…concentrate on electronic communication technologies and demonstrate how speed-of-light technologies could be used to postulate possible futures.
— Marshall McLuhan
In technology we care so much to tell the future because in a way we are. Screens, like stars, transmit light through the darkness of uncertain space. Reaching out into the future from a certain past. In which we realize, the future is nothing more than the distribution of the past. The importance of analyzing the present is rooted in the understanding that the future of the future, is the present.
The future is written, built, and reflected daily. We see it all around us. The common product thinking of “focus on distribution” — although often trite and not very actionable — holds a particular truth.
Whether or not the utterer understands their own action in repeating it. Reinforces the truth that as we move at our current technological pace, past becomes increasingly less relevant in comparison to creating past.
The wider the distribution of an artifact, the stronger resonance it holds in our daily conscious and unconscious environmental construction.
In other words, we drift further and further away from remembering a time before something. Perhaps this is what true institution building is. Fully breaking a time where one did not remember the presence of that very institution. So that collectively, we could never think of a time where it isn’t part of us.
This construction reflects itself through all of our acts and references. It is the nature of technology, in particular, to remind us of its presence. And how connected we are to it. This constant reminder is a critical act in our relationship to improving it. Reflection begets our compulsion for improvement and progress. We do not progress that which we do not see, or willfully choose not to recognize.
All of our actions in the present exist within these relationships, and so it is through seeing the present clearly we understand the potential for expanded progress in the future. By distributing that which begins to solve a need for another, we set the course of increasing the desire for that thing to be improved. This is why so often, a piece of the discourse within a platform we socialize within will always turn to ways to improve the platform itself.
So often it is only when something has reached ubiquitous scale, that we begin to (in mass) question if its intentions have been reached properly. I think we are seeing this very clearly with legacy media institutions and Facebook. What was built and distributed for a greater informed and connected public has fractured the nature of that information and connection.
The north star must now change for these institutions. They must move fast to push their current present predicaments into past. If they don’t, the disruptive upstarts looking to create new institutions can start to set new stars for us to reflect on. This is the way of the world, dust to dust.
Speaking of stars, 645AR has been an artist I’ve been building an obsession over. I came across his — what I will dub — cyberbaby voice through TikTok memes and it hit a new frequency.
It was an incredible embodiment of this glitchcore visual aesthetic that I was seeing from young creators, but through an acoustic medium.
His recent video with FKA twigs adds to this cyber atmosphere through the visualization of another growing digital interaction — in an open pop culture sense — of live streaming + tipping. With Cardi B recently joining OnlyFans. Our paid relationship with each other online is only going in one direction.
I’m not going to give a full breakdown of my thoughts on 645AR, would need a full post dedicated to him. But enjoy the video, and talk to y’all soon.
I don’t do edits really, so excuse typos and things that don’t make sense.
Thanks so much for giving me your attention. I hope it was worth it, if not… unsubscribing will not hurt my feelings, and will give you back time you literally cannot have back.
Much love.