DESIGN, BUSINESS & INNOVATION

Photo via Aeon.

This week it was a lot of debate on the topic of digital death, and this Patrick Stoke's article in Aeon seems to be a very complete summary of a number of valid points of view on the matter: "The idea that the internet is a separate realm, or that there is some division between ‘cyberspace’ and ‘meatspace’, is becoming passé. It wasn’t long ago that the internet was an anonymous, disembodied place where you could play at being anyone you wanted to, largely without consequence. That anonymous world is still there, of course. You can still pretend to be younger and hotter, or a Nigerian prince, or a dying blogger. But it’s shrinking fast. Most of us are increasingly tethered to our identities online, and not just because much of our online activity is in environments where our real names, locations and professional affiliations are used. Our bodies are online, too. Our images, our voices, and our physical locations are all logged and represented through an increasingly sophisticated and interconnected set of social media platforms. Even gamers lend their real-world vocal chords to their avatars. It’s not a completely embodied space, of course, but it is increasingly integrated into our fleshy, four-dimensional everyday lives. The fantasy of escaping into an electronic netherworld may still hold its attractions, but more and more, the distinction between online and offline is moot." Read full article in Aeon. E.T.P. 12'

Photo via Fast Company.

Fast Company talked to John Maeda about his new job in Sillicon Valley, trying to find out why did he leave Rhode Island School of Design for venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, where he'll be a design partner. "It seems like right now more than ever technology needs design, and that's in my mission to bring thos two worlds together in the context of business."  Read full article in Fast Company. E.T.P. 5'