technology, culture and commodities.

from joanne mcneil:

saying i write about “technology and culture” should sound like “autumn and fall” or “movies and film” but it doesn’t quite yet

me, in response:

it will, ppl don’t realize the connection yet. flip side is that those topics - together - shouldn’t be a commodity like “movies.”

this exchange was the beginning of a few blips on my radar this past weekend about the important connection between our culture/society and the technology that’s part of it.  there is a lot of face-value discussion happening across the web but few areas where we dive deep into why it matters.  people are starting to commoditize technology, especially in terms of communication.  unfortunately for them, it has to matter more.  we have to use it to change the things around us - not just slowly turn it into another crowded pile of useless noise.

for example:

• seven on seven - “pair seven leading artists with seven game-changing technologists in teams of two, and challenge them to develop something new — be it an application, social media, artwork, product, or whatever they imagine — over the course of a single day.”

• ideas42 - (one of their projects) “When it comes to the adoption and application of new technologies, many people are misinformed about technology and its benefits.  Individuals may be misguided by a rule of thumb that results in either non-adoption or misuse.  In the Indian state of Orissa, for example, many rice farmers overuse chemical fertilizers and pesticides on their crops, due to the misperception that the greenness of their plants is positively correlated with improved yields.”

• day19 - revitalizing LA using their gifts.  bringing culture and the arts, as well as their audiences, to a new part of town.

so, a quick kudos to the people who are actually doing something good at the intersection of our culture and our technology.