003 · Calm Technology

+ recommendations & love

WHERE I AM

I've missed you!

I realized I can only take steps as far as my legs can stretch from one another. I've kept trying, and failing, to get to the end in one step. Not only is this kind of leaping impossible, "the end" doesn't exist at all.

I'm working every day to try to heal from that, and using this as a space to show up for all of my friends in the computer.

I keep worrying that I am not being received how I would hope, while only having one foot in the door. How can I be received fully when I do not fully put myself out there?

My other takeaway recently is that I need to stop taking myself so seriously. I don't know everything, and I never will. Everyone is experiencing themselves — and each other — in real time. Most of us don't know what we're doing, and the ones who do had to figure it out first.

THINKING... ONLINE

I recently read this paper, The Coming Age of Calm Technology written by Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown, two employees of Xerox in 1996. It outlines the current (in 1996) state of technology and the need for technology design to facilitate careful positioning of information in users' focus & periphery, an approach they call "calm technology". Because so much information is readily available, how it's presented to users is incredibly important. If properly executed, the wealth of information can actually contribute to a calmer user experience by holding useful information in the periphery, only bringing it into focus as it is needed.

It's interesting to think of all the ways we've failed to deliver calm technology. Nearly every mainstream technology uses these same principles to manipulate our attention in some way. Beyond the obvious phones & social medias, an increasing number of devices possess increasingly complex technologies. Cars, kitchen appliances, televisions, public transit machines and more have been strengthening their bond with the internet, and in tandem their ability to control our attention. This is what Weiser & Seely Brown refer to as "ubiquitous computing", a kind of new era of connected technology, something we've been embroiled in for at least a decade now.

The important, insightful paradox is that an increase in information does necessarily mean an increase in stress. If designed & presented appropriately, the increased information should lead to less stress. Picture watering a garden with a fire hose instead of a watering can.

I recommend reading the full paper and sharing your own perspective on it, it's not very long and provokes some interesting thoughts now that we're leaving in what they were hoping to prevent. While it's grim to look platform capitalism in its gaping maw, I get excited any time I see people doing "calm technology", even on a small scale. Internet hopefuls are creating calm phones, apps, email clients, and more.

Part of my journey in therapy as well as being a person on the internet today is realizing that normal =/= absolute. While the "normal" internet experience may be with a smartphone and a screen time of 4+ hours spent mainly on 2–3 apps with feeds, algorithms, short-form content, and vertical videos, it doesn't have to be. We can turn off our phones, try new things, make little websites or PDFs to share with only a few friends, and do some of the fun things the web is generally really good at.

CORE CONCEPTS

1. Writing helps you have ideas

2. Life is supposed to be fun

3. Don't take yourself too seriously

4. It's okay to do things that don't "go" anywhere

THINGS THAT MADE ME THINK OF YOU

✳️ Calm Technology ~ Really recommend reading this one, I think you'd like it if you're interested in any of the topics I talk about here.

✳️ Are.na ~ Please make an account!! It's my favorite social media platform, if you could even call it that. It's where I go to have & connect ideas, no algorithms no ads no nonsense!

✳️ 100 ways to share your work + life that aren’t social media ~ This is a CLASSIC list you may have seen before but is absolutely worth repeating. Amelia shares some incredible ways to show up & share with others in local networks. I recommend sharing something with a friend this month that has nothing to do with social media. Write them a letter, mail them a care package, or send them a PDF!

CLOSING THOUGHTS

I hope you're enjoying the month of May. It's both my & my partner's birth month, as well as when things start getting warm here, so May is always full of creative & rejuvenating energy.

I'm experimenting with a different format in hopes that I can share more frequent & relevant thoughts. I've started and stopped about 4 different essays since we last talked which may or may not ever see the light of day. I want writing to feel more fun, and less like school.

I appreciate you being here as I figure things out, let me know what you think! As always, you can respond to this email directly and talk to me :).