I went to see the Arctic Monkeys last night, and for the first time waited around after the show for autographs (something I’d never thought to do before). The Sharpie supply in the crowd was impressively low and I only managed to get my ticket signed by the lead singer and bassist, but it was still pretty cool. One fan had an iPad and got the band to sign using their fingers. They’d never encountered this before and were a little confused at first, but played along. It was a strange sight that got me wondering about the nature and future of keepsakes like autographs in our increasingly digital world. What is so special about getting something signed by an artist? Is it about the changed object you get, or the experience of interacting with someone who is normally out of reach? If it’s about the object, is there something less valuable about a digital signature, with its lack of physicality and reproducibility? This also came up recently at UX Book Club when I had Indi Young sign my copy of Mental Models, and others had only digital copies of the book and therefore nothing to sign. Could there be some analog* for ebooks, and would it come close to the value we instill in getting a physical book signed? *pun fully intended
Pop-upView Separately

I went to see the Arctic Monkeys last night, and for the first time waited around after the show for autographs (something I’d never thought to do before). The Sharpie supply in the crowd was impressively low and I only managed to get my ticket signed by the lead singer and bassist, but it was still pretty cool.

One fan had an iPad and got the band to sign using their fingers. They’d never encountered this before and were a little confused at first, but played along. It was a strange sight that got me wondering about the nature and future of keepsakes like autographs in our increasingly digital world. What is so special about getting something signed by an artist? Is it about the changed object you get, or the experience of interacting with someone who is normally out of reach? If it’s about the object, is there something less valuable about a digital signature, with its lack of physicality and reproducibility?

This also came up recently at UX Book Club when I had Indi Young sign my copy of Mental Models, and others had only digital copies of the book and therefore nothing to sign. Could there be some analog* for ebooks, and would it come close to the value we instill in getting a physical book signed?

*pun fully intended

9 Notes/ Hide

  1. uxjam posted this