I’ve been thinking about commodification and consumerism, commercialism, and capitalism. I’ve been thinking about toll roads and punishment and rest stops and encouragement. I’ve been thinking about velocity, trajectory, and false equivalence and getting sidetracked and lied to.
There’s a lot in my head, but there generally is.
It’s the culmination of a lot of things all whirling around. Old-man frustrations: they’ve moved the button in my app, they’ve changed how THAT works and I can’t find THIS. Systemic confusion that benefits the system, forgetting that we built a system to execute a function, not simply sustain itself.
As we’ve moved away from commodity, and into a system where our attention and our time is what’s commodified, it becomes harder and harder to simply purchase a RESULT. And the generation of designers and programmers that has grown up with the idea that Living in those systems is “normal” don’t even see the problem.
Capitalism as it has stood for years isn’t an infinitely expansible system. It is at SOME level a zero-sum game because on some level, no-one has infinite funds, and there is not infinite space. For years this has evolved into a concept of planned obsolescence, but slowly we’re coming to terms with the idea that we ALSO don’t have infinite resources, and so rather than a disposable culture we’ve evolved into a culture of non-ownership. Digital “property” in which “ownership” is really shorthand for “licensing agreement”. On the small scale it translates to apps that we come to rely upon that evaporate as the company pulls up stakes, or a book, purchased and sitting on one’s digital bookshelf, being updated with new contents, a new cover to reflect “coming soon as a motion picture” or being deleted entirely as the servers are bought, sold, or dissolved. On a greater scale our debts and mortgages are bought and sold and transferred, subject to changing disclosures and agreements and updated fee structures. “Home ownership” actually translates to “convincing a bank to subsidize the debt of a place they’ll own until you pay it off” and interest in the American dream actually equates to 6% or so if you’re a good bet.
And so if we can’t own things, we rent them. And we normalize that. In many circumstances, especially with an urban Lifestyle this makes sense. Not everyone “needs” a car and not everyone “needs” their own bandsaw, leafblower or carpet steamer. These are things available through lending libraries and rentals. But if I SEARCH “how do I rent or borrow a bandsaw / leafblower / carpet cleaner” we have a system designed not simply to return a result of how to do the thing I’ve asked, but to encourage me to hang out within the system (search engine) looking at videos and articles ABOUT bandsaws, leafblowers and carpet cleaners, or – contrary to all of the above – places to purchase completely unvetted, unwanted and potentially subpar bandsaws, leafblowers and carpet cleaners.
Because the commodity involved – the thing that I’m trying to find – isn’t the product. My time and attention IS – both of them a medium into which to sell ads and clicks… and the seller isn’t a provider of bandsaws, leafblowers or even carpet cleaners – but it’s the system doing the search.
And not appreciating that means that again and again we’re sucked into it. And, again, is now churning out UI (ahem, U*X*) designers for whom they don’t see a problem.
I don’t want to have to hunt for the answer. I don’t want to get distracted by someone who’s gamed the system to drag my attention away from my chosen task. Give me my answer and let me move along!
Photoshop “ I pay for Photoshop and I want it to be a known quantity that allows me to do my JOB, I don’t want to excitedly relearn it with every update. I don’t need it camified. I’ve purchased a tool to do a job. I don’t need to be convinced to stick around and give Photoshop my time. I gave it my money.
Sigh.
I’m rambling.
I was thinking about this as we drive a turnpike crossing Massachusetts. It’s a toll road and though I used to avoid them, I’ve been sold the concept of a toll road, despite the fact that there are myriad acceptable ways to get to my destination sans the additional toll. I’ve taken the toll road because it is simple. It’s unconfusing and more importantly all advancements have been made fro the sole purpose of easing my use of the toll road. Easy on, easy off. Easy for me to give you money. However, there’s a limit to this model. I’ll only pay so much before it’s worth my time and money to go a more complicated, but free, route.
Enter the service plaza. These can’t add to the complication because that undermines the value of the toll road. But if they’re attractive enough, simple enough, and have the right amenities they’ll attract my attention, time, and dollars. Give me my donut, pretzel, coffee, and clean restrooms all with an easy on / off and moderate upcharge? I’ll happily pay that. And while I’m there in the closed system of the rest stop keep me there with information kiosks and truck washes and silly games and ANOTHER coffee and wifi and a reminder to stretch and I’ll spend some money and then we’re off to the highway again.
My destination is my work, the toll road is my device, the service plaza is an app. And the moment it’s more trouble to get on and off, or complicates the whole experience, it’s time to move on. I don’t get on the toll road to go to the damned rest plaza.
In ANY case. The highways and toll roads have gotten me to the gigs, and the gigs have been Lovely. I Love my job, I Love my work and I Love what I do. Don’t make the tools onerous.
Oh. So sign up on the mailing list because of what I’m thinking about above is social media because it’s a tool that uses you, not a tool to be used.
Other thoughts. I see someone who I’d known as a singer/songwriter for the past 5 or so years has joined the ranks of an online magazine and now sends me regular spam about how I can learn the trick of his ad funnel and how to attract fans and click here to watch his special video about how to monetize my online music THIS OFFER ONLY AVAILABLE FOR 24 HOURS CLICK NOW etc.
Bloody Hell man. I know exactly the gigs you had 6 months ago and the ways in which you were hoping I could help you out across the country. I guess you found a way, but writing about how to succeed in ways that you haven’t is just a way to make a buck. It’s not serving anyone but yourself and it sure as Hell isn’t art. Go get a fucking job that doesn’t involve preying on those of us that are still artists.
Ahem.
Rob,your head is spinning. I see that. I thought that your frustration of the things of which you write and criticize was reserved for old men like me. People who have tried to eliminate all the things you write about including toll roads from their world. I am so happy that you have been able to maintain your commitment to your art and not to capitalism. Don