Using Your Paracosm
I posted this morning on some tools that can help us build better web platforms. Fun stuff. But I was not totally happy with it. The model is too complicated. Too many elements. This complexity takes away the magic. And that is a big problem. Because great platforms — like great parties — generate great magic. So how to get the magic back?
I was lucky to bump into another word that helps pull all of the elements together. and presto! Here it is - paracosm. Seth Godin posts about using paracosms today. He writes
A paracosm is an ornate, richly detailed imaginary world. Whether you’re a three-year old with imaginary playmates, or a passionate inventor imagining how your insight will change just about everything, a paracosm gives you the opportunity to hypothesize, to try out big ideas and see where they take you.
My mirror neurons are bleeping! Seeing an ornate, richly detailed imaginary world works as a precursor to fitting into a better real world. Platforms need to “pull” us into a paracosm to work. Here is a fun example of a video that pulls us into a paracosm.
Enjoy! … It appeared to be a ship, but then it vanished.