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Rob Walker on Immaterialism

By Allan Chochinov - May 2, 2009

in Design Business

Another great Consumed column in the Times tomorrow, with Rob Walker discussing the buying and giving of virtual artifacts on the net. Here's a taste:

As more of us live more of our lives in digital contexts, it seems plausible that immaterialism will become more common. Consuming things made of bits might sound weird, but actually it offers a lot of the same attractions that make people consume things made of atoms. Facebook's digital gifting is one relatively mainstream example. Consider the Fort Worth, Tex., company Alamofire. Its best-known creation is a Facebook application called Pack Rat. While nominally a game, it's really premised on a virtual version of the urge to collect things: in this case, the things are "cards" that are basically little pixel-pictures. The company calls its wares "digital collectibles."

Read the whole thing here, today!

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Rob Walker

15 years ago

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Thanks Allan -- always a gift to get a link from Core77. I real gift, not a virtual one.
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lucklucky

15 years ago

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"Some of us do think that designer labels will save our souls. That's bad. But it's a whole lot better than thinking that, say, the Fhrer will save your soul, or a crusade against the infidels, or nationalism, or a host of other collective salivations. When the inevitable disappointment from consumerism comes, it's a private tragedy. When the inevitable disappointment from a collective salvation comes, it's a national crisis inviting some new, possibly worse, collective salvation. Until humans learn the wisdom of angels, I will remain a great supporter of crass consumerism and conspicuous consumption."

Roger Koppl

http://thinkmarkets.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/three-cheers-for-crass-consumerism/
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