This is the Analog Renaissance Manifesto, the following points are not just angry rants about how evil we think technology. We are anything but anti technology, it serves a purpose and does it well. Just think of this as a plea to rely less on it, and appreciate the now all to redundant generations of technology that have come before this. Appreciate print media, video tapes, 8 tracks, photocopiers, fax machines, polaroid photos, typewritters and all that other nostalgic stuff! page 1. Multitasking Mayhem page 1I1. Overdosing on Tablets page v. Corrupt Memories
page VI1. 140 Characters or Less page IX. Vimeo Killed the Video Star page XI. Lo-Fi Living. page XIII. Solitude.
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Our ever growing reliance and immersion in technology has
seen us `multitasking` more than ever. But as we `multitask` more and more I feel out consentration and attentionspan to a subject grows shorter and shorter. We find ourselves looking at multiple screens at a time, checking e-mails on the computer, watching our favourite shows on television and texting our friends and co workers in tandem. We live to be up to date with everything happening in the world at any given second in the day. We can`t just constentrate on reading that 400 word article on our bookmarked website, we also have to check the football scores on another website whilest also checking the weather for tomorrow in another tab on our browser. Thats if we can squeeze the time in between liking someones status on facebook and re tweeting that same person at the same time aswell. Think about it, how often have you put what you were doing on hold to watch a video on youtube, or reply to a friends message almost as soon as you`ve recived it? 1I
1II
Traditional books, in my opinion as a booklover, will always be around. Many people feel it is completely taboo to even think about throwing out a book, for whatever reason. As more and more people begin to go the way of the e-book and e-readers, I have begun to realize how much better it feels to read an actual book. There is just something classic and traditional about having a physical book to hold while you are reading. It is sad to think that one day the youth could not even know what a traditional book looks like. Books could be a foreign concept to them; something they see when the go to history museums. Books in themselves are a form of technology that should not go to the wayside. The library sciences are waning in popularity and usefulness as more and more works are being digitized. Librarians are becoming obsolete, with their traditional field of expertise no longer being needed. I have an e-reader myself but have realized that reading on it is not the same as holding a book in my hands. Reading a paperback book becomes an experience: the way the book smells, how the pages feel. There are memories associated and embedded into the pages of well worn books that just are not there with e-books, and e-books will never have that physical and emotional experience associated with them. 1V
CORRUPTED/ MEMORIES/ ....................... DATA LOST/
V
The over reliance we have placed in digital stroage will only lead to lost memorys further down the line. Storing our photos albums, our music collection, our books, a in cyber space, on cloud severs, hard drives and memory sticks is only asking to face corruption and loss of data as it weathers the test of time. With no back ups our files risk being lost forever. VI
There's nothing more frustrating to me than a Twitterer who does not have a website containing personal writings, musings or information lis...
V1I
...ted in their profile. I want to know more about a person than they could ever tell me in 140 characters, but sadly, I think I am the except... V1II
1X
I grew up on surfing and back in the day bodyboarding vids on VHS were pumping. The constant smashing of the rewind button meant a Fuzzy White Line of Doom pluaged my exsistance. Oter kids my age were getting involved in Rage every saturday morning. My musical taste was restricted to whatever Strohey or Ian Stewart decided I should be digging. The only thing about the vids was the wait. I'd wait months and watch the same 3 minuets of footage every afternoon for the next 6 months. I wanted instant Gratification. I wanted to be somthered by new vids on a weekly basis. Well be careful what you wish for because Vimeo has killed boogie vids, instant gratification is at your finger tips. But plain and simple it aint as good. Without anticipation there is no fufilment!! X
XI
From a design point of view I fell we all to readily jump to the computer when we start to work on projects we undertake. I wish we could all take a step back an explore alternative ways to produce work, sometimes the results look much nicer and are something we can become alot more emotinaly invested in! XII
X 1II
We should be encouraged to learn the benef its of being alone; otherwise, “we risk losing the capacity for the kind of solitude that energizes and restores I think of solitude as such an incredibly rewarding experience. Learning to be alone allows us to know ourselves better, have healthier relationships, gain confidence, and experience things for ourselves. In our constant attachment to technology, we lose the capacity to experience this kind of solitude. Even when we are alone in our homes many of us sit with our phones in our pockets, our tablets by our sides or out laptops infront of us, constantly connected. Have you noticed how people can't live without their mobile phones? If they're not talking then they're checking for a message that wasn't there two minutes ago. We often find ourselves fidling with our phones whilst we wait for trains, wait for friends, wait for coffes, walk form point A to point B, can't we be out of touch for even a few minutes? Even when we our not calling or texting our friends or exchanging messages on facebook we still have the means to do so with us at all times as some kind of comforting cushion. Learning to be comfortable with out access to these means of instant communication will serve us better in the long run. XIV