It’s easy to do just about anything. The smartphone experience has become a window into the human journey. Connecting with others has become a click on LinkedIn or Facebook. The news is news if it excites and spurs a reaction. The truth is lost because it might not sell to a mass audience.

A simple click is the basic requisite for a frictionless consumer or commercial transaction. Automation separates the winners from the losers.

Speed wins and supposedly, increases wealth and wisdom. Maybe, there’s a workaround for speed. 🙂

The problem with speed in a consumer-driven world is that it leaves no time for planning and mindfulness. If our lives are run by on-demand apps that address our needs and impulses, what happens to the surroundings? What happens to the environment and planetary ecosystems? What happens to our health if we only consume food that is readily available — not what is healthy? What happens to relationships if we prioritize transactional deal-making for the sake of immediate value? What’s the point of having thousands of social media connections if there’s no time or interest for a follow-up?

In the age of big data and constant noise, what if we slowed down? What if we reflected on core human values and focused on building community capital? What if we looked closely at the products we consume to see how much damage is being done to our environment and to our health? What if we used technology to make the world a better place and not just as a platform to re-wire the mind?

What if we did less superficial networking and instead, joined forces to fix the world’s biggest problems? Trumponomics and the winner-take-all strategy can’t survive in the long run.

Right now is harder than it looks. This is an ode to Van Halen’s classic hit.