As the title of Chapter 8 of Design to Thrive suggests, the most important takeaway from this part of Dr. Howard's book is the notion "that while technologies may change rapidly, human beings don't" (207). I took this to be the key message of the chapter not only because it is the title, but also because the rest of the assertions put forward build off of this notion. Why are experts able to predict technological advances decades before hand? How can they know what will survive and what won't? How can we even "Design to Thrive" if technology is so unpredictably ever-changing and unstable? It's because people aren't. No matter how quickly our technology changes or advances, no matter how quickly new things surface and old ones die out, people will fundamentally always want the same things they've always wanted. And this is how we can guess what technology will thrive, by knowing what people will, and always will continue to, want.
This ties back to the idea of "RIBS" and why it is a sound plan to follow. It's because it speaks to human nature and knowing what will and won't work with the human race. People are always going to need "Remuneration." They will always only dedicate their time to something they believe to be worthwhile and worth the investment of time and energy. People will always feel the need to be heard, to have an "Influence" in whatever they are doing. It is human nature to want to feel a sense of "Belonging," that you're connecting with others and not involving yourself in something no one else cares about. And finally, people don't want to waste their time on something that isn't "Significant." RIBS is based on basic human wants and desires and these fundamental elements of human nature will never change. And so, in the end, it is always the dependency of the human condition that will allow technology, and anything else for that matter, to be a predictable venture in an otherwise unpredictable world. Dr. Howard highlights this notion in Chapter 8, putting a new spin to the importance of RIBS (7-8).
I think your post really reflects things that are happening right now in society with the iPhone 5. People are investing in it because they think it is worth while and worth the money, just like you said. The sad thing is that they thought that the iPhone, 2, 3, 4, and 4s would be worthwhile as well, yet with technological 'advances' they were shown that they will never be satisfied because companies will always find something else to add to make you spend money on their product. The reason I put the word advances in quotations was because when the iPhone 4 came out, it was a big deal and nothing could top it. When the 4s came it, it was the exact same thing but people paid much more to get it solely because you could talk to a robot that would do things for you. People are never satisfied and never will be.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you brought out the main idea of this chapter through all of the questions you asked. Just like Mellette said above me, the iPhone is a great example of the idea of ever-changing technology. The car industry is another example because the current eco-friendly/hybrid technology is something that people care about, find worthwhile, and are willing to invest in. I also like how to connected everything back to RIBS because that concept is something any social media analyst needs to understand in order to better serve their audience.
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