Issue 11: The tangible and the remembered
Or the importance of writing it down and doing less
I have a weakness for celebrity memoirs. Jessica Simpson’s Open Book blends nostalgia for early reality television, celebrity gossip involving recognizable people (yes, she talks about her affair with Johnny Knoxville AKA Jackass; the last time I saw a tabloid cover it was plastered with TikTok stars I did not recognize) and some light true crime (no spoilers). Guiltily juicy details aside, one of the things that struck me about the book besides Simpson’s drug and alcohol abuse (who knew?) was that Simpson is a devotee of journaling in physical spiral notebooks. And it’s from those paper archives she created not just a bestselling Oreo cookie sleeve of a book, but a business empire and fresh start — away from the fat jeans (Anne Helen Peterson explains more in a gripping, loud take here).
It’s something I wish I had done too. My own thoughts and feelings are splattered across fragmented blog URLs and coded in Facebook albums, at the mercy of digital memory gatekeepers and buried in the thousands of bits and bytes of accounts here and there.
One must wonder if digital truth is so fragmented as individuals, what are the story footprints brands leave? How do you measure digital microgenerations of platforms borne and dead in a matter of months? The errant shares and promotions and zombie hashtags seem to live as staples like Charlie Bit My Finger slowly die. As video becomes the communication norm of the present, how can brands keep an accurate archive?
As the internet fragments exponentially and companies balance geopolitical pragmatism with profit — while a post-fact society continues to thrive — one could say the pursuit of truth, of transparency, is pointless.
But perhaps the solution is instead a return to thoughtfulness, to writing things down in places separate from the digital divide. To produce less, but to do better, more thoughtfully. It’s the difference of interviewing with a company in which your interviewer is frantically typing every single word versus writing a few words in a notebook every once in awhile.
I’m reminded of the importance of the tangible in my own experience trying to learn a language after turning 30. The app goading you to do your five minutes for the cute badge is not enough. Sometimes it is written homework, in a physical paper book, that can help you pause, remember and learn. And do better.
And isn’t that what we all want?
Interesting marketing roles
Levi’s, Sr. Manager, Media Relations
Samsara, Senior Talent Brand Manager
Everlane, Digital Experience Manager
A small personal update from me: I’m glad to now be part of Dance, an ebike subscription company in Berlin. More to come as I giddily work on a product that combines sustainability, design and gleeful sweat-free bike rides.