Seth Michael Larson: Connection without Connectivity (#1: Space)

Feeling connected to others is a basic human need, so it is no surprise we want software to enable human connection. The surprise is that despite computing device ownership and internet usage being at an all-time high, feelings of loneliness have also never been higher.

The shape of today's “software for connection” uses centralized servers in the cloud, algorithmic curation, and incentives optimized for users to connect with the platform (aka “engagement” and “parasociality”), not necessarily with other humans. Software for connection has followed in the same rut created by big tech, as can be seen in protocols, browsers, and infrastructure.

The software we have today feels like a tiny fraction of what should be possible in a world full of people with personal computing devices in their pockets. There's no problem with a well-traveled road (it's the road that led you here, after all ❤️), but maybe you'll join me for a walk down a less-traveled path to explore how software can connect people outside the common paradigms and what assumptions and restrictions we can drop to enable different methods of connection.

Sharing spaces, not concurrently

This first article is about space, a place where people can convene and feel togetherness. Spaces can be large or small, public or private, or somewhere in between.

Sharing a space with others, not necessarily at the same time, can evoke feelings of connection by experiencing changes to the space that others have made. By making your own changes to a shared space, you are connecting to others in the future.

Animal Crossing didn't support any kind of concurrent multiplayer, but that didn't stop the game from feeling like a multiplayer experience. In the game, players would collect bugs and fish, decorate their house, and plant trees and flowers. The many animal villagers that lived in the town would “remember” past conversations with other players, making the world feel more alive.

Because each player shared the same space with other players, everyone can see the changes made to the town over time. Katsuya Eguchi remarked on Animal Crossing being a shared space for his family to connect across time:

“[My family is] playing games, and I'm playing games, but we're not really doing it together. It'd be nice to have a play experience where even though we're not playing at the same time, we're still sharing things together. ...[I wanted] to create a space where my family and I could interact more, even if we weren't playing together.”

What does this mean for modern software? From this we learn that concurrency is not needed to feel connected. Today's internet-connected software typically requires a persistent connection, often because data doesn't exist on the same hardware that's running the software.

Requiring a persistent connection presents accessibility problems: internet access isn't distributed evenly throughout the world. Even in places where internet connectivity is common, a persistent connection isn't always possible (airplanes, subways, tunnels, inside a building, infrastructure outage).

Removing the need for real-time synchronization and data access means that internet-connectivity becomes optional. Users can then engage and create with the software at any time, regardless of connectivity. This empowers the user to weave the software into their own life and schedule at an engagement level that works for them.

Future articles will discuss more implications for software for connection where connectivity is optional. If you've enjoyed this article it's likely you'll enjoy the others, I hope you'll follow along for more. Thanks for reading!