The Modern Show and Tell
Rise of the “Setup Tour” phenomenon
The first is always special
The love affair with computers started with the Hewlett Packard PC that my mother purchased as a Christmas gift from, of all places, the electronics department at Sears. The computer was appropriately characteristic of the early 1990’s — beige in color and made of thick, cheap plastic. It was heavy and, in retrospect, kind of ugly, but I didn’t care. For a twelve-year-old boy living in West Texas, it symbolized progress and endless possibilities. This was especially true when that awesome “flying through space” screensaver started after five minutes of being idle. I could stare at that screen all day.
Rather than just assembling and letting it be, often on the weekends, I’d unplug all the wires and take apart the system. The CPU would be placed carefully on the floor, while the television-sized computer monitor rested on the bed. Even the dot-matrix printer, which was the kind that only accepted paper with holes running down the sides, was given care despite the headaches it caused from frequently jamming.
I valued the logistics of how the computer was setup. So after a good dusting, I’d put it all back together again, taking the time to imagine and consider different configurations. Unfortunately for me, given the lack of components to arrange, I completed this process rather quickly but certainly not without attention to detail. At that time, the only additional gadget that accompanied my computer on the desk was a Texas Instruments TI-85 graphing calculator, which I’ve somehow managed to keep working and still use to this day. After I was done, I’d stand back and just marvel at it.
So many loves of today
At thirty-five, the aesthetic appreciation for workspace design has continued to grow and mature. These days, however, there are so many additional components to manage and arrange.
This is an accounting of what’s on my desk today, for example:
- 2012 Apple Mac Mini running Mavericks and Windows 8.1 Pro (via Parallels Desktop software)
- Two Neo-Flex desk mounts that hold up dual 1080p ViewSonic twenty-four inch monitors
- A Logitech wireless keyboard and the Logitech Anywhere MX mouse
- A pair of speakers on the back corners of the desk (subwoofer on the floor)
- Logitech HD 1080p Pro Webcam
- Two external hard drives
- PlayStation 3 and controller
- HDMI splitter
- Two USB hubs
- Matte black Beats by Dre headphones
- Wacom drawing tablet and pen
- Apple iPad Mini with Retina display
- Apple iPad 2
- Apple iPhone 5
- Apple Macbook Pro with Retina display
I know—it’s kind of ridiculous, for a whole host of reasons, and this list doesn’t include my older Black Macbook, which is connected to the plasma TV that sits adjacent to the desk. Also not listed here are the extra cables and peripherals that I’ve stashed away in a box in my hallway closet.
Definitely not alone
It turns out that I’m not the only one interested in perfecting the functionality and look of the modern workspace—not by a long shot. In the last few years, computer geeks, gamers and just ordinary tech-loving people have increasingly gone online to share their setups and to gather ideas for themselves.
For example, over 11,000 photos of workspaces posted by everyday people can be found on the “Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell” collection alone (on Flickr), and there are several of these groups popping-up on similar photo-sharing sites. Some websites have even started to highlight the workspaces of CEOs and entrepreneurs to gain insight into the everyday use of technology by successful people. Likewise, if you search for “setup tours” on YouTube, you’ll find over a million videos uploaded by people across the world describing the thought processes behind organizing a desk and office.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the über popular YouTube personality and tech Vlogger (video blogger) Marques Brownlee, known to his online followers as “MKBHD,” posted an almost three hour compilation video that highlighted the best workspaces of 2014. According to Brownlee, the video took several weeks to prepare and was composed of just 350 clips out of the 1,300 video submissions, which were solicited for back in February 2014.
I have to be honest, while I definitely skipped around, I did watch a majority of this video, and I’m hardly the only one with this much interest in the topic or this much time to spare. As of late April 2014, Brownlee’s Setup Tour Project video has more than 370,000 views, which is more than six years worth of viewing time, as calcualted by YouTube’s statistics.
Some of the more clutter-free examples of workspaces posted online feature simplicity — an Apple iMac sitting at the center of a pearly white desk with a stock wireless keyboard and mouse stationed perfectly in front, perhaps a single tablet or phone is strategically placed to one side. This might be what Jony Ive, the Senior Vice President of Design at Apple, envisioned when saying things like, “Simplicity is not the absence of clutter, that’s a consequence of simplicity.”
Then there are those workspaces that make what I have on my desk look just so ordinary. I’m talking about people with self-made desktop computers with crazy specs that emit blue, green or red lights. I’m talking about people that have decided to mount six monitors above a desk or across the wall of a room (think NASA’s control room or the bridge of the Starship Enterprise), or those that display the side-by-side, yearly iterations of a particular gadget complete with the original boxes in pristine condition. Of course, there are those tech-savy geeks that rattle off every detail about every gadget that they own. I’ve also watched a video clip of a person that mounted a spare pair of twenty-four inch LCD monitors to the adjacent wall just to play a slideshow of photographs. Now that one, unlike the others, just seemed like a waste of electricity.
Functionality, organization and identity
Given the huge uptick in the usage of multiple gadgets in our daily lives, it’s understandable why millions of viewers are collectively searching for examples of workspaces that feature order, functionality and hints of individual style, and it seems that users are more than willing to share. Social networks like YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and Instagram have provided a convenient gateway to peek into the otherwise private rooms of tech enthusiasts. No longer do these setups have to be tucked away behind closed doors.
When I asked Brownlee to hypothesize about the purpose and motivation behind making these workspace videos, he explained, “I think a lot of submissions were from pride and a desire to share what they have made. The way things are setup on someone’s desk can help a lot with productivity and establish a unique identity and style.”
Besides pride, others see an additional benefit from showcasing their gadgets. Troy, a graphics designer, YouTuber and tech guru that goes by the handle “puresolidness” on Twitter, no doubt because of his muscular body, admitted that posting a setup video helps to drive traffic to his website, “I look at my channel as a business. I use my setup vids as the main method of driving views and subscriptions to my channel.” Troy’s latest setup video currently has over 300,000 views.
As I look at the mess strewn across my desk, I’m reminded by Troy that these online images and videos of pristine workspaces don’t always reflect reality. “Obviously when showing it on film for YouTube, you need to make it aesthetically pleasing and clean up the look a bit, because even though it’s productive for you but not ‘nice looking,’ it will get no views,” said Troy.
The lower prices of today’s electronics allow people with even modest financial resources and tech-interest the capability of purchasing phones, tablets, desktop or laptop computers and game consoles. Sometimes these gadgets are purchased in multiples, and yes, sometimes people go way, way overboard—myself included. Despite the excesses, I do enjoy and really use everything that I have on my desk, and I often watch these “setup tours” for inspiration, organizational ideas and to keep up with technology trends. I’m happy that I’m not alone.
While that first Hewlett Packard computer will always have a place in my heart, probably more than ever, I love sitting at my desk surrounded by my gadgets. For now, contributing to the ongoing debate of whether these electronics are actually helping or ultimately hurting our society will have to wait, as I have a new printer to unbox and setup.
