Watch out, digital transformation is coming after your… self
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been putting together some lectures and teaching materials touching, in one way or another, on digital transformation. Little wonder, of course, as this is one of the hottest topics for management students and practitioners right now. But, as usual, concepts appear in conversations on different topics, resurface with new meanings, begin to shine in other contexts, and before you realise, you end up talking with a colleague about the impact of digital on your favourite sport, all on Zoom of course.
Something similar happened to me when I mulled over Vial’s definition of digital transformation as “a process that aims to improve an entity by triggering significant changes to its properties through combinations of information, communication, and connectivity technologies”. One thought led to another, and I found myself applying this definition to… people. It suddenly occurred to me that our selves are these entities that undergo digital transformation. We are under this process that aims to improve us by making significant changes to how we, as people, are through all this technology. We are undergoing the digital transformation of the self. If you look at Vial’s paper, even the model on page 122 can be applied to any individual, with a bit of imagination.
But, just like with digital transformation in business, I felt that I needed to define these significant changes to properties in more detail. My reading of Vial led me to think that we can talk about digital transformation when it transgresses the boundaries of just one entity that is being transformed, but instead the process has much wider and broader effects. And the implications of the transformation go beyond just that one entity, often blurring the borders of organisations, leading to the emergence of platforms, ecosystems and other new creatures. Vial also points out that digital transformation needs a combination of digital technologies, for example a mix of analytics and mobile applications. Crucially though, digital transformation needs to result in a transformation of processes and the business model at the heart of the organisation. All this seems significant enough for me.
So what do I mean by significant changes in the digital transformation of the self? First of all, when I become digital, I can’t go alone, I usually drag my entire household into it too — we become digital because I transformed. I know all too many cases, including my own home, where one of the couple buys a smart watch or a fitness tracker for a justified reason, and the other gets one too within a day or two because… well because we’re now digital. Before you realise, your grandma is trying out Fitbit because she wants to know if she can beat your step count. And of course, all this is thanks to a combination of analytics and a wearable device.
But this brings another important point. The digital transformation of the self also blurs the boundaries of me as an entity. Digitally transformed, the self is no longer contained in a physical and mental shape as we know it. The digitally transformed self no longer has sharp boundaries, it becomes much more difficult to say clearly where it starts and where it ends. Is the data that’s collected on my watch a part of me? Is my mobile an extension of my memory and cognitive functions? Can I even leave the house without a mapping application?
This is crucial for me. Digital transformation in business resulted in melting down sharp boundaries and opening up space for much more open and encompassing formations, such as platforms. What if the digital transformation of the self can turn us into platforms? A smart business person would quickly jump at this idea and conceive a whole new ecosystem around person-as-a-platform. A more cautious observer would point out a few dangers and misfires that the platformisation of everything has already brought. Only a real bah humbug would grumble about the changing definition of what it means to be a person and scaremonger that we’re about to lose our humanity.
Now, more to the point, I’m still looking for a new business model for the digital me. Any ideas?
