aron
@aronshelton
Designing and navigating various contextual arrangements with an enigmatic sense of hope. #wayfinder
aron
Good protocols, in short, are the embodiments of A. N. Whitehead’s famous assertion that “civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them.” Not only do good protocols deliver civilizational advances, they do so in sustainable ways. “Stability without stagnation” (a guiding
... See moreVenkatesh Rao • The Unreasonable Sufficiency of Protocols
provocations and Wordplay
Seven thoughts on ritual:
Rituals are the feedback loops we construct to construct ourselves.
Rituals shape the medium of time.
Rituals orient us.
Rituals are protocols.
Ritual is a form of play.
Rituals take place in a world set apart.
Rituals make meaning.
We need ritual technology. Technology designed for ritual use. Why? Most of the software we use daily is designed to engagement-max. Social media feeds, loot boxes, compulsion loops, gang gang yes yes yes ice cream so good. You’re caught in a feedback loop with the algorithm, and you are the squishiest part of that loop. Ritual technology operates on a different timescale. Underneath the fast twitch of compulsion loops is the slow thrum of ritual. Elder feedback systems. An antidote to algorithmic engagement addiction?
I work best from a place of zero ego and zero hope. I call this state being “lower than a worm.” A feeling that nothing will ever come of what I’m working on is crucial. A feeling of my smallness in relation to the world. I gotta be below the dirt. I am nothing and nobody. That frees me up. Who cares what a worm thinks, you know?
Lincoln Michel • Processing: How Erin Somers Wrote The Ten Year Affair
Curation can be many things:
Curation is the creation of contextualized experiences.
Curation is expression.
Curation is storytelling.
Curation is educational.
Curation is perspective.
Curation is subjective.
As it should... See more
athena یاسtwitter.comWhat's your vision for the future of online communities over the next decade, their global impact, and the role that Guild will play?
Reka: What's gonna grow is the super niche, small contextual communities, and the generation that's coming to the internet much more actively, genalpha. They are happy not showing their face, voice, or just being... See more
Reka: What's gonna grow is the super niche, small contextual communities, and the generation that's coming to the internet much more actively, genalpha. They are happy not showing their face, voice, or just being... See more
Guild: The Rise of Niche, Contextual Communities
Calm Tech and
We don't necessarily need to constantly interact with people “around” us on the web. The sensation of being in the quiet companionship of someone else, like reading next to them in a cafe, is what we're missing. The sense of ambiently sharing space – of being co-present – while engaged in other activities is a staple of shared public spaces that we're still figuring out how to design in the digital realm.
Our current “multiplayer” experiences draw too much attention to the multiplayer-ness. The other people around you demand attention. They move. They flash. They point to exactly what they're focused on, drawing you away from your own focal point. We are missing out on a fuzzier, softer sense of the shared web.