Manifest Digital Human Experience Society

Symbol: Connect

Species: Glyph

Text: “To join, link, or fasten together; to unite or bind; to establish communication between; to have as an accompanying or associated feature; to cause to be associated, as in a personal or business relationship; to associate mentally or emotionally.” (American Heritage Dictionary) 

Interpretation: Frankly, we’re getting tired of hearing about it. We’re reminded every day that we live in an increasingly “connected” world. Powerful people are referred to as “connected” as if they came with outlets. As a verb in the social media space, it has become as ubiquitous and empty as “friend” and “follow.”

But the connections that underlie the digital age did not occur as a force of Nature. They were specific decisions made by human beings for particular ends. Some of them have paid off in spades, giving us tools we can use to make a new and better society. But others have been made carelessly or haphazardly, too late or too soon, without careful consideration of their relationship to the people that exist on the other end.

At Manifest, we regard the manifold connections of the digital space as a team of naturalists and engineers might regard a system of waterways. It’s true that a  single element connects the vast lakes and the tiny ponds, the roaring rivers and the quiet streams, the sparkling springs and the stagnant bogs. As good engineers, we revere the fluid of data that makes this whole thing work. We are aware of its potential to irrigate markets and empower human potential. But that doesn’t mean that a digital deluge is always desirable. Instead, we Connect judiciously, always aiming to serve all uses of the environment as best we can.

Commentary: “We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.” -Henry David Thoreau 

Connections: A concept whose proper use we feel the need to Protect. Transfer and Transition are often means of dealing with the consequences of Connect; Transform and Transcend help clients Connect before someone else does it for them.