Last week, IU’s New-Media expert Christian Briggs tried to enlighten me on the ontological and psychological aspects of “immediacy” & “Hyper- immediacy” but as you can make out from the big words it took me some time to come up to speed. The points he made were still confusingly fresh when I saw:

The video just hit he nail on the head. So I deduced my own layman definition of Immediacy & hyper-immediacy, for designers:

All interaction is though a medium. We seek the interactions to be immediate, for achieving this we try to reduce the need for a medium. The lesser the dependence on a medium – the more “immediate” is the interaction . Eventually the goal is to achieve hyper-immediate (no medium required) interaction.
What Zong is trying to do here is two fold:

• Reduce the number of steps involved ( one always remembers the phone number; a credit-card has to be found in the wallet at the other end of the room.)
• You no longer have to travel the psychological distance of giving out the credit card to the infinite web. ( I know, I know. There are issues with giving out the phone number too – but I hope you get the point of : medium, distance & immediacy.)

If you want an even simpler definition – My designer friend in Dubai always said “I design for my lazy self.”

Daily Need to prove my Sanity : I have unexpectedly become a social media misfit at a  traditional consumer marketing & life sciences powerhouse. As people say “destiny/god works in mysterious ways” I wouldn’t be where I am had it not been for the innocent concern of my Kelley classmates . Everyday I have to prove to them that my love for social media is not me falling for a fad. Had I been surrounded by believers somewhere in California I wouldn’t be as well versed in my field of choice.

Mid-western flexibility:  If you are passionate about something, Kelley will figure out a way to help you accomplish it. The  MBA program chair Prof. Phill Powell truly represents the flexible and down to earth nature of the faculty and staff at Kelley (Although he is a southerner, lets don’t go into the details here). His emotionally charged leadership style has been a steady source of inspiration for students in this tough job market.

Bloomington : Any one talking about Kelley cant leave Bloomington out; its a town which at first glance feels too small to fall in love with . But it turns out to be a city as liberal and diverse as San Fransisco, at Midwestern prices ( $$$) what more can a turban sporting impoverished MBA student ask for !

Team spirit – a cure for my bipolar disorder : If there is one thing that stands out for Kelley, its “Teamwork” which is an integral part of all activities here. When one is down and out the team doesn’t let it be so . In the same vein one is entrusted with responsibility towards the team. These are valuable relationship lessons that I don’t think I could get any place else.

Lastly the phenomenon called Prof. Wayne Winston : I am am a designer, with a serious aversion for Microsoft Excel . But the spreadsheet wizardry that he imparts, lets me boast my analytic skills without shame.

Go Hoosiers !