Web Directions

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Whatever it was, it wasn't revolutionary (and let's face it, we've come to expect revolution from Apple).I've think I might have changed my tune. Not because of the technology, which always seemed pretty cool (Apple designed their own custom chip, the form factor, built the OS, and the core software - come on that's impressive in anyone's language). But because of the real impact on the way we work, the places we work, the way we collaborate I think it will have. In short, it might just revolutionize the concept of work.200 years ago, toward the end of the Napoleonic wars, most of the world, even in its most developed parts, worked with their hands, in pre, or at most proto industrial occupations. Farming, weaving, shoemaking and so on. Those who worked in clerical roles represented a tiny fraction of the world's population.In the groundbreaking and highly readable Time, Work-Discipline and Industrial Capitalism [PDF], English Historian E.P.Thompson asked "If the transition to mature industrial society entailed a severe restructuring of working habits - news disciplines, new incentives, and a new human nature on which these initiatives could effectively bite - how far is this related to changes in the inward notation of time."The industrial revolution essentially invented the vast majority of the roles we occupy at work today, in manufacturing, administration, sales, and so on. And the nature of these roles is in many respects largely unchanged since their invention in the 19th century. They were (and remain) highly regulated (then because coordinating communication and cooperation between individuals was most readily done by bringing them all together at the same time in the same place). But long after the need for such regimentation has passed, out working remain similar.Let's focus on the sort of person for whom using a computer is central to their work, a person whose education, work related tasks, and indeed philosophy of work was completely unknown prior to the Industrial Revolution. I'll exclude the tiny minority of those who work freelance, or in workplaces that work hard to make their employee's experience more than the mundane (that is most of you reading this post I'd guess).

• We travel to places of work (at our expense, and on our own time, it's worth noting) at designated times and on designated days
• We largely occupy utilitarian spaces, "cubicle farms" and the like, designed for maximum real estate efficiency, and modelled often on the panopticon - everyone is essentially publicly visible, so they can be continually monitored to ensure they are performing their tasks.
• Our work is measured largely in time - we clock on and off (often quite literally still 100 or more years after the invention of the punchclock).
• Of course, our use of that most precious of employer resources (our own time) is measured, and rationed - with our use of the web, and other online resources blocked or monitored.
• And our own work is often locked away on carefully controlled desktop computers, and all our work needs to be done in the workplace (I know fast growing successful startups with these sorts of policies, it isn't just banks and governments)

But what does all this have to do with iPads?The technology of work (both industrial and administrative) drives the shape of the workplace, which in turn shapes workplace policies and practices. Which is very much the tail of process wagging the dog of outcomes.Computers, even "laptops", work best on desks. Connected to power, and often physically to networks (many workplace networks require fixed connections only for "security" purposes). Now, it may come as a surprise to all you designers and developers out there, for whom multiple monitors, and super fast desktops and laptops, with multiple applications open simultaneously are a must, but for many of the roles most people play at work, the traditional computer at desk with keyboard and mouse, running a fully fledged OS like Windows is simply an anachronism (and overkill). People work with this technology because no better way of working has come along, and it has become embedded in (and come to shape) the architecture of work. Meanwhile, we've seen the Blackberry exploded in popularity, despite its crammed keyboard and terrible user experience in relation to a desktop computer for email, due to the popularity of doing email on the go. So popular, that the President of the United States insisted on keeping his despite the secret service concerns about security.What the blackberry did for email, the iPad may well do for many kinds of clerical work (which for many of those who work in offices is very email driven anyway). Desktop software has been, and will only continue moving to "the cloud". So, IT departments will less and less need to manage the clients on the network the way traditional networks need to be managed (getting IT to cede this control is a separate issue). The unpleasantness of sitting upright 8 or more hours a day in the same seat at the same desk will be replaced by the ability to choose different work environments based on mood and need. Large scale typing tasks can be done at a desk with a dedicated keyboard. Web based research or general emailing on a lounge, at a cafe, on the train or bus. Collaboration, particularly the unstructured free flow of brainstorming and idea generation often takes place best face to face - the iPad and the types of environments in which it can be comfortably used may well end up conducive to a synthesis of the best in online and in person collaboration.It's not that any of these possibilities are entirely new, but the iPhone and other similar devices simply aren't the right form factor for extended work - they merely complement desktop and laptop computers in limited circumstances. Laptops, and even "netbooks", as anyone who's tried to use theirs on planes, and trains, and in bed, and even on the sofa, really don't have the flexibility to be pleasantly used in most non desk-like environments for any extended period of time. The iPad may indeed have found the right sweet spot of mobile and more traditional computer like qualities to liberate us from the anachronistic, frankly stultifying work environments, and practices most "knowledge workers" are subjected to. I'd go so far as predict iPads (and of course the other similar form factor devices which will soon follow) will replace desktop and laptop computers for most people. And for those for whom it doesn't I suspect it will replace their laptops, with ironically, the desktop outlasting the laptop computer (which for the last 5 years or so most people would have predicted as ultimately consigning the desktop to extinction).Intelligent companies and organizations, starting with individual decision makers, will see the possibilities, for empowering and inspiring their workforce, for making their working environments not simply tolerable, but enjoyable (by granting as much autonomy as possible to those working for them, not by installing foosball and pool tables) and ultimately for getting much more from those who work for them by embracing the opportunities that rethinking traditional working environments and associated practices presents.Such sweeping changes in the architecture and cultural practices of work will take time to come about, and be strongly resisted by many. Many levels of management exist largely to dream up and maintain policies, rather than actually enable their teams to achieve their outcomes better and more efficiently (the term "management" says it all really). But those decision makers, companies and workplaces which embrace these opportunities will surely see the best and brightest flock to them. And the value and output of those who do work for them soar.We spend half or more of our waking life in some way connected with work - surely to goodness it should be as pleasant an experience as possible? " ["post_title"]=> string(52) "iPad, Work Discipline and Post Industrial Capitalism" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(51) "ipad-work-discipline-and-post-industrial-capitalism" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2010-04-09 09:53:40" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-04-08 23:53:40" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=2431" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "1" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [1]=> object(stdClass)#115 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(2439) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2010-03-30 11:01:43" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-30 01:01:43" ["post_content"]=> string(1123) "At Web Directions South last year we announced that we would be commemorating the 2009 McFarlane Prize by producing a beautiful high quality hard cover book containing all 48 of the shortlisted entires. Thanks to a lot of hard work by the good people at Blurb, this book is now available for purchase.I've got a few copies in my office here and it really is a lovely edition which captures and preserves what the best of Australian web design and development looked like in 2009. $15 from every copy purchased will go to a mental health charity.Both John and myself would particularly like to thank Blurb for publishing the book, and Jo Sabin and Oliver Maruda from Pollenizer who worked tirelessly to edit and design the book. - it ended up being quite a project, but, the results speak for themselves, the book looks great." ["post_title"]=> string(31) "McFarlane Prize 2009 - The Book" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(29) "mcfarlane-prize-2009-the-book" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2010-03-30 15:28:31" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-30 05:28:31" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=2439" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [2]=> object(stdClass)#116 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(2421) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2010-03-18 10:43:58" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-18 00:43:58" ["post_content"]=> string(1598) "There have been words out and about regarding the name of our London event for this year, Web Directions @media. To explain a little where that name has come from, the conference this time around is a hybrid as we take over the reins of the highly regarded London event, @media, as run by Vivabit since 2005. So we decided on "Web Directions @media" as the name of the event.Things have been a bit tricky, for obvious reasons, when it comes to what hashtag people should be using for the event, in particular when it is referred to on Twitter. After considerable thought we have decided that now might be the time to pull all Web Directions events under the same hashtag, so let me introduce to you #wdx.Our thinking on this is that the usefulness of hashtags is very time specific, so it doesn't matter that Web Directions @media 2010 will have the same hashtag as Web Directions South 2010, for example. When we are one day holding simultaneous events, we will solve that problem :). The important thing was to come up with something short and memorable, and unlikely to be used too frequently for something other than a Web Directions event.It will really help us if you could start using #wdx any time you refer to a Web Directions event, and in particular it will help make things like Tweeps and Web Directions NOW very super cool indeed.#wdx, your time starts now :)" ["post_title"]=> string(16) "Introducing #wdx" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(15) "introducing-wdx" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2010-03-18 10:43:58" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-18 00:43:58" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=2421" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [3]=> object(stdClass)#117 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(2417) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2010-03-17 17:09:40" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-17 07:09:40" ["post_content"]=> string(1937) "Today at MIX, Microsoft announced the first developer preview version of IE9, a far from finished, but usable look at where IE is headed. Microsoft will update this preview very couple of months or so.There's a great deal new, and much for us in the web design and development community to be encouraged by, and you can learn more in a series of posts at the IEBlog.While HTML5 and CSS3 are currently getting a lot of attention, IE9 will support SVG, making it the last of the major browser to do so. While wonderful shims like Raphaël from Australia's own Dmitry Baranovskiy (which provides a JavaScript interface for SVG and Microsoft's SVG-like VML), and Google's SVGWeb which transparently adds support for SVG in IE versions 8 and older using Flash (developers only need to add a link to the library and their SVG works in IE via the magic of Flash), having full native support of a standard vector format is a big step in the development of the web.At @media in London in June, Doug Schepers, the W3C's go to guy for SVG is presenting the timely "SVG Today and Tomorrow" - a get up to speed quick session for designers and developers on SVG. Just another reason to get to the event, which we believe features our best lineup yet, and indeed one the best lineups of experts covering relevant up to the minute topics you'll ever see.And for those looking for a quick primer on SVG, there's a chapter dedicated to it (and HTML5 Canvas) in my Developing with Web Standards" ["post_title"]=> string(11) "SVG and IE9" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(11) "svg-and-ie9" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2010-03-17 17:09:40" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-17 07:09:40" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=2417" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [4]=> object(stdClass)#118 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(2410) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "2" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2010-03-11 11:41:24" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-11 01:41:24" ["post_content"]=> string(1809) "A few years back, Scott Berkun gave one of the most highly regarded presentations we have ever had at a Web Directions event. It was called the Myths of Innovation, and people still buttonhole me to say how great it was, or to bemoan the fact that their lifetime regret will be that they slept in, hungover from the rockin' party the night before, and missed the Friday morning keynote at Web Directions South 2007.Check it out for yourself - after the conference we published the slides, podcast, and even a transcript at our resources site. It really is a great read or listen.The really great news is that three years on, Scott is going to remix and remaster The Myths of Innovation for our opening keynote at Web Directions @media.

Hype and tall tales dominate our knowledge of innovation history, and without awareness of the truth, we are set up to fail as creators, progressives, engineers and designers in our own time. This fun, fast paced, provocative keynote, based on a fresh take from the bestselling book The Myths of Innovation, will dissect the deepest mythologies and the latest misguided hype laden marketing propaganda, revealing the truths about good ideas and progress that anyone can use in their own work.

So, check out The Myths of Innovation (part 1), and get excited about seeing Part 2 in London in June: it's going to be an incredibly good start to a fantastic couple days, I just know it!" ["post_title"]=> string(48) "The Myths of Innovation - Remixed and Remastered" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(46) "the-myths-of-innovation-remixed-and-remastered" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(53) " http://www.webdirections.org/resources/scott-berkun/" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2010-03-11 11:41:24" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-11 01:41:24" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=2410" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [5]=> object(stdClass)#119 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(2401) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2010-03-04 10:37:29" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-04 00:37:29" ["post_content"]=> string(2566) "Jeopardy champion, fantastic comedian, author, inventor, television writer (credits include CSI and Bones) and much more, Bob Harris came into my life in a way unimaginable only a handful of years ago. My wife was well over due with our first child, and far from contented. She read an article by Bob, I think in Salon, which made her laugh, and wrote him a quick email to thank him. He wrote back. It transpired he loves Sydney, and of all things cricket, of which like all patriotic Australians we too are fans.A few weeks later, Bob was visiting Sydney, and on one of the hottest days ever in Sydney, with our daughter about 5 weeks old, we spent a wonderful evening of conversation, something anyone with young kids will tell you can be quite rare.We catch up with Bob every year or so, and keep in touch, not least via his wonderful photo essays he sends of his pretty amazing trips around the world, writing for Magazines, researching books, and so on. At the end of 2008, his collection of dozens of photos with commentary was so funny, intelligent and moving, I asked him whether he'd be interested in turning it into a presentation for the upcoming Web Directions. Generously, Bob said yes.The presentation closed Web Directions North, in Denver in 2009. Right slap bang in the middle of the GFC, numbers were down on previous years, but the event itself as so many attendees commented was fantastic - tremendous presentations (Nicole Sullivan introduced the world to OOCSS there, and the presentation went onto have over 100,000 viewers) and fantastic energy.Bob's presentation, which really had little to do with technology, or the web directly, coming at the end of long days of presentations and parties was in some ways a bit of a risk all round. Within a minute though, he had the audience laughing, and thinking, and I remember as I got up at the end to thank him and wrap up the conference, I turned to see most of the audience on its feet, and many folks with a hint of a tear in their eye. It was a marvellous privilege to be there.Bob's recently uploaded video of the presentation to YouTube. If you've got a spare moment one evening, I really recommend you take a look." ["post_title"]=> string(55) "Bob Harris's closing Keynote at Web Directions North 09" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(54) "bob-harriss-closing-keynote-at-web-directions-north-09" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2010-03-04 10:37:29" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-04 00:37:29" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=2401" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [6]=> object(stdClass)#120 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(2395) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2010-03-02 12:45:33" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-02 02:45:33" ["post_content"]=> string(1174) "A quick note for those web designers and developers out there who've not yet taken this year's "State of the Web" survey - it closes today, so if you have a few minutes, please head along and take it.The survey, follows up on last years and aims to get a snapshot of the technologies and techniques web professionals like you are using right now.Like last year we'll publish the anonymized data in full, along with a detailed analysis, comparisons with last year's results, and of course lots of pretty graphs.To top it off, anyone who does the survey instantly receives a PDF copy of Scroll Magazine editions 1 and 2, and there'll be prizes including copies of my book "Developing with Web Standards", and even tickets to Web Directions.Thanks to those who've taken the survey to date,and the more we get, the more useful the results will be." ["post_title"]=> string(38) "State of the web survey - closes today" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(38) "state-of-the-web-survey-closes-today-2" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(56) " http://www.webdirections.org/the-state-of-the-web-2008/" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2010-03-02 12:45:33" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-02 02:45:33" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=2395" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } [7]=> object(stdClass)#121 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(2392) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2010-03-02 12:34:33" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-02 02:34:33" ["post_content"]=> string(787) "A quick note for those thinking about attending @media - we've (as has become something of a tradition) extended the super early bird discount of £100 off until March 7th. So, if you'd thought you'd missed out, you've got a few more days to register at this pretty amazing price.And (free) places at the Boagworld Big Breakfast on Friday the 11th (includes breakfast) are fast running out - so register for the conference to secure your place.We've got a number of announcements planned for the coming weeks as we head toward the conference, so stay tuned. @media in June is going to be pretty special, we promise." ["post_title"]=> string(52) "@media early bird registration extended to March 7th" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(51) "media-early-bird-registration-extended-to-march-7th" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2010-03-02 12:34:33" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-02 02:34:33" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=2392" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } } ["post"]=> object(stdClass)#114 (25) { ["ID"]=> int(2431) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "3" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2010-03-30 15:13:18" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-03-30 05:13:18" ["post_content"]=> string(8687) "When Apple finally revealed the world's second worst kept secret (Ricky Martin today revealed the other one - good for you Ricky), I publicly and privately expressed, along with many others, my initial, if not disappointment, at least state of being underwhelmed. Whatever it was, it wasn't revolutionary (and let's face it, we've come to expect revolution from Apple).I've think I might have changed my tune. Not because of the technology, which always seemed pretty cool (Apple designed their own custom chip, the form factor, built the OS, and the core software - come on that's impressive in anyone's language). But because of the real impact on the way we work, the places we work, the way we collaborate I think it will have. In short, it might just revolutionize the concept of work.200 years ago, toward the end of the Napoleonic wars, most of the world, even in its most developed parts, worked with their hands, in pre, or at most proto industrial occupations. Farming, weaving, shoemaking and so on. Those who worked in clerical roles represented a tiny fraction of the world's population.In the groundbreaking and highly readable Time, Work-Discipline and Industrial Capitalism [PDF], English Historian E.P.Thompson asked "If the transition to mature industrial society entailed a severe restructuring of working habits - news disciplines, new incentives, and a new human nature on which these initiatives could effectively bite - how far is this related to changes in the inward notation of time."The industrial revolution essentially invented the vast majority of the roles we occupy at work today, in manufacturing, administration, sales, and so on. And the nature of these roles is in many respects largely unchanged since their invention in the 19th century. They were (and remain) highly regulated (then because coordinating communication and cooperation between individuals was most readily done by bringing them all together at the same time in the same place). But long after the need for such regimentation has passed, out working remain similar.Let's focus on the sort of person for whom using a computer is central to their work, a person whose education, work related tasks, and indeed philosophy of work was completely unknown prior to the Industrial Revolution. I'll exclude the tiny minority of those who work freelance, or in workplaces that work hard to make their employee's experience more than the mundane (that is most of you reading this post I'd guess).

• We travel to places of work (at our expense, and on our own time, it's worth noting) at designated times and on designated days
• We largely occupy utilitarian spaces, "cubicle farms" and the like, designed for maximum real estate efficiency, and modelled often on the panopticon - everyone is essentially publicly visible, so they can be continually monitored to ensure they are performing their tasks.
• Our work is measured largely in time - we clock on and off (often quite literally still 100 or more years after the invention of the punchclock).
• Of course, our use of that most precious of employer resources (our own time) is measured, and rationed - with our use of the web, and other online resources blocked or monitored.
• And our own work is often locked away on carefully controlled desktop computers, and all our work needs to be done in the workplace (I know fast growing successful startups with these sorts of policies, it isn't just banks and governments)

But what does all this have to do with iPads?The technology of work (both industrial and administrative) drives the shape of the workplace, which in turn shapes workplace policies and practices. Which is very much the tail of process wagging the dog of outcomes.Computers, even "laptops", work best on desks. Connected to power, and often physically to networks (many workplace networks require fixed connections only for "security" purposes). Now, it may come as a surprise to all you designers and developers out there, for whom multiple monitors, and super fast desktops and laptops, with multiple applications open simultaneously are a must, but for many of the roles most people play at work, the traditional computer at desk with keyboard and mouse, running a fully fledged OS like Windows is simply an anachronism (and overkill). People work with this technology because no better way of working has come along, and it has become embedded in (and come to shape) the architecture of work. Meanwhile, we've seen the Blackberry exploded in popularity, despite its crammed keyboard and terrible user experience in relation to a desktop computer for email, due to the popularity of doing email on the go. So popular, that the President of the United States insisted on keeping his despite the secret service concerns about security.What the blackberry did for email, the iPad may well do for many kinds of clerical work (which for many of those who work in offices is very email driven anyway). Desktop software has been, and will only continue moving to "the cloud". So, IT departments will less and less need to manage the clients on the network the way traditional networks need to be managed (getting IT to cede this control is a separate issue). The unpleasantness of sitting upright 8 or more hours a day in the same seat at the same desk will be replaced by the ability to choose different work environments based on mood and need. Large scale typing tasks can be done at a desk with a dedicated keyboard. Web based research or general emailing on a lounge, at a cafe, on the train or bus. Collaboration, particularly the unstructured free flow of brainstorming and idea generation often takes place best face to face - the iPad and the types of environments in which it can be comfortably used may well end up conducive to a synthesis of the best in online and in person collaboration.It's not that any of these possibilities are entirely new, but the iPhone and other similar devices simply aren't the right form factor for extended work - they merely complement desktop and laptop computers in limited circumstances. Laptops, and even "netbooks", as anyone who's tried to use theirs on planes, and trains, and in bed, and even on the sofa, really don't have the flexibility to be pleasantly used in most non desk-like environments for any extended period of time. The iPad may indeed have found the right sweet spot of mobile and more traditional computer like qualities to liberate us from the anachronistic, frankly stultifying work environments, and practices most "knowledge workers" are subjected to. I'd go so far as predict iPads (and of course the other similar form factor devices which will soon follow) will replace desktop and laptop computers for most people. And for those for whom it doesn't I suspect it will replace their laptops, with ironically, the desktop outlasting the laptop computer (which for the last 5 years or so most people would have predicted as ultimately consigning the desktop to extinction).Intelligent companies and organizations, starting with individual decision makers, will see the possibilities, for empowering and inspiring their workforce, for making their working environments not simply tolerable, but enjoyable (by granting as much autonomy as possible to those working for them, not by installing foosball and pool tables) and ultimately for getting much more from those who work for them by embracing the opportunities that rethinking traditional working environments and associated practices presents.Such sweeping changes in the architecture and cultural practices of work will take time to come about, and be strongly resisted by many. Many levels of management exist largely to dream up and maintain policies, rather than actually enable their teams to achieve their outcomes better and more efficiently (the term "management" says it all really). But those decision makers, companies and workplaces which embrace these opportunities will surely see the best and brightest flock to them. And the value and output of those who do work for them soar.We spend half or more of our waking life in some way connected with work - surely to goodness it should be as pleasant an experience as possible? " ["post_title"]=> string(52) "iPad, Work Discipline and Post Industrial Capitalism" ["post_category"]=> string(1) "0" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(0) "" ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(51) "ipad-work-discipline-and-post-industrial-capitalism" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2010-04-09 09:53:40" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2010-04-08 23:53:40" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "http://www.webdirections.org/?p=2431" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "1" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" } ["queried_object"]=> NULL ["queried_object_id"]=> int(0) }