Is the future of the book just more distraction?

The future of the book is a big theme and has been a particularly intense discussion for the last couple of decades. Though it was produced in 2010, this IDEO video and short article about The Future of the Book is clear, well-designed and interesting to watch.



They use three possible formats (Nelson, Coupland, Alice) to make guesses about where books are going from a readers perspective. This is not about what is happening to the publishing industry (lots and lots of that around) but is about the user experience, how you and I could experience the pleasure of reading in new and enriched ways. Of particular interest is the dynamic of linking the mostly-private experience of reading with a wider and deeper context socially and experientially.

Some of the suggested ideas may end up being more distracting than enriching, like reading a Wikipedia article where everything is hyperlinked. There is something convenient about clicking on "Waterloo" while reading about Napoleon but some of these additions can really distract from the flow, particularly with novels. I know that one of my pet peeves are academic titles where the footnotes take up more of the page than the body text or where there are so many of them that you have to stop looking at them and just concentrate on the line in the body if a proper flow of ideas and logic is to be developed.

Do these potential new connections deepen distraction or enrich thought? One of the things I like about an artefact book is that it demands of me only what is right there, right now. It doesn't beep, vibrate, jingle, blink, or offer "something better somewhere else" as do most of our digital devices. I do like the portability of my Playbook where I can drop a whole raft of online reading content to be read in the gaps and spaces of my life. We're experimenting forward and will begin to see the answer to the enriched book in the years ahead.

Complexity and Organizational Culture

Recently, I travelled to San Francisco to participate in a Cognitive Edge workshop that explains how they connect complex systems theory with narrative fragments in organizations to provide much more realistic mapping of cultural values than other methods.

Their approach is a great example of how leading research and technology, wisely applied, can tell us things about ourselves that might otherwise be difficult to see. This is particularly true in the highly complex environments of organizations. Humans are deeply wired to be story tellers and our stories tell a lot about us - individually and collectively.
Using Sensemaker - a trademark database tool that deals with story fragments - Dave Snowden explored how we can be better at understanding what reality looks like in our organizations. Being aware of actual conditions is critical for effective leadership, though neither easy or, where known, easily accepted.

While in San Francisco, I also paid a brief visit to one of my favourite companies, IDEO. The Pier 28 location was just over a mile from my hotel and I stopped in and chatted briefly with one of the people working late and then discovered another IDEO member was in the seminar with me.

Finally, I managed to get to the SFMOMA as they were open late on Thursday night. Great galleries are like a nested system with the architecture and space of the building, the rooms, interior design choices, people, exhibits and individual pieces all contributing significant cultural value. I generally experience galleries rather than studying them in a detached way - paying attention to what catches me directly rather than trying to make myself appreciate something I should like.

Ingenuity Catalyst

There's a great resource from IDEO that you can use for yourself or in a team setting. Some of you may have seen the IDEO Method Cards but if you haven't, you can take a look at them here or buy them here.

They do not map out a linear method or process. I love that about them. The cards are designed as a way to jar your thoughts, shift your thinking, nudge you off the usual path. Take a look. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you need a bit more background, try the Fast Company article that features them.