To understand what constitutes experience and what has constituted experience throughout different eras of technology, I offer this timeline of what characterized and will characterize experiences throughout the major eras of recent and forthcoming technology. We are somewhere around the social-enabled and “smart” era, with elements of the “intelligent” era beginning to show up and legacy remnants of the previous eras still left behind.
Experience Timeline by Technology Era
|
platform? context? (not eras, because many overlap) |
analog (industrial/pre-industrial?) |
digital |
web-enabled |
social-enabled |
“smart”/connected data sources |
“intelligent”/AI |
fully virtual / ambient virtual |
|
characterized by |
solid state, tangible |
electronic, power-operated |
interlinked, global knowledge, global village |
social sharing, FOMO, FONS, selfie culture |
data tracking, anticipatory based on past behavior, algorithmic |
anticipatory based on externalities, secondary behaviors, cognitive cues, emotional indicators |
|
|
dominant eras |
??-?? (ongoing) |
19th century – ?? (ongoing) |
1990s – ?? (ongoing) |
2000s – ?? (ongoing) |
2010s – ?? (ongoing) |
2010/20s – ?? (ongoing) |
|
|
automation |
mechanical |
electronic |
interlinked |
social triggers |
algorithmic |
anticipatory |
|
|
dominant interface |
tactile |
tactile, impulse?, text |
desktop screen, text, images |
mobile screen, text, videos |
voice |
voice, gesture, ambient |
|
|
sensory interactions |
buttons, dials, levers, etc |
typing, mouse, visual cues |
typing, mouse, visual cues |
typing, touch, visual interactions |
buttons, keypads, visual displays, voice |
||
|
visual |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
|
tactile |
y |
y |
y |
||||
|
audio |
indicators |
indicators |
content |
content |
interactions |
Interactions, triggers |
ambient cues |
|
kinesthetic |
motion-powered |
gestures to trigger sensors |
gestures to interact |
||||
|
olfactory |
detect gas leaks, detect coffee smell |
simulate aromas? |
|||||
|
taste |
simulate taste? |
What does placemaking look like in each context?
What does business need to do to innovate in each?
What do meaningful human experiences look like in each context?
What is the future of meaningful human experience?
The future of meaningful human experience is multi-sensory, contextual, dimensional, integrated, intelligent, responsive, anticipatory, adaptive, and inclusive.
Last night, I stood in a room full of people celebrating books—human-authored books—at the Porchlight Business Book Awards ceremony. My book What Matters Next...
Today, as we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, it’s worth sitting with an uncomfortable truth: things feel hard right now. Not just...
Sometimes the most meaningful recognition comes not from what you’ve accomplished, but from confirmation that you’re addressing the right questions at exactly the right...
Leadership often requires making unpopular decisions that disappoint stakeholders in the short term. In my latest Fast Company article, I examine how strategic disappointment...
In a recent guest article for European Business Review, I examine a paradox: the human impact of technology decisions in professional settings stands at...
In a world where technology moves at breakneck speed and business cycles compress into quarters, leaders need strategic frameworks like the Now-Next Continuum to...
In a world moving increasingly fast, leaders need powerful tools to navigate uncertainty and make responsible decisions. The Questions-Insights-Foresights Model is a systematic framework,...
The following is an excerpt from What Matters Next, a new book due out in January 2025 by Kate O’Neill. Future-Ready, not “Future-proof” I...
One of the perks of being a lifelong sociolinguistics nerd (full disclosure: there aren’t that many) is when I can take notice of the...
The following is an excerpt from my latest book, A Future So Bright: How Strategic Optimism and Meaningful Innovation Can Restore Our Humanity and...
Much of the speculation about the so-called “Great Resignation” began after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that a record 4 million Americans had...
In A Future So Bright, I wrote about the opportunity for a brighter future for education. It’s critical to ensuring we meet United Nations...
By using this form you agree with our Privacy Policy and the storage and handling of your data by this website.
info@koinsights.com
27 W 60th St #20560
New York, NY 10023-9991
By using this form you agree with our Privacy Policy and the storage and handling of your data by this website.
© 2026 KO Insights. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy.
Made with love by Unicorn Designer Studio.
