Tuesday, April 7, 2015

A little bit of futchology

A polemic by Joanne McNeil at Medium:

"We have reached a point where titling something “The Future of” looks antiquated, a blast from the internet culture near past.

"I suggest we borrow [Kanye] West’s coinage the “futch” to describe the “futurism” of snake oil internet gurus....

"Tech conferences incubate the futch...

"The futch ignores complexity. The futch denies how the internet amplifies existing hierarchies and upholds structural inequality. The futch is every broken promise of every new app or internet service... 

"Futch-peddling is about as noble a profession as astrologer, and one with about as little accountability."

"I became interested in “tech” more than a decade ago, with the naive, romantic notion that the internet would lead us to a better world. To talk about the future of the internet back then was to confess to this unrequited love.... It was a chance to dream aloud and reveal one’s desire for humanity. Then the futch happened."

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?




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