First Word, Last Word, and the Gartner Hype Cycle

The Gartner Hype Cycle (GHC) is built on the idea that a piece of technology has an ongoing life cycle. While the premise of First Word/Last Word Art (FW/LW) shares with GHC the notion that each type of art/technology has a starting point, the two seem to disagree on the idea of ending.

The closest thing GHC has to an ending is a plateau, which signifies that a piece of technology has become commonplace. FW/LW stipulates that there can be a definitive end through an object that is the best of its kind and can stand the test of time. It is possible that GHC’s “Plateau of Productivity” may be where Last Word Art makes its appearance.

But what of production? Occasionally an object can encompass FW/LW all by itself. More commonly, a way of working, whether art, tech, or tech-art, must be developed over a period of time. During this period, it is necessary for a piece of technology to pass through the “Trough of Disillusionment” before it becomes a part of every-day life. By engaging with a given technology at the lowest point in its life cycle, one accelerates the rate at which it becomes improved through the “Slope pf Enlightenment”, and commonplace through the “Plateau of Productivity”. This necessary “push” may account for Jack Schulze’s preference for working in the “Trough”.

On a personal note, I find new ways of working most interesting when they are at the “Slope of Enlightenment”: The way of working is common enough that there is significant variation, but not so common that it has developed a piece of Last Word Art, which goes hand in hand with reaching the “Plateau of Productivity”.