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A couple without cellphones is more connected than a couple *with* cellphones

Image by Ed Yourdon
Looking back on some old photos from 40-50 years ago, I was struck by how visible the differences were between the culture of then, versus the culture of now. In some cases, it was evident from the things people wore, or carried, or did, back then which they no longer do today. But sometimes it was the opposite: things that didn’t exist back in the 1960s and 1970s have become a pervasive part of today’s culture.

A good example is the cellphone: 20 years ago, it simply didn’t exist. Even ten years ago, it was a relatively uncommon sight, and usually only on major streets of big cities. Today, of course, cell phones are everywhere, and everyone is using them in a variety of culture contexts.

However, I don’t think this is a permanent phenomenon; after all, if you think back to the early 1980s, you probably would have seen a lot of people carrying Sony Walkmans, or "boom-box" portable radios — all of which have disappeared…

If Moore’s Law (which basically says that computers double in power every 18 months) holds up for another decade, then we’ll have computerized gadgets approximately 100 times smaller, faster, cheaper, and better — which means far better integration of music, camera, messaging, and phone, but also the possibility of the devices being so tiny that they’re embedded into our eyeglasses, our earrings, or a tattoo on our forehead.

So the point of this album is to provide a frame of reference — so that we can (hopefully) look back 10-20 years from now, and say, "Wasn’t it really weird that we behaved in such bizarre ways while we interacted with those primitive devices?"

Note: this photo was published, cropped down to just the couple on the left, in a Nov 6, 2009 blog titled "Salesman Calling!: Where People Answer Their Cell Phones." It was also published in a Nov 25, 2009 blog with the same title as the one I put on the Flickr image, i.e., "A couple without cellphones is more connected than a couple *with* cellphones." It was also published in a Dec 3, 2009 blog titled "Which is best? Who knows?"

Moving into 2010, the photo was published in an Apr 26, 2010 blog titled "Cellphone: go prepaid or contract?" And it was published in an Aug 26, 2010 blog titled "What’s So Wrong With Facebook Places?

We *really* don’t pay attention to crazy old guys with a camera when we’re concentrating on our cellphone messages

Image by Ed Yourdon
This woman was walking up Broadway, at 81st Street. I think I could have walked right into her, and knocked her flat on the ground, before she would have noticed me…

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Note: this photo was published in a Jun 23, 2010 "Technologeek blog, with the same title as the caption I used on this Flickr page. And it was published in an Aug 26, 2010 blog titled "What’s So Wrong With Facebook Places?", as well as an Aug 26, 2010 blog titled "Three mobile web marketing tips for the holiday shopping season."

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Looking back on some old photos from 40-50 years ago, I was struck by how visible the differences were between the culture of then, versus the culture of now. In some cases, it was evident from the things people wore, or carried, or did, back then which they no longer do today. But sometimes it was the opposite: things that didn’t exist back in the 1960s and 1970s have become a pervasive part of today’s culture.

A good example is the cellphone: 20 years ago, it simply didn’t exist. Even ten years ago, it was a relatively uncommon sight, and usually only on major streets of big cities. Today, of course, cell phones are everywhere, and everyone is using them in a variety of culture contexts.

However, I don’t think this is a permanent phenomenon; after all, if you think back to the early 1980s, you probably would have seen a lot of people carrying Sony Walkmans, or "boom-box" portable radios — all of which have disappeared…

If Moore’s Law (which basically says that computers double in power every 18 months) holds up for another decade, then we’ll have computerized gadgets approximately 100 times smaller, faster, cheaper, and better — which means far better integration of music, camera, messaging, and phone, but also the possibility of the devices being so tiny that they’re embedded into our eyeglasses, our earrings, or a tattoo on our forehead.

So the point of this album is to provide a frame of reference — so that we can (hopefully) look back 10-20 years from now, and say, "Wasn’t it really weird that we behaved in such bizarre ways while we interacted with those primitive devices?"