The Electronic Experience – Are Artifacts a Thing of the Past?

January 6th, 2010 by Scott W.

You can’t open a browser or read a technology magazine without seeing something about the cloud. What is the cloud and what is the big hubbub? I am not able to pinpoint a definition of the cloud, but I think the impact of the cloud is getting clearer. Computing and communication will be sold on a usage basis much like water and electricity. This clarity elucidates a fascinating point that in our future we will buy more services and experiences than products and physical objects. If this comes to fruition, are we losing out on the physicality of life? Or have objects always been a symbol of experience? Because the symbols can be converted into zeroes and ones and sent across the world in seconds, does it mean they are less meaningful than physical symbols?

Computing and communication previously required a significant investment to have useful tools. Today, most mobile phone providers will give you a phone and charge you for the service for committing to a one or two year contract. A good computer system can now be purchased for around $500. Instead of buying shrink wrapped software, you can get your e-mail for free, and pay a monthly or yearly fee for backups, customer relationship management, and home finance software. Companies, of course, love subscriptions for the reoccurring revenue and consumers enjoy fixed rate fees over time instead of large one-time charges.

So with these enablers, we can now send photographs to each other on phones and computers. We can send digital cards and flowers to each other. Music no longer needs to be purchased at a store on a shiny disc of digital data. So what are we buying today? What were we paying for in times past? Is it the CD that matters or the feeling we get when we hear the music? There is an undeniable joy walking to the mailbox and seeing a hand written letter from a friend or family member. Is that joy because of the message or the medium? If you receive an e-mail with pictures, is it less meaningful than the card and real photos you can hang on your fridge? Does it feel special because you could touch it, or because it symbolized the relationship and feelings? Can electronic communication symbolize the same relationships and feelings without cheapening them?

Just a few weeks ago I threw away all my hard copy bills that I could get on-line. I was amazed of how difficult this was. Why should I keep a bunch of paper around when I can view the information on demand, or even print it if I so choose? The paper is not the information, merely the symbols of the information. Those symbols can stay electronic and still convey the same information. Why does it feel so different?

I’ve got more questions than answers here, but one theme that seems to emerge is we are reducing the amount of stuff in our life and focusing on experiences. This is a good thing. A wedding ring is not the marriage, only a symbol of the relationship. The relationship is what matters. Technology is enabling symbols of experiences to be shared inexpensively and rapidly. We may romanticize the old days of physical object representations and find it difficult to let go; however, we now live in a world where we can focus more on the experiences that enrich our lives and not the artifacts.