Nick Welsh | Mono Industries Graphic Design & Internet Design Cambridge | UK

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The Dark Side Of Technology

I was at a get-together of techie sorts a few weeks ago and I overheard some very clever people talking about Facebook. One of them said, “Yeah, I used to use Facebook but then my 10 year old nephew started using it so I don’t bother anymore.”

I kind of thought this was a stupid thing to say. I wondered if he had stopped travelling on the bus when his little sister was old enough to start going into town with her mates on Saturday mornings? Did he stop eating spaghetti when his next-door neighbours’ son started eating it? Did he stop going swimming once the local primary school kids started using the pool?

Good technology should be a great leveller; as open and easy to use to the technically minded and the technophobic. If it isn’t, then it’s not good technology.

Jung talks about the shadow-self, or if you’re into your Star Wars, your dark side. We all have a dark side of course but some people’s seem to be darker than others. In my job I meet a lot of very very clever techie-types and I’ve found that many of them, not all, but many of them, seem to have a darker side than most.

They’re modern day magicians who seem to speak a different language to the rest of us. They usually like to keep their magic to themselves, not wanting to reveal their secrets to mere mortals who simply “wouldn’t understand”. This attitude then is their dark side coming through, their shadow-self.

I wonder what kind of world we’d be living in now if the man who wove the www, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, had had a ‘darker than usual’ dark side, if he’d kept the web to himself or sold it to the highest bidder? Perhaps the internet would have become the domain of the super-wealthy and the super- technical; people who didn’t want to share this new technology with mere mortals.

As Stephen Fry would say, “bah” and “pish” to dark-sided techno-wizardry. Let good technology be the great leveller it should be. And if there’s a techno-snob near you, remind them that we were all ‘given’ the www as a gift, snotty nosed 10 year old nephews and all.

This post first appeared here.

Networking meet-ups

I thought it might be an idea to list the new networking groups I've become involved with during 2009. In no particular order:

CamCreative
What the blurb says:
CamCreative embraces a diverse group of interests which includes design, media, literature and publishing, visual arts, multimedia, performing arts and general culture bringing together a mix of large and small firms. Its aims are:

  • to provide the creative industries of Cambridgeshire with a credible regional, national and international profile;
  • to encourage the collaboration of those engaged in the sector;
  • to attract new business and new talents to the industry;
  • to make the sector’s dynamism apparent;
  • to create solid and sustainable growth in the economy;
  • to develop new wealth creation, training and job opportunities.
What I say:
A very friendly gathering of designers, techies, writers, start-ups and social-media sorts. Sometimes there are guest speakers, other times it's just good old-fashioned networking. It's fun and it's free. The first drink is even on the house (thanks Paul).

Refresh
What the blurb says:
Refresh is a community of designers and developers working to refresh the creative, technical, and professional culture of New Media endeavors in their areas. Promoting design, technology, usability, accessibility and standards. It's not a secret society for web designers and developers. Everyone interested in "refreshing" the internet is welcome. Even if you just want to learn. If you believe in positive innovation, Refresh is for you.

What I say:
I'd say Refresh has more of a techie focus although I've only been to one event so this might not be a totally fair comment. I really enjoyed it but I didn't understand much of what was being discussed as I'm more front-end than back. The format runs more like a presentation and there's less time for networking although most people went off to the pub afterwards where I guess more informal networking took place (I didn't go).

Twig
What the blurb says:
Twig is a new business network based in Cambridge. We’re seeing an enormous surge in businesses using social networking to improve the number and quality of relationships. But the rules of engagement are changing.
  • What impact do tools like blogging, Twitter and Facebook have on the influence that businesses can have in their market?
  • How does the online connect with the offline world?
  • Can we build truly valuable relationships using social media?
If these questions interest you, or if you have ideas to share on this topic, then Twig may be a network for you.

What I say:
Early days as there's only been one meeting but it was really good. Twig is inspired by Tuttle (London) and is very friendly and informal. I only got to speak to a few people so I'm not sure what the mix of disciplines was in the room but I had very good discussions about the use of Twitter and Content vs. Design for example. It's going to be weekly which might be a bit too often but there's a definite need for something like Twig in Cambridge so well done to Andrea, Hayley & Vandy for getting it off the ground.
Web: http://twignet.wordpress.com