I'm a big fan of annual contracts versus the whole wedding model. As your next anniversary approaches you review your contract and decide to re-up with the same terms, make changes, or dissolve the marriage.
Not to dog pile, just to affirm what jacquesm is saying. Remember, what you do consciously is what you end up doing unconsciously when you're distracted.
Here is a hypothetical: A loved one is being hauled away in an ambulance and it is a bad scenario. And you're going to follow them. Your mind is busy with the stress, trying to keep things cool while under pressure. What hospital are they going to, again? Do you have a list of prescriptions? Are they going to make it to the hospital? You're under a mental load, here.
The last thing you need is to ask "did I use my turn signal" as you merge lanes. If you do it automatically, without exception, chances are good your mental muscle memory will kick in and just do it.
But if it isn't a learned innate behavior, you may forget to while driving and cause an accident. Simply because the habit isn't there.
It's similar for talking to bots, as well. How you treat an object, a thing seen as lesser, could become how a person treats people they view as lesser, such as wait staff, for example. If I am unerring polite to a machine with no feelings, I'm more likely to be just as polite to people in customer service jobs. Because it is innate:
Watch your thoughts, they become words; Watch your words, they become actions.
One of the benefits of being immersed in model usage is being able to spot it in the wild from a mile away. People really hate when you catch them doing it and call them out for it.
I have no brand loyalty, hero worship, religion, sports or team in particular, and my hobbies are my own. I have no problem sharing my opinions, but I didn't do stickers, posters, band shirts, or anything like that growing up and still don't. And I heavily agree with the office space reference. Plus, it feels distinctly un-corporate or business professional to allow company devices to be branded in such a way.
And with all of that being said, this hn article has me ruminating on what people are declaring with these things, and my takeaway is that it is a form of tribal expression. Whether it is a "I work with tech stacks" or media entertainment they prefer on their own time, it is a way to find like-minded people and share perhaps some whimsy or at the very least make their laptop distinguishable from the other thousand plus in their organization. Much like how all crossovers are nearly identical in a parking lot, so too are the numerous HP/Macs/what-have-you sitting on everyone's desk. Much like changing the wallpaper away from a corporate logo, if allowed, you're making that piece of equipment more "yours". Much like ricing your terminal.
If the company culture allows this and you see senior staff doing it, in a way it is in your favor to follow the trend - just to say, I see what's going on and I will join in to show my affiliation with this company's culture. It also gives you a chance to say "this is my tribe" and influence people, one way or another. And face it, a blank laptop lid is also a form of expression, whether you intend for it to be or not. So embrace it if allowed, rebel if it isn't allowed and see who follows suit or complains, or don't embrace it. It's a choice you make even if you do not play along.
And to be frank, in our current climate, politics is very important. One side uses their freedom of speech to suppress others and has more branding on their vehicles and toolboxes than a Lisa Frank notebook binder from the 80s. This as a form of intimidation, as well as expression. I think there should be more political stickers. For every "Don't Tread On Me" there should be a counter "We Will Tread Where There Is Inequality".
I know the argument, "there is no need for politics in the workplace", but companies are more political than any individual, as they contribute campaign fiances to both parties, thanks to Citizens United. If they don't want politics at work, they should take their work out of politics.
Edited to Add: Sticker Bombing has strong Punk roots. And few things are more punk than putting politics where corporations may not like it; directly in their face. Now, whether or not sticking bombing your laptop lid is still punk is debatable, but you cannot deny its roots.
I also get people want to personalise stuff. I drive an old 4x4 and modded it (nothing too crazy), and I am planning on getting an Armstrong MT-350 if I can find one. Each one will require me actually doing work on the vehicles.
> And to be frank, in our current climate, politics is very important.
I heard that 20 years ago when I was in my early 20s. Everyone claims it is of the upmost importance at <current time>. Even if it was, putting a sticker on a laptop isn't going to change it.
You are indeed correct. I'm the type of person who watches movies once and rarely goes back to re-watch them. But there are just a few things I truly wish to support and will go back and enjoy years later.
I went from a 0 movie collection to buying a higher end Blu-Ray player and purchasing UHD movies. Which is deeply ironic because I'm losing the ability to purchase movies locally with stores like BestBuy discarding them to Wal-Mart only having a few and none I wish to own.
Nothing I hate more than "where can I watch X" and the response is "you can't".
I've completely avoided Chrome/Edge in the browser wars. I went from Netscape to IE to Firefox and stayed there. I was using it before and after its notorious changes to WebExtensions API breaking many plugins in 2017.
I don't have any crashing issues with it.
I even remember the great "speed test" wars where pages like Lifehacker were measuring how long pages took to load and declared this or that browser the winner for that year.
That being said, the direction their privacy policy is going is concerning and giving me reason to eye alternatives. But from a technical standpoint it's solid on my end.
