To Steal Or Free Dreams?

Here's perhaps a contender for quote of the year.

When asked by her daughter why she couldn't have an Alexa like all her school friends, one mother curtly replied;

"... because it steals your dreams and sells them".

That the woman in question's authorings happen to display ideological alignment to a form of socialism ought not be grounds alone to dismiss this clever response though.

It plays into our Big Tech fear of runaway unaccountable dystopia which troubles most of us.

By way of sample, here's a paragraph from innovation editor John Thornhill of the FT back in '17;

"In the popular telling, our privacy is invaded, our opinions are manipulated, and algorithms track every keypad stroke, tweet and swipe, recording our ambitions, dreams, and twitches of desire. Rather than smashing Big Brother, Big Tech now seems to embody it."

Yet by the same token, we exhibit connivance for the adage, "if you don't pay for the product, you are the product".

And boy, we do love a freebie. Especially one that transports our humble living quarters into The Jetsons.

There seems to me an obvious corollary to this. Albeit, one without much in the way of MSM trumpeting.

"It frees our dreams and pulls them."

Not the prevailing view, you might say.

Yet in order to make our dreams come true - or even merely give them a chance to - there's always trade-offs involved.

Yes, an aspect of them might be sold for a few cents a time, but then we get the most accessible means by which to propose them, propel them, promote them.

Hopefully towards an eventual point of realisation. Whether that be rejection, refinement, or ultimate reward.

Business at the speed of clicks.

The genie cannot be put back in the bottle.

Which also brings to mind those I introduce myself to with the aim of raising their video call game.

Everyone - seriously - can add a little something to how they perform in and on a video meeting. Including me, as demonstrated by the tricks and tips I constantly add to what I do each week.

One knee-jerk response often slammed in my face is the dismissal, "we use Teams".

Leaving aside the career straightjacketing of such mindset, you could refashion the above retort;

"Teams dulls your dreams and crushes them."

Which, although being video platform agnostic with clients, makes me also suspect that almost any problematic tool, aim or process can be framed within this template.

I think of the classic slide treatment to remix a famed quote.

Why not use one to spark debate with your prospect?