Totemic Gadgets.

 

I carry a plain Moleskine notebook for over three years now. In it I write ideas that I later use for stuff to create.

It is a notebook. You know. The one you use with a pen. But I need to emphasize that it is a “Moleskine”. Not just any other notebook.

You see, this black cover with a strap band around it, is too expensive to be just another notebook. It is a statement.

“Moleskine® is a brand that encompasses a family of nomadic objects dedicated to our mobile identity…”

Nomadic. Mobile identity. Oh yeah. That is me. Or more specific, it is a part of my identity I would like to develop.

The notebook … sorry … Moleskine is a cue. It is an object that actually reinforces that part of my identity by using it.

Seeing the cue is a reminder.

Same goes for the MacBook I am writing this blog post on. Every MacBook has a bright Apple logo to beam the creative identity. Sometimes you beam it just to convince yourself.

Same goes for the Flipcam I carry. I can record movies of everything every time with this little video camera. I don’t. But I could. I am prepared.

I was looking for a name for all these gadgets.

And than I read this article: “Has The Age Of Totemic Gadgets Passed?"

Yes. That is it. Totemic gadgets.

And from this article, I ended up browsing a website called “Everyday Carry“. Pictures of the things people have in their pockets, just to be prepared.

Moleskines. Victorinox knives. Crazy watches. Firearms (huh?).

It is not just about the gear. ” ….it is a lifestyle, discipline, or philosophy of preparedness.“

I wonder what a Project Manager would carry.

Bas de Baar is a writer who draws about people in transition. He loves to make visual maps and travel guides for the collaborators of our brave new world.