The radical act of slowing down in an optimization-obsessed world
Every company is screaming for our attention, but very few show that they’re paying attention to us. In this clip from You’re Not the Audience, Parliament Creative Director Calvin Ross Carl argues that attention, care, passion, and joy will become brand differentiators, and that craft, beauty, and taste are attention embodied. He makes the case that not every company needs to be fast, loud, or huge, and that choosing to do things your own way, even if it’s slower, is a radical act in a culture obsessed with efficiency. It’s from the You’re Not the Audience episode on beauty and attention, The Search for Beauty in the Age of Algorithms.
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Outline
Summary
Calvin Ross Carl admits there are no easy answers about technology right now. For designers, writers, and anyone who cares about aesthetics and meaning, it’s been a challenging time, as the attention economy rewards getting eyeballs to the next thing rather than meaningful engagement.
He sees an opening for brands. While every company competes for attention, few show that they pay attention to people. Calvin believes attention, care, passion, and joy will become differentiators, with craft, beauty, and taste as their most visible form. The brands that stand out may not be the fastest, loudest, or biggest, and that’s okay.
He closes on a personal note. Instead of meeting the moment with dread, he sees a radical act in saying no to efficiency and doing things his own way, even if it takes longer, because of the joy and fulfillment it brings. Brands, he suggests, can help their fans find that same joy.
Highlights
The attention economy rewards the next click, not meaningful engagement.
Few companies show they’re actually paying attention to people.
Craft, beauty, and taste are attention embodied.
Not every company needs to be a trillion-dollar company.
Doing things your own way can be a radical, joyful act.
Key insights
Giving attention beats grabbing it
In a market where everyone demands attention, the brands that demonstrate care for the person on the other end have room to stand out.
Slow and steady is a strategy
A focused lifestyle company that keeps doing what it does best can win over time without chasing speed or scale.
Technology should serve people
Parliament has been exploring how to communicate tech as a tool that gives people value, made by people who care, rather than the other way around.
Detailed analysis
The clip is more reflection than prescription, and Calvin says so. Its value is in reframing what success could look like. Business culture assumes everything must be faster, more efficient, and always growing, but those same pressures make it easier for a brand to stand out by feeling like another human was there.
Calvin also resists cynicism. Rather than treating the current moment as cause for complaint, he frames slowing down as a choice that brings fulfillment, one that brands can extend to their fans.
Conclusion
In an age of algorithms and infinite content, care and joy may be the most distinctive things a brand can offer. As Calvin puts it, it’s his motivational talk for the day, and a reminder that you can make things filled with joy.
Transcript
So, I guess, I don’t know. This is a lot of thoughts. I don’t have any answers on any of this stuff. There’s no answers to this. Oh god, I don’t know. I don’t want to be too dreary. We’re all in the middle of some really unknown territory when it comes to technology, and specifically as makers—especially as designers, writers, people who care about aesthetics and meaning. I think it’s been a really challenging time for folks, when the world has become about engagement in this attention economy, where it’s not about meaningful engagement. It’s just about how do we get an eyeball to go to the next one, to go to the next one, to go to the next one. And I feel like that’s been challenging for people, at least people like me who really care about slowing down and taking in the meaning of something that’s been made, and that’s definitely not how our attention economy is operating right now.
But I don’t know. Every company’s screaming for our attention right now, but very few are probably showing that they’re really paying attention to you. And I think there’s something in there that can be unlocked, and that’s going to be where there’s some kind of space where brands can start working. I think attention and care and passion and joy will become brand differentiators for a lot of different brands who really care about that human experience.
And I think craft, beauty, taste—they’ve always been at the heart of attention and care. Those are always interlocking, because craft, beauty, and taste are attention embodied. Physical or digital, we can feel it when that happens. So in the age of algorithms, efficiency, optimization, and infinite content, the brands that stand out might not be the fastest and loudest, and they might not be the biggest either. I think that’s okay. Not every company needs to be a trillion-dollar company. It’s okay if you’re just a good lifestyle company. Your slow and steady wins the race over time. You’ve got your focus. You don’t need to be fast and loud. You just keep doing what you do best.
So I think the ones that might start getting ahead in some of those areas are just the ones that feel like another human was there. We’ve been talking a lot in our office about how we communicate tech in a way that feels like it’s being made by people who actually care, and care about the person who’s on the other end and doing the making. This is going to be a continually evolving thing. I don’t know if I have any deep insights there, but I think it is to just communicate to people that people have value. The technology is a tool that helps give them value, as opposed to the other way around.
So I don’t know. I try desperately not to be too dread-filled with this. I’m a pretty far-left progressive in my politics, and it’s very easy to look at the world right now and be a drag. I feel like the people of my shared political interests are often, honestly, a little critical, a little annoying, a little whiny. And there are lots of things to be whiny about. So I’m trying to look at this and be like, I think it’s a pretty radical act to look in the face of efficiency and optimization and just say, no, I’m going to do it my way. It doesn’t have to be some grumpy thing. It’s just, I like doing things the way I like doing things. Maybe it’ll take longer. Maybe it’ll be slower. But I’ll experience a joy and a level of fulfillment that I wouldn’t otherwise get.
And I think that’s at odds with the way we think about business, corporate culture in general: it must always be faster, more efficient, keep growing. We’ve got to hustle, and we’ve got to hustle, I guess. But sometimes it’s worth remembering to just take a step back, experience the joy, and, as a brand, ask how do I help my fans find that joy as well? And I think that’s going to be the biggest way to stand out during all of this.
But anyway, that’s Calvin’s motivational talk for the day. I think this is really just me talking to myself, being like, “You can do it, Calvin. You can make things that are filled with joy.”