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February 17, 2006

Addressing Requests for Toys

Oftentimes in my job, I'm asked to provide a service to someone(s). "Please give us X so that we can do our work." "Please set up Y for this community so that we can collaborate." "We need Z in order to do our jobs." The problem lies with X, Y, and Z, which are products or services for which I am responsible. The "client" doesn't know why they want X, Y, or Z, but they feeled compelled that this is the panacea for their needs and want it now.

At times, I feel compelled to just say, "No! You haven't thought through your own requirements of what you need, what you are trying to solve..." Just as I'd recommend in GO'S RULES - Reverse, I want to ask the client to solve the maze backwards instead of forward. But, at other times, I think there might be some value, if low cost and easy to exit (GO'S RULES - EXPAND), to just doing it for them.

On most occasions, when I do go the easy to exit and do route, the product sits on a shelf and remains harmless. Occasionally, however, a client will do something really excellent with the tools provided; albeit, this is far from the norm. But, it proves to be a nice way of proving the point - if you don't think about what you're trying to solve, technology, the latest buzzword, etc. won't help you. Which brings me to why I was thinking of this at all.

Thornton May, preeminent futurist to the CIOs of the world, asked "What's the future of all this (Google Maps, Location Intelligence, Where 2.0, etc.)?" I didn't have a good answer until I thought about the above.

Societally, I think the toys we build are like these stray requests without much thinking. While a lot of the toys were built with real Reverse thinking to them, the key was never the toy, but what they were trying to solve. Yet, there's huge fascination with the toys (read analysts - equity and industry) that powers their building.

At the end of this span of Web 2.0, Internet 2.0, Maps to the Hilt, etc. you'll end up with the Library of Alexandria at everyone's fingertips (or maybe a direct connect to the brain), but you'll still just have toys, their toymakers, and a lot of money flowing here and there.

Just as the clients who ask for X, Y, or Z, without thinking through their own requirements, society will end up with A through Z in products, services and information, but you'll still have the same basic problems that were around at the time of Aristotle and the development of the game of Go (some 4000 years ago).

Point is, humans are like monkeys at times. Chasing this and that, maybe even strategically, to get at something that still eludes them. To play the game right, you need to transcend this monkey-like set of aspirations and goals. As depicted in the Way of Go, the point is not to necessarily win more games, but perhaps to become a better person, or even a better world/universe.

Perhaps the way to get society to realize that there are no answers in the toys we keep building is to give in to all the requests, to get to a point where even they can see there's no point in making/requesting these toys. The fundamental questions and problems, that have lurked since time immemorial, are still the fundamental questions that they were looking to solve deep down anyway.

But, oh, more toys... couldn't I get one more first?

Posted by wayofgo at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

February 16, 2006

Child Poverty Rate Advocacy

This is atrocious...

Look at the difference between 01003 and the rest of Hampshire County.

Posted by wayofgo at 06:52 PM | Comments (0)