Future Focused.
PART 03 — Our Next Narrative
A few weeks ago I was invited to give a talk as part of TEDxYouth at The Nueva School, located just outside of San Francisco, CA. The theme of the event focused on “Connections.” The following piece is an adaptation of my talk, and the conclusion to a 3-part series. If you haven’t already, check out Part 01 and Part 02 before scrolling down.
Over the last few decades we’ve witnessed (sometimes unwittingly) a shift in the stories we tell about the technology among us. While it hasn’t completely disappeared from the dialogue, the Progress narrative seems to be taking its original protagonist — people — for granted. This has become most evident in the way we advertise new technological advancements, where the focus has shifted from telling us Who the technology is for? versus waxing poetic about What the technology can do?
Shifting focus…
The big question then — Can our future focus bring the story back around to People? I believe the answer is YES. Because we have time, because perhaps the wonderful thing about the future is that it hasn’t happened yet (as much as I love William Gibson). Now, I know that we’ve not completely forgotten about people…and the argument can be made for the numerous organizations employing (or attempting to adopt) user-centered design practices. However, the younger demographic of users, our digital natives, our Gen Z population, those bright and curious students building their apps in Part 01 of this series, the generation who have grown up being able to scroll through to the punch line of anything they choose to consume…how can we make the audience, author, narrator, protagonist, etc matter for them?
Here are three things to consider as part of the design process so that we don’t forget people in our future, so that we learn to construct stories that matter:
- Remember that Personalized does not mean Personal. Make it personal for the human-being you’re designing for. In the same way that you might think about what food to prepare for your gluten free friend or relative, or when you’re writing a text to your parent or partner, you’re probably not scripting that language in the same way as if you were sending a text to an acquaintance or colleague. The way you design that experience and write that story adjusts to the audience or the end-user.
- Draw up the story-world, and create for your characters. Make that process of MAKING a tangible one. Something you can sculpt and examine in a way that is external to your own experiences. This could include building an analog model of the experience you wish to design for your user (like an architect might do for a building). Or building out descriptions of your target audience’s world, life, family, hopes, fears, needs and expectations.
- You are the Author, but you may not be the Protagonist or even a supporting character.
Technology is great. It’s part of the reason why I even have a job. But let us re-think what technology means to us and how we’re conveying that story. Because that STORY, the one that makes us reflect on who we are in relation to the world, and how to make sense of it, and what is new and now and next…that is as important.
Our relationship to technology should be like the boy’s relationship to Shel Silverstein’s Giving Tree — it’s there when we call for it, it responds to our needs. It allows us to continue to explore the world in a tangible and thoughtful manner. It allows us to be more human.
Currently, one of my favorite quotes is by G.K. Chesterton:
“We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.”
I truly believe that Curiosity drives innovation. Curiosity drives us as living, breathing beings. Let’s be curious about the other beings who surround us. Take a moment to pause and ask yourself who am I designing, making, building, thinking for? Maybe they don’t need to be connected in the same way we are connected to the world, to each other…perhaps they need a way to feel more human.
This is the final installment of a 3-part series, focusing on how to shift our Narrative around Technology in the future. I would love to hear your thoughts. And if you haven’t already, take a moment to read Part 01 and Part 02. Finally, so much gratitude to The Nueva School and to Clemantine Wamariya, Karen Mok, and Jamie Black for helping to bring some level of coherence to the chaos that is my mind.
