Some objects carry the trace of everyone who's cared about them, and it only happens in the analog world. Plus, the return of location in culture, the death of PlayStation discs, stand-up, and more!
I think you'd agree that aura is, in part, why we see continuing trends towards analog elements in a highly digital world. One could argue that NFTs, whatever criticism one may have of them, are an attempt to bring aura to the digital world. I even think you could view things like a Substack post as having an aura via comments just like this. Maybe it isn't the right word, but in terms of your line that "an object’s aura is the byproduct of attention that more than one person has paid to that object," one could argue that a well engagement of digital post is dripping with aura.
Thanks so much for reading and for reaching out with your thoughts. I think it's fair to argue that NFTs are an attempt to bring aura into the world, particularly since provenance is at the heart of both NFTs and physical objects with aura. I don't, however, think that it is a particularly successful attempt. The thing about physical objects is that they're relatively easy to stumble upon, particularly when rifling through a box or looking over a bookshelf. Physical objects jut out into the world, while digital objects tend to lie in wait for us to make a decision to find them.
Digital things can have aura. For example, when my brother died young, we made a slideshow of his life for the memorial and displayed it on the Roku box in my parents' TV room. Long after the memorial, if the Roku screen was idle then after a while the slideshow would pop up... with varying emotional impact. That's an example of digital aura, but part of what gives it aura is that it asserts its presence in the real world.
That Roku box broke, and I haven't restored the slideshow on the new one, so every time the screensaver pops up and it's just the fish tank, I'm a bit surprised. I don't know if my folks have noticed.
I think you'd agree that aura is, in part, why we see continuing trends towards analog elements in a highly digital world. One could argue that NFTs, whatever criticism one may have of them, are an attempt to bring aura to the digital world. I even think you could view things like a Substack post as having an aura via comments just like this. Maybe it isn't the right word, but in terms of your line that "an object’s aura is the byproduct of attention that more than one person has paid to that object," one could argue that a well engagement of digital post is dripping with aura.
Hi Matthew,
Thanks so much for reading and for reaching out with your thoughts. I think it's fair to argue that NFTs are an attempt to bring aura into the world, particularly since provenance is at the heart of both NFTs and physical objects with aura. I don't, however, think that it is a particularly successful attempt. The thing about physical objects is that they're relatively easy to stumble upon, particularly when rifling through a box or looking over a bookshelf. Physical objects jut out into the world, while digital objects tend to lie in wait for us to make a decision to find them.
Digital things can have aura. For example, when my brother died young, we made a slideshow of his life for the memorial and displayed it on the Roku box in my parents' TV room. Long after the memorial, if the Roku screen was idle then after a while the slideshow would pop up... with varying emotional impact. That's an example of digital aura, but part of what gives it aura is that it asserts its presence in the real world.
That Roku box broke, and I haven't restored the slideshow on the new one, so every time the screensaver pops up and it's just the fish tank, I'm a bit surprised. I don't know if my folks have noticed.
Again, thanks!