Following the tradition of Day of the Dead, we made an altar to some projects that are no longer with us but inspired ideas in modern times.
This month we will talk about a topic we have never discussed before: death. You've probably heard of the Day of the Dead tradition. If you're not from Latin America, possibly your only reference is the movie Coco(we've got our eye on you, Disney), so let us briefly explain.
The result of an explosive mix of European colonialism, religious imposition and pre-Hispanic customs, every November 2nd, the Day of the Dead or All Saints Day is celebrated at México , as a way to remember/honor the dead and those who have passed away.
Among many other traditions, it is customary to make an offering or altar for each family to remember their relatives. On a table they place their favorite photographs and dishes, candles, religious images and flowers. That night the spirits in question are expected to visit the altar and feed on what they once enjoyed in life.
Now, what does that have to do with failure? What do Fuckup Nights and Day of the Dead have in common?
It probably surprises you, but they are both Mexican - Juan Villoro, writer, made an interesting reflection on the origin of Fuckup Nights at México. And while we celebrate sharing stories of failure and Día de Muertos celebrates death, both topics could be considered taboo, uncomfortable and even controversial.
For Caitlin Doughty, a writer and funeral home director, there is a relevance to rituals around death; they are a way to "expose our grief to the disinfecting sunlight."
According to Caitlin, in many Western cultures, the only opportunity to experience mourning is in a cemetery, funeral home, church or hospital. An experience that we are not allowed to fully feel, full of uncomfortable obstacles and that can only be experienced once after a near-death episode. Rituals such as the Day of the Dead are a way of living and acknowledging grief without being shamed or judged, a collective mourning ritual that is lived in a healthy way.
In both death and failure there is grief and, to a greater or lesser extent, loss. An altar of the dead or a cathartic talk about your worst mistakes can be confronting but liberating experiences.
Following this practice and paying homage to our Mexican roots, this year we wanted to make our own altar of the dead. To pay homage to those projects that left, either because they arrived too early or because they were not ready for this world. Misunderstood good attempts that gave rise to greater things:
In 2012, a new social network emerged that changed the way content was shared. Vine was a novel platform that challenged its users to share videos of only 6 seconds.
In a short time Vine began to fill up with creative people, gathered followers and came to create content with up to 4 billion views. An opportunity that brands did not want to miss, paying up to 200 thousand dollars to influencers for a single video.
But despite being acquired by Twitter, other platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram imitated the formula of short videos, allowed flexibility of up to 60 seconds, generated partnerships with brands and celebrities and - most importantly - monetized content creators. Issues in which Vine, from the beginning, resisted.
By 2014, brands and creators began to move to other platforms with innovative possibilities to capitalize on content and their growing audiences. Vine began to decline and eventually, perish.
This space at the altar goes to Vine, which while it may not have been able to capitalize on the creativity of its format, would be very proud of Tik Tok and its ability to reinvent itself and monetize its growing popularity.
"If you're looking for photos, you go to Google, if you're looking to watch videos, you go to YouTube, but if you're looking for music, there's nowhere to go." That was the mindset of the creators of Grooveshark, one of the first music streaming platforms, launched in 2008.
All well and good up to this point, although there was a small detail: users were in charge of uploading their music files and sharing them with the world, which was not copyright compliant.
Despite its 20 million users and attractive features such as playback analytics, playlist creation and music collections, Grooveshark soon started to get into trouble. Although they signed a contract with EMI, the label ended up suing them for some irregularities, opening the door for new lawsuits to appear.
By 2015, Grooveshark faced a total demand of $736 million and shut down its portal to avoid paying it.
"We failed to secure copyright licenses for the vast amount of music on our platform. That was wrong. We apologize. Without reservation."
-The Grooveshark team
This space on the altar goes to Grooveshark, which although the way it offered music to its users was not the right one, it was certainly a good taste of what Spotify would later achieve in more legal and profitable ways.
Death in the business world comes not only in the form of bankruptcy, but also in the form of unviable projects.
It happened in 2005 when ESPN decided to take a step forward in the way they communicated and brought sports to the masses. From TV, they would jump to cell phones.
Contextualizing, in 2005 Sony Ericsson launched its first cell phone specialized in music, a collaboration with Walkman that drove everyone crazy, the concept of smartphone as we know it was far from appearing, they were just the first steps of the industry. Internet browsing on a cell phone was an ordeal.
ESPN came up with a mobile app when the concept of mobile apps was still somewhat non-existent. The challenge was complex. If today we have smartphones capable of installing applications, ESPN was selling an application with a cell phone included. And that, my friends, was the mistake.
While cell phones with sleeker, more innovative designs were already on the market, ESPN sacrificed hardware for software and came out with an unattractive phone with a $300 price tag and a $65 to $225 monthly service subscription fee.
The application had color photographs and videos, adapted to the screens of the time (something complex to achieve at the time), along with instant information on the latest in sports. Unfortunately, the design and the cost of maintenance ended up burying the product before it had even been on the market for a year.
"Your phone is the stupidest dumbest idea I've ever heard."
-Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs told the then president of ESPN, after the resounding failure, and a few months before introducing his flagship product, the iPhone.
This space on the altar goes to the ESPN phone, which although it left this world very early due to its lack of practicality and design, was an idea that anticipated the future of smartphones and mobile applications. Although at the time the ESPN phone was an embarrassing chapter, today several members of the company recognize it as an important stepping stone to what is today its mobile application for smartphones, with more than 72.5 million users.
In this small offering are just a few of the hundreds of similar cases that exist. Proof that there is life beyond failure. While in some cases this one represented bankruptcy, the duality between failure and innovation gives us a clue to conversations worth having.
To look failure in the face, to recognize it as part of life, to make peace with our imperfection and open the doors to attempts. Something like accepting the duality between life and death and enjoying every day of our existence.
Who else would you put on our altar of the dead this year?
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Let's transform our perception of failure and use it as a catalyst for growth.
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