We shape our products and our products shape us

As early adopters we’re not only the most passionate about technology but also the most wary of it’s potential impact.

We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us. – Marshall McLuhan

As product people we are responsible. We are responsible for the ramifications of the decisions that we make. But we don’t talk enough about the consequences and impact of the behaviours that we are creating and promoting.

The technical properties of a medium shape social practice, and if the resulting social practice is harmful, it’s the medium that is at fault. – Bret Victor

We can’t just blame the medium itself, because human hands created that medium. Josh argues that we have to pay attention and be mindful of the products that we’re building, and what effect it might have on our users.

We are called to be the architects of the future not its victims. – R. Buckminster Fuller