facebook has grown so intelligent in their data consumption and Ai intelligence that they can easily reproduce your likes, dislikes, tendencies, views, opinions, past experiences, memories, photos, videos etc. You see it is all at their disposal. And don’t be so naive to think the human mind can’t be replicated. Because in reality, their not attempting to replicate your brain. Their attempting and will succeed at replicating your personality.
Who wouldn’t want to do use that service. Who wouldn’t want to ask a dead loved one a question and get a real, intelligently generated response. Of course you would. The kicker would be the accuracy level. It would be immensely sharp. All the data they have stored can easily replicate a person because they already know everything about you. They already know your family, your vacations , your pictures, your videos, your ex girlfriends and boyfriends and your already passed relatives. Your political views, your religious views your opinions on everything from newborn babies to a funeral of close friend. They know you in many ways, in a better more organized manner than you know yourself.
It’s not that this doesn’t scare me. It truly does and I’m not sure why. It could be because were so far along in a tech familiar world that this would just be another feature set of Facebook. Another software update that people just tap “update.” We are extremely numb to things that make our life convenient, me included. Facebook knows this, any tech company knows this.
Which is more horrifically scary? That you can’t delete your account from Facebook, you can only deactivate? Or that in Facebook’s agreement that we all have accepted, they have the right to do whatever they want whenever they want with your information, your photos, etc. Basically paving the way for such a service. It’s almost too simple for them. Its scary world we live in. Not only outside your computer screen, but inside internet servers. Indeed, one day my son will be able to talk to me after I’m dead through the features of Facebook. I just hope I get around to making an updated Facebook account before I die. If not for me, to transcend my content from living to afterlife, from reality to digital. But then again what is reality and what isn’t? Ask Facebook and their answer may surprise you.
Tomorrow is an exciting day.
For those who aren’t tech enthusiasts, tomorrow may not bring much to mind. But for those who are, June 10th marks the first time Apple officially takes the stage in 2013. Crazy to consider we are 6 full months into the year absent of Apple’s official presence. Those who aren’t into tech are probably asking what the big deal is? More importantly; what is going to happen? The amazing answer, us who admire tech can’t even tell you. But we know Apple’s track record enough to know, the possibilities are exciting.
Basically to cut through all the rumors and what not, you can bet on two major things. Firstly, A brand spankin new fresh coat of paint for iOS 7. (the pixels moving on your iPhone’s screen for those who are interested). Secondly, a software bump of OSX (likewise for your mac computers). If you haven’t caught on yet, in recent years this conference has been a software gathering. And while a few rumors still linger in the wind, all signs point in this direction this year as well.
So no. No new iPhone’s, no new iPad mini’s. No iWatch or whatever you call it. To the uninterested, a boring event. To those who’s ears are consistently to the ground of the tech world, a major moment. You ask why? Very simply stated, Apple leads the technology push. Companies watch them. Even so much as steal their idea’s and claim to call them their own. Apple has led the tech industry in many areas in the past recent years and even invented new categories. So my friends, when Apple calls a meeting, it would be wise to attend.
New themes, textured gradience, flat designs or glossy icons. Whatever design direction Apple may head in, rest assured the industry will stand and look. Maybe not copy at this point in the game, but certainly take notice. Jony Ive in, Scott Forstall out is probably all we really need to know regarding design aesthetics and the future of Apple’s software direction. Jony Ive is a master of minimalistic designing and a the sole heart behind Apple’s hardware aesthetics. So it’s certainly not too much a of a stretch to consider him taking those principals over to the software side of things. A welcome addition.
A word of opinion briefly. Personally, I don’t mind iOS and how far it has come since 2007. To me it’s insane to comprehend indeed iOS is the oldest mobile platform on the planet! With Blackberry revamping things earlier this year, Apple’s iOS has moved in the top spot for oldest on the block. With that said, I think it’s a certainly capable entity that has harbored great stuff up to this point. But thats the key phrase “up until this point”. Tomorrow is such an important day because it’s when Apple ushers in the future of their biggest platform. The product that shakes the most user’s hands then any other product in Apple’s pipeline. Apple cant afford to get this wrong, and in my opinion the reason Apple is what it is today is because of moments just like this. Moments where they don’t lay up. They don’t get comfortable. They work hard, push the industry and most importantly for us end users, push the competition.
Whatever tomorrow brings, i’m sure it will be exciting nonetheless. Pondering over my post, it just hit me that keeping expectations grounded and realistic is considerably the most important element of the waiting game. But that’s not to say Apple wont surprise and impress tomorrow. They’ve done it in the past. One thing is as sure as day though. Tomorrow we will be watching, as well as the entire industry.
Your move Apple.
One last thing: i just realized This post didn’t mention Steve Jobs once. Indeed Apple is moving on, indeed.
If there was ever a time of having the most control over my life, I would say it’s now. The stars have aligned perfectly with our existence and the gadget industry to not only control our lives more efficiently, but in a whole, force them into submission. Yet why is it I personally don’t feel that way. Moreover, why does it seem reversed? Why do I pull to refresh for the next status update or tweet more often than I do things of substance? A more than worthy question in my humble opinion.
I have been dreaming up this article since I started using an iPhone in 2007. The interesting and maybe very telling thing is, I couldn’t bring myself to write it. I’m not sure if my hesitance was because of uncertainty on what I was feeling or me simply suppressing the truth. Either way, after years of ponder, only one thing could be said. The only fact I’ve learned is a simple one: My tech had altered my life. Some would argue in a good way. Sure, that makes sense to me on the surface, and there’s certainly enough productivity apps to support such an argument. Unfortunately all the dropboxes in the world couldn’t fix my problem. The only workflow that seamlessly fixed my problem was me.
One in my position would probably start this journey of “fixing” their tech ruled world by rewinding to the beginning. So I did. I figured laptops and desktops have been around for a bit, and I certainly owned them. So why all of sudden am I feeling like a slave to my tech? A humble conclusion on my part: Mobile.
Mobile is different. Mobile is with you. Mobile is an extension of you. Mobile slowly claims ownership of you, at least in my case. How could this happen? A cell phone certainly doesn’t aim to control you. What was I doing to let this happen? I simply wanted a phone to call,text and use an app here and there. A simple beginning to a complicated, self recognized middle.
Like any interested researcher, I had to look into the content of my subject. If my subject was my phone, then that content only pointed to one direction, Apps. And on a more personal level, I had to look into myself and how I use apps.
Apps are an amazing new technology that apple invented in 2008. Wait. Wait a second, no they aren’t. Apps have simply went on a diet and slimmed down their figure and look a whole lot more attractive. They used to be called Applications and their existence goes back as far as their elderly host hardware. So why now? Why is the glue stickier than ever between these “apps” and me.
The following two factors are mainly my personal belief and not fact supported, only privately applied and thought through. By no means do intend on solving these issues. Individually, I believe we all have the tools to solve these potential issue personally. My objective is to only shine a light on them.
Intrusion
There it is. In your pocket. You know, your device. All the time. Yes all the time. Isn’t it scary to think the only time you were more than 20 feet away from your current device was when you were tracking it’s shipping status on your previous? Intrusion speaks volumes to me. The attachment I felt, or connection if you will. Any where I go there it is. When does iMovie go from being a revolutionary app to an anxiety filled event because I know what it’s capable of and just don’t have the time. When does siri become more of a trust worthy companion than your long life buddy? Intrusion never allows you to rest. Simply because the security of your “safe wall” if you will, has been permanently lowered. Of course we love the technology that brings us information but something else is happening in the background. Our brains are being programmed to not search, to not inquire and most importantly, to not feel content. Laugh if you will, but don’t laugh too long to miss the writing on the wall.
Instant
It’s safe for me to say these elements were bogging me down and bogging me down in a big way. How do I fight against instant gratification? How do I control instant gratification without limiting the device I adore? We buy these phones for their features. Case in point: Push Notifications. What a great technology. Convenient, up to date, yet unknowingly training us to expect things at the very second. Push is great, it helps and it hurts, but for me personally, the hurt outweighed the help.
Instant gratification allowed my mind to become numb and possibly lazy. We all admire that information gets pushed to us almost immediately as it happens and we love the convenience of such a tool, but something should be said for receiving content in a timely, dear I say old fashioned manner. The digestion of information is something I completely lost. I used to enjoy taking time, reading a story initially, then revisiting time and time again, like a great film. Somewhere along the line, I rapidly moved from comfort reading at my own pace to falling behind in my instapaper queue. Now I’m certainly not saying instant information is a bad thing whatsoever, but its a powerful tool. To quote one of my more enjoyable films: “with great power comes great responsibility.” As I honestly look back, initially I lacked responsibility, or maybe more accurately, I didn’t know I needed it.
My solution: Don’t let those 2 I’s overcome the two on your face. Look around, see the world. Experience a great conversation once and awhile. Talk about something that you aren’t an expert on for a change. I lost that, I lost the wonder I had because I simply wikipediaed what I needed to know instead of actually experiencing it.
A more beneficial ingredient would be to listen and not google. Sure tech is great and smartphones are a great achievement in the history of man. But don’t let it define you. It was defining me to a point that I lost the things I was interested in.
Of course there are settings that I could have manipulated to simply terminate any of my issues. That’s not really the point though is it? My goal was to live with this technology, not show it the back door. The goal was to find a happy medium, there almost always is one. And seemingly, your happy medium is probably different then your friends in your contacts.app.
Although the fight is a daily battle, it’s worth it. If indeed you are a soldier in this fight, keep going. Don’t eliminate try and mediate. Take a look at your life and see what is really needed and most importantly, see what isn’t. Now, if your not in this battle and your pixels don’t hinder your life in the least bit, take this opinionated article as caution, not as confirmation. To forget or ignore something simply allows it to be born again in another form.
Stop pulling down to refresh your life. Look around. It’s liberating. I promise.
*ddileo 