Eiffel Over

Tag: talking to people

  • What is real-world search in a digital world?

    What is real-world search in a digital world?

    What is real-world search, and why might it serve us in the digital world? The promise of a fully connected, digital paradigm is access to all the world’s information, at any time, everywhere. But there are some reasons why this ubiquity of access might not be a good thing. 

    • There is a risk that we become less confident in going out into the world without the information we need. 
    • We may lose the ability to find information other than by searching for it via a web browser. 
    • We may become less willing to seek information from people rather than machines.
    (more…)
  • Analogue Skill 001: Buy tickets at the station

    Analogue Skill 001: Buy tickets at the station

    Go to the station. Stand in the queue. Look at all the people and wonder where they are going. See leaflets in the rack for places you hadn’t thought of going before. Look up at the station architecture, notice how drab it is, notice where someone has made an effort.

    Talk to the person at the window. Smile at them. You might be the first person to do this today. Engage in life-affirming transaction. You want to buy a ticket and they want to help. Ask an expert. What’s the best route? What’s the best time to travel? Find out if there is a different way. Find out if there really aren’t any spaces available for your bike (or was the computer lying?).

    Leave, ticket in hand, a malleable scrap of evidence that you are going somewhere and you didn’t just imagine it. A ticket that won’t run out of power.