Going against the stream

Attention

Attention is probably the most important function of cognition. Problem-solving requires sustained focus on the subject matter in order to understand it in depth and form new ideas. As a designer, you know that time to think a problem trough and understand it in its entirety will be repaid with a more elegant solution.

But thinking is hard. Look at your facebook stream and you’ll see the type of content to get liked and shared the most. Funny, sensational, extraordinary… No one takes the time to check facts, not even to read an article to the end. Today you just read the stream and have the impression you got it all when in fact you just took disparate bits of 2nd hand information which failed to register in your mind. There is a problem with the internet I think, and no, I’m not asking you to check the rooter. Just to become aware of how your attention is being engaged with one social media or another. The sense-making process is done at scrolling speed. Now you see this image you like, comment, and move on to something else entirely different. Unlike reading an essay which requires you to follow a form an idea through the entirety of the text, scrolling a feed triggers a multitude of disparate thoughts. It’s a mishmash of gratuitous information. This can’t be good. The whole machinery can appear to some rather debilitating and decide to leave or simply to use it differently.

Writing

I think blogs become cool again. Writing is a way to increase control and awareness of one’s own intentions and interests. Writing forces you to think about what you say, how you say it and how it’s understood. It brings clarity and maybe a bit more responsibility.

And there would be another point to bring in favor of blogs. Owning your content, building your own network and linking with your friends. It makes you exist on the free world wide web and not within a bubble.