HUMAN BY WONDERLAND #9
Discover more from Creative Currents
HUMAN BY WONDERLAND #9
How we view the design studio of the future, rounded up our favourite corners of the internet and written up a deep dive exploring the impact of the recent Facebook outage.
Hello, Friends.
Welcome to Edition 9 of HUMAN.
This week we’ve shared an insight into how we view the design studio of the future, rounded up our favourite corners of the internet - as usual - and written up a deep dive exploring the impact of the recent Facebook outage, and what it means on a societal level. We’ve also shared the Mayku Multiplier, an awesome pressure forming machine that sits on the desktop!
If you have time at the end, we’d love it if you could spare a minute or two to fill out the survey at the bottom and let us know what you think of HUMAN!
Enjoy!
Our future vision for design studios
During the pandemic, we realigned our vision for how we want people to feel when they work at WONDERLAND, asking ourselves: how can we create a culture where people thrive? One that they love to be a part of and that they can use as a spring board to create a better version of themselves. It’s been an interesting process, and one that we view as ongoing. But we’re proud of where we are for the time being.
German startup Room lets people attend 3D conferences through their browsers
Apple is moving into the digital health space with their fitness+ service.
The Chinese government has begun cracking down on the development of AI.
Dune fans are furious about the Dune NFTs, due to sustainability concerns.
Humble Bundle has raised $200m for charity thanks to the gaming community.
Délice & Sarrasin in NYC offers innovative vegan renditions of French staples.
Proof that Positive Work Cultures are more productive.
George Saunders on the key to great storytelling.
Cool piece by Ogilvy on advertising that sells.
To Beat the Heat, Phoenix Paints Its Streets Gray
Is it time for a new social order?
It’s happened before; a momentary shut down that leads to Instagram failing to load, or a Whatsapp message unable to send. But they’re usually short glitches that are fixed within minutes, if not seconds. They’re rarely - if ever - the six-hour hiatus that we experienced this week. Last time something like this happened was in 2019. We’re of course talking about the Facebook shutdown on October 4th.
It’s not hard to imagine the impact that the shutdown of the worlds largest social media network had on people around the world, from those trying to reach friends and family in other cities and countries, to businesses being unable to reach their customers. A simple shutdown of just six hours has exposed a fundamental flaw in our communication infrastructure: we’ve become too reliant on Facebook.
It feels ironic that an event such as this should happen just days after The Atlantic published The Largest Autocracy on Earth, and a whistleblower came out and exposed the media giants deliberate prioritisation of profit over public good, such as having evidence that “Instagram is toxic for teen girls.”
Diving into Adrienne LaFrance’s article in The Atlantic, she creates a strong and damning argument highlighting our dependance on Facebook and their network as a society, as well as challenging their anti-competitive and truth-bending behaviour. LaFrance is quick to confirm that she is not anti-social media, she agrees that the benefits of social networks is laid clear for all of us to see. “No one should wish to return to the information ecosystems of the 1980s, or 1940s, or 1880s. The democratisation of publishing is miraculous.” There is no argument that “the triple revolution of the internet, smartphones, and social media is a net good for society.”
LaFrance is simply anti-Facebook and Zuckerberg, and the manner in which they conduct themselves on the world stage, arguing that we must “insist on platforms that are in the public’s best interest. Facebook is not.” She goes as far as to liken the media giant to being their own country - the world’s largest autocracy - with a GDP of $54 billion, and a population of 2.9 billion (larger than PRC and India, combined).
Recent events confirm LaFrances position, and highlight the trades we make when we exchange our data for free communication. We can see the effects in the tunneled view of the internet we’re fed via algorithms, and the divisions that are being created in society through what people are fed. We know that we’re manipulated and coerced down specific lines of content based on our interests and preferences, and our digital behaviour. There’s nothing new here. But in light of recent events, we felt it important to pose the question: how much of our society should we hang on Facebook’s metaphorical coat rack?
Meet the Mayku Multiplier, a huge step forward in mould manufacturing that brings pressure forming to the desktop, literally. The Mayku Multiplier uses pressure when forming heated sheet material, and can capture detail finer than a human hair and perfectly sharp edges, and can make moulds in just 1 minute. And, to top it all off, it just looks awesome. You can pre order yours here.
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Thanks for reading,
Team WONDERLAND
