The Revenge of Analog

December 6, 2019 4:22 PM - by David Sax

A funny thing happened on the way to the digital utopia. We've begun to fall back in love with the very analog goods and ideas the tech gurus insisted that we no longer needed. Businesses that once looked outdated, from film photography to brick-and-mortar retail, are now springing with new life. Notebooks, records, and stationery have become cool again. Behold the Revenge of Analog.

I mean, vinyl is not going to become a major player in music distribution again, but it has grown back up to a noticeable niche. Camera film sales are growing too.

Moleskin notebooks and Palm Pilot debuted in the same year. Only one is still a major player in its niche.

Personally, I went back to Field Notes for todo lists and capturing ideas, etc. Its working better than any digital system I tried, and I tied them all.

posted by COD (2 comments total)

"The general pattern of much of the book is to present niche enterprises and activities that have grown or remained strong in the face of the digital Leviathan. Sometimes this is a great comfort: I like to think of new bookstores opening, and of the board game geeks so colorfully described in his “revenge of board games.” An overriding leitmotiv is certainly the manifestation of a deep human desire for activities presenting a live three-dimensional experience involving our senses as well as interaction with other humans: bookstores where we can touch, weigh, maybe even smell the product and talk with someone browsing the same section; stores where we might make an unexpected discovery of a book, much as we do in a library."

Thanks, COD; I hadn't heard of this book, and will now go find it.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:35 PM on December 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

Neat, just put it on my wishlist for Christmas.

I just went to a gallery opening yesterday of all analog film photography and filmmaking. A few of the artists were older but most were Millennial so it's definitely a thing.
posted by octothorpe at 3:33 PM on December 7, 2019