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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tUMnwkMSeg
English Transcript
0:14 Computers, mobile phones, tablets -- they have become more than mere pieces
of technology.
0:19 They are the doors to a brave new world -- a world of connectivity, vast
information and
0:26 endless business opportunities. And it has become pretty crowded out there.
0:32 Facebook is almost as populated as China, Twitter at least as big as
Brazil.
0:37 And the thresholds to the digital world are about to become invisible, to
be reintegrated
0:42 into our bodies and souls. Imagine accessing Wikipedia within the blink of
an eye -- literally
0:50 -- or meeting friends in World of Warcraft without moving a single part of
our bodies.
0:56 How are we, as individuals, supposed to deal with these overwhelming
developments?
1:03 How can we be not only successful but also happy in our digitalized private
and professional
1:09 lives?
1:09 In other words: What is a digital good life?
1:14 Should we reread the stoics? Abstain from all digital allurements and lead
the life
1:20 of a technological monk? Or live digital life to the fullest -- without
re?ecting upon
1:26 it? Of course the answer lies in between. Our research points to ?ve key
dichotomies
1:32 that need to be balanced in order to ?nd success and happiness in a
digitalized world.
1:39 Five clearings in the digital jungle.
1:43 One: The Me and the We In the digital world, many people feel lonely
1:50 but they are not alone. What we see, however, is a distortion of the real.
Internet users
1:56 tend to present highlight reels of their lives: Why aren't WE spending our
free time with
2:02 Tom Cruise in Mexico eating Shark Sushi while tanning our perfectly
photoshopped bodies,
2:07 ?ying a helicopter made by Google? It is important to make ourselves aware
of this
2:12 distortion every now and then -- otherwise we suffer from envy and fear of
missing out.
2:20 Think twice each time before you mail, tweet, post and comment. What's in
it for me and
2:27 what for the others? Am I posting for competition's sake or because it
makes sense? Caring about
2:35 the right balance between over- and undersharing will pave the way through
the thicket of the
2:40 digital world.
2:42 Two: The known and the unknown Beware of your bubbles: Each time you access
2:50 the web via Google, use Facebook, listen to music on Spotify or buy on
Amazon, algorithms
2:57 feed you your preferred information diet. As long as you feel comfortable
squatting
3:02 in your comfort zone there will be only more of the same -- which is not
only boring but
3:07 also hinders you from evolving personally AND professionally. Remember how
you have
3:13 met your partner? What made you fall in love? Individuals and organisations
need disruptive
3:20 forces to move forward.
3:24 Use different search engines and delve into the netherworlds of the web!
But also, look
3:30 for relevant information of?ine. Talk to your real human friends about new
music, discuss
3:37 politics with strangers on a train. Go slumming in unknown communities! It
helps maintain
3:44 a well balanced information diet and leads to «serendipity» or «accidental
sagacity»:
3:50 pleasant surprises that evoke creativity and new ideas. The balance between
the known and
3:56 the unknown has always been the space of human innovation.
4:00 Three: The give and the take The digital world is a world of conversations.
4:07 But those conversations will dry out if no one is partaking in them. Of
course, if you
4:11 don't cast your vote the democracy still keeps running. And if you don't
answer Yahoo
4:16 questions or post an article on Wikipedia once in a while you will still be
able to
4:21 pro?t from them. But how much longer will it be possible to ask the
internet for advice,
4:27 to crowdsource and peer produce ideas and products if you keep acting like
a digital
4:32 couch potato?
4:33 A contribution on the web is similar to a handshake in real life. The more
we virtually
4:39 shake hands, the more we establish trust. That's not only true for the
individual
4:46 user: organisations can help boost trust as well: by clearly communicating
their terms
4:51 of business and privacy, by linking virtual and real life outlets; We use
your data and
4:59 you get the best offer. The balance in reciprocity!
5:03 Four: The private and the public Are you looking for a new job? Of course,
5:13 the HR manager in charge has long undergone a digital background check on
you. No need
5:20 to be a member of the NSA to follow your digital footprints. But Internet
users tend to confuse
5:27 the personal with the private. Personal pieces of information ARE the
Internet's lifeblood.
5:34 Thanks to them the Internet is a public well of storytelling, full of
explicit and implicit
5:40 knowledge. However, there are aspects in life that are not only personal
but also private.
5:49 Often, impulsive actions or devious privacy settings have horrible
consequences.
5:58 Become a storyteller, turn your online presence into a serial novel, a must
read for the people
6:04 you care about. But what consequences can I expect? When do I want the
curtains to be
6:11 closed? Check the privacy settings of your search engines and social
networks regularly!
6:17 And, most importantly, align your public and your private persona. Your
digital life is
6:23 not a twofold affair with two different selves but a balance in
authenticity.
6:29 Five: The On and the Off The digital realm IS a brave new world. Billions
6:38 of potential friends on facebook and quite a few interesting articles on
wikipedia. But
6:43 the Internet is also stressful and addictive. Checking your emails every 10
minutes? A new
6:49 tweet by Lady Gaga? Oh and look at this sweet little cat playing with a...
FOCUS! Choose
6:55 depth over breadth every now and then. Also, human beings love the concept
of social ambience.
7:03 Thanks to the internet we will never feel alone again! But these feelings
are deceiving.
7:09 Go to a real bar, get drunk, sob around in the dark. THIS is social
ambience.
7:16 Human kind has ALWAYS loved highlighting the downsides of new media.
Writing makes us stupid,
7:22 Plato said. Thanks to television, human kind has lost its moral values and
computer gaming
7:28 is the root of all evil. It's not THAT bad. But do ask yourself once in a
while: Is whatever
7:37 I am doing worthwhile? Does it relax or inspire me? Do I really need to
pull that cellphone
7:44 out of my pocket again? That's it. The ?ve dichotomies will free
7:49 you from digital stress and despair and allow you to be a focused,
respected and sociable
7:55 online citizen.
7:58 And by the way: Try pressing that little button in the upper right corner
once in a while.
8:03 Unplug. Get out of your digitalized mind and into your body. Turn it off.
Now.
Published on 17 Dec 2013
Duration 8:47
Computers, mobile phones and tablets open doors to the digital
world for us. How do we use this freedom without falling victim
to techno stress? This is what is shown by the fifth film in the
animation video series "Little Green Bags".
© University of St.Gallen (HSG)
Text by Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel (www.miriammeckel.de)
Production:
http://www.zense.ch
Academic Director: Prof. Dr. Thomas Beschorner
To watch the first "Little Green Bags" video on corporate social
responsibility (CSR), please go to
http://youtu.be/E0NkGtNU_9w
To watch the second "Little Green Bags" video on the ten myths
of entrepreneurship, please go to
http://youtu.be/G8gRkJ9cnzo
To watch the third "Little Green Bags" video on the energy
revolution, please go to
http://youtu.be/5lcgGs3UUg4
To watch the fourth "Little Green Bags" video on business model
innovation, please go to
http://youtu.be/B4ZSGQW0UMI
Learn more online:
http://bit.ly/17dU7pP
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