Issue 59: Can We Fix Digital Culture?
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re thinking about how digital culture is undergoing a watershed moment during the Covid-19 pandemic – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
THE BIG TAKE
Can We Fix Digital Culture?
The Covid-19 crisis is a lot of things. It’s a health challenge, an economic test, a political juggernaut, and a test of psychological endurance. It’s okay to feel exhausted considering how our lives have transformed almost overnight from the communal to the solitary. While Covid-19 fatigue is a real thing, we have an opportunity to use this moment of transformation to change critical aspects of our society. What better place to start than digital culture.
Rapid change: The old Vladimir Lenin quote comes to mind. There are decades when nothing happens, the Soviet leader said, and there are weeks where decades happen. Right now, we depend on the internet more than we have at any other time in human history. Our digital culture is blossoming, which means it’s the perfect time to consider any tweaks we should make. Will we use this time to change the way digital culture operates for the better or will unsavoury aspects of modern technology only grow stronger?
The right balance: Writing in The National this week, Xische’s director of strategy, Mary Ames, addressed this question. We have all experienced the power of technology from Zoom calls to the ability to stream millions of hours of content during the crisis. We have also read about the myriad privacy issues surrounding platforms like Zoom. The challenge is striking the right balance between innovative technology and data privacy.
Small states: The opportunity is clear, according to Ames. “If there was ever a time for the leading technology companies to demonstrate their commitment to the public good and data privacy it is now.” As the major technology giants solidify their market positions thanks to a surge in usage during this crisis, the international community led by small forward-thinking countries such as Estonia and the UAE needs to carve out sensible regulations that ensure users are protected and innovation continues unharmed. “This is a watershed moment for our digital culture,” Ames noted. “We can’t afford to miss this opportunity to change it for the better.”
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
This week, we’re asking about digital culture with a big but simple question: If you could change one thing about the internet, what would it be? Get in touch across our social media channels @xische with your thoughts, feelings, and answers. Or drop us a line and just say hello.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”
– Yogi Berra, baseball player
COVID19 STORIES
We are passionate about telling human stories. Now more than ever, those stories involve you. Covid19 Stories is a showcase of words, photos, and videos of our global community designed to celebrate shared experiences from this time of isolation. Powered by Empowering through, this exhibition is a dynamic and living testament to the historic moment we’re living through. Visit Covid19 Stories to share your story today.
OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK
A recipe for delight: Have we lost the element of surprise in our internet-saturated lives? Many feel that the omnipresent algorithms of digital giants are eroding the serendipity of stumbling upon new experiences or ideas online. In this archived piece, we wrote about one unusual way to reintroduce the delight of discovery in our digital lives. The solution might surprise you (and it will sadly have to wait until the pandemic is defeated).
The power of storytelling: Now more than ever, stories are the glue that keeps people together. With much of humanity in some form of lockdown to defeat the coronavirus, the natural communal element of our lives has vanished. Our ability to gather together, which is foundational to what makes us human, has transformed. Writing in Gulf News, Danish Farhan outlined how businesses need to (re)discover the power of storytelling to get through this challenging time and remain on top.
A MESSAGE FROM SPIDERSILK
Practical cybersecurity: In today’s online world, cybersecurity is a critical line of defence for any business. Enter SpiderSilk, a Dubai-based cybersecurity firm specializing in simulating the most advanced cyber offences on your technology so you can build your best security defenses. Mitigating risk and protecting digital infrastructure can be achieved through the most advanced adversarial simulations and advisory services.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
Smart city on pause? Google’s parent company Alphabet has been interested in smart city design for some time. Their most notable venture is 12 acres of Toronto waterfront called Sidewalk Labs. Battered by economic uncertainty spurred by Covid-19, Alphabet announced last week that Sidewalk Labs will be no longer. While this project might be over, we hope that Alphabet’s plans for robotic rubbish collection and other critical smart city features will manifest in another place when the crisis dies down.
Covid semantics: The Covid-19 pandemic has forced governments around the world into difficult balancing acts between public health and economic growth. While these debates are never easy, Xische’s senior editor, Joseph Dana, writes in Asia Times this week that governments need to be better about how they calculate and understand the value of their citizens and residents. How governments perceive the cost of a human life, Dana wrote, should be at the forefront of our minds during this crisis.
Like what you're reading?
