Memory Memo vol. IV
Plane Scrolling
I have conducted hundreds of customer discovery interviews over the past few months as I build ‘memo’. I have learned so much about how people from all walks of life think about their memories.
I am now strong in the conviction that John Locke asserted in the 1600s - our memories determine our sense of self.
Recollections connect a thread between a person’s past with their present.
It may sometimes be unreliable, but a person’s memory is a creative expression of their personality.
There are certain common themes that have emerged through these interviews.
For example, how we all have way too many photos in our camera rolls, how we can be triggered by songs that take us back to very important moments in our lives, how memories are often formed with others, and how many of us miss the tangible reminders of past moments that we used to have with old-fashioned photo albums.
However, there is one consistent thread that appears in every interview.
People love to scroll through their camera roll when they are on planes.
For many, this is the only time that they look back on the plethora of photos on their phones. This is the time when they find the gems amongst the screenshots, the moments of nostalgia, the progressions of friendship, and the expressions of romance.
They also ideally need a transatlantic flight to sift through the thousands of photos in the shared album from that last trip away with friends, and the multiple copies of the same identical pose in front of the Eiffel Tower.
There are three reasons why people use flights in this way:
Planes are liminal spaces. We are suspended away from reality. This type of space makes us reflect and often think of change. Memories are formed in moments of change. We like to look back over our memories as they are markers of previous moments of change and reflect. This opportunity is offered by the liminality of the space, a luxury that we are not often afforded.
WiFi is often rubbish. We can’t watch Netflix, answer emails, or doom scroll Instagram. So, doom scrolling our photo library is the next best thing.
Sifting takes time. Now that we are not constrained by rolls of film, there is no cost in taking an additional photo; therefore, we are much less selective in our capture. This means curation is more important and significantly more time-consuming. Flights are one of the few times in our busy lives where we don’t feel guilty enjoying this beautiful form of nostalgia, reflection, and fun.
This insight led me to build ‘memo’. We are taking so many more photos, but we are losing all the stories behind these moments. They could be significant milestones like the first trip with your partner, or they could be trivial moments like laughing at a joke with a waiter in a bar.
We need a better way to capture, curate, and present our memories - so we can truly remember them, rather than rely on our patience sifting through a dump of content every time we fly Delta.
The promise of ‘memo’ is simple - making photos speak.
It enables you to record voice notes, giving context to moments that are captured through photos. These are then safely stored and categorized for you in your library of memories - ready for you to relive or share with others at any time.
We are building the world’s first memory company and creating a new artifact type to support a new world where we don’t lose the context of the moments we live in our lives.
We can preserve our sense of self, for ourselves, our friends, family, and future generations.