Digital Citizen Fastmail

On the final episode of season two of the Digital Citizen podcast, JiaJia Fei talks to Fastmail CTO, Ricardo Signes, in this special extra-long conversation. They discuss how museums and the art world have changed in the past few years and how they may continue to evolve.
JiaJia Fei is a Digital Strategist working at the intersection of digital marketing, web, social media, art, and culture. She has been featured in Vanity Fair and Vogue and has worked in digital marketing for 15 years for organizations, including the Guggenheim Museum and the Jewish Museum. Now, she runs her own digital media agency working with clients in the art world to help broaden their audience.
▶️ Guest Interview - JiaJia Fei
Learn more about JiaJia Fei Follow JiaJia on Twitter: @VAJIAJIA 🗣️ Discussion Points
Museums are essentially repositories for telling stories. It is the job of a museum to interpret why objects have value and help visitors better understand them. Many museums are beginning to put effort into digitizing their collection for people from all over the world to enjoy. It is the job of museum technologists to speak the language of art and technology. Many activities which existed as analog, such as shopping and watching films, have quickly adapted to the digital world. However, the art world has moved very slowly into the tech space. JiaJia believes that this is largely due to the fact that art as a whole is largely experiential and requires an in-person experience. The most interesting project JiaJia saw during the pandemic was the MET and the Getty putting all of their images online for the video game, Animal Crossing. This allowed players of the game to interact with the artwork in an environment totally outside of the museums. Ultimately, this encouraged interactive digital experiences. At the beginning of social media, museums were hesitant to participate because of the protection of their images. It is the responsibility of museums in the digital world to be the steward and authority when it comes to the digital representations of art. The more museums fear reproduction, the more bad images are likely to reproduce on the internet. Thus, institutions need to share images of the artwork they house online. The most important thing the art world can do is improve access to their collection for everyone. As consumers of culture, it is important that people continue to support them and their work. ⭐️ Takeaways
Don’t be afraid to try new artistic experiences. Digital technology gives us new ways of engaging with art which we should all try out and see how we feel about them. If you have a favorite cultural institution, check out their social media. It can be a great way to engage more expansively with their collection, hear about new openings and events, and find out about new institutions you might not have heard of on your own. Museums exist to preserve pieces of our culture and the stories that accompany them. If you aren’t taking the time to visit the museums around you, virtually or in-person, you should. You will likely be surprised by what you learn about the greater world and the place where you live! 🔵  Find Us
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On this episode of the Digital Citizen podcast, Arielle Yoder and Zack Fine of Recess talk to Fastmail CTO and COO, Ricardo Signes and Helen Horstmann-Allen, about how to foster connections within the remote workplace.
Hear about how Recess partners with companies to help them integrate play through a series of games that help the team feel more connected.  Arielle and Zack explain the importance of team-building for both in-person and remote teams, the phenomenon of Zoom fatigue and why the transition to work from home early in the pandemic was so difficult, and how companies can foster positive work environments for their staff by investing in their wellbeing.
▶️ Guest Interview - Recess
Learn more about Arielle Yoder Learn more about Zack Fine Learn more about Recess 🗣️ Discussion Points
Arielle and Zack have a background in theater, and they founded Recess with this background in view. They had tools to help people have fun and connect more. As the pandemic wore on, they began applying principles of “ensemble building” in the corporate space. As in theater, in the office ensemble building involves building something from the ground up, developing trust, and quickly becoming a family. The building process can be done using play. In the workplace, the building will ideally result in a more unified team and a stronger work culture. The COVID-19 pandemic changed Zoom from a tool used alongside in-office connections to the central medium of corporate life. Gone was water cooler conversation and the casual, organic interactions it facilitated. In this new environment, as 2-D experiences of people became the norm, it was more difficult to engage on a personal level with coworkers. Work took on a new tiring and reductive element. Recess offers a different way to engage in an online space, specifically using play to help people relate in different ways and ultimately restore a sense of connection between teams and team members. The work of Recess is helpful for companies operating on a remote basis, but it’s also useful for companies that have resumed working in-person. One particular part of work life that Arielle and Zack love to be involved with is the onboarding process, as they find that Recess can ease the transition into a new and unfamiliar environment, help new employees get to know others in the workplace, and give these employees a sense of the company’s investment in their social wellbeing. Arielle and Zack also appreciate that the task they help to accomplish is, in a manner of speaking, bigger than them and their company. Different things appeal to and resonate with different people. Recess may not be for everyone. But the goal of Recess, to see people receiving the personal investment they need, should be a driving goal of company leaders. Employees will, by and large, be happier and stay longer if they see leaders investing the extra time and money to address their individual needs as people outside of their output as workers. Arielle and Zack urge leaders to make their employees feel as human as possible, and to take an individualized approach to doing this. ⭐️ Takeaways
Remote work doesn’t have to mean disconnected work. There are many ways for organizations to build community among a remote workforce, but they have to work at it. It doesn’t just happen! Activities that work in an in-person world don’t always translate well over Zoom. So before you organize your next Zoom happy hour, think about what you can do to foster more connection between the people there — maybe by incorporating games or setting up breakout rooms. You want to find ways for people to connect that aren’t just doing work, ways that let people from different teams who might not naturally connect during the work day talk to each other. Play can be a great way to welcome new hires to the team and make them feel included. Ultimately, building a connected company culture require

On this episode of the Digital Citizen podcast, Arielle Yoder and Zack Fine of Recess talk with Fastmail CTO Ricardo Signes about their company, Recess, and the methods they use to bring the benefits of play to the virtual workplace. You’ll also hear snippets from Rik and Fastmail COO, Helen Horstmann, about how Fastmail brings play into the workday in practical ways!
 
Meet Arielle and Zack and learn how their respective theater backgrounds lead them to create Recess, a company that integrates play into the workday through a series of games designed for the online workplace. Arielle and Zack will share the importance of finding joy through play as an adult and explore the psychological benefits of doing so. They will also discuss how participating in activities like Recess can be a different experience for each person, especially focusing on how they encourage reluctant people to participate.
▶️ Guest Interview - Recess
Learn more about Arielle Yoder Learn more about Zack Fine Learn more about Recess 🗣️ Discussion Points
Arielle and Zack started Recess early in the COVID-19 pandemic as a way of bringing play into the workday, and the company is founded on their conviction that play should be an integral part of every day - even for adults. Used in workplaces, play increases productivity, the ability to connect with others, and even general well-being. Neuroscientific studies have demonstrated the positive impact of play on the brain, and Zack and Arielle explain how play improves focus and adaptability, and fits with the biological legacy of humans as social primates. Arielle and Zack try to structure Recess sessions based on their specific clients, and they visit the clients before holding a session in order to get a feel for the company dynamic. A typical session, though, will include a warmup, a brain teaser, moments for one-on-one connections among colleagues, soft skills, and something funny to conclude the event. Recess aims to provide both a personalized and well-rounded session, often taking and utilizing elements from Arielle and Zack’s theater backgrounds. A session might include mime, improv, drawing, trivia, or any number of other activities. Understandably, not every team or every person is initially comfortable with the idea of bringing silliness into the workplace. If in getting to know a group before a session, Arielle and Zack notice reticence, they will try to start the session by leaning into silliness in a simple and easy way. With this gentle start, the room will often start to warm up quickly with a desire to play more. Arielle also finds that the idea of silliness more than the experience of it tends to spark reticence. Most people, once they get into a session, will have fun! Arielle and Zack hope that they as facilitators can take the burden of responsibility away from company leaders, helping to create light and playful cultures in the companies. They love to see bits of fun stick with an organization, knowing that the team is reaping the benefits of play and improved work culture in the long term. When it comes to being better digital citizens, Arielle and Zack first warn listeners that, in digital relationships, it can be easy to lose the simple aspects of human connection and find that people become merely 2-D in our minds. Their aim to create a feeling of human-to-human connection through theater points to our broader need for opportunities for human connection separate from work. We should, they urge, recognize that there are multiple parts of the self that are not all devoted to the workspace. ⭐️ Takeaways
Play is something for everybody. Scientists have shown that play is good for your brain, so you should go for it and experience the benefits. You should remember in your online interactions, you want to center connectedness with other people. You’re there to have common communication with these other people, and that’s what you wa

On this episode of the Digital Citizen podcast, Dan Rhoton, Executive Director of Hopeworks, talks to Fastmail CTO, Ricardo Signes, about the mission of Hopeworks and their trauma-informed approach to teaching.
 
Hear about how Hopeworks helps young people enter the workforce and the “Aha!” moments that many program participants experience. Dan also discusses Hopeworks’ trauma-informed training and what can be done at a larger scale to address some of these issues associated with poverty.
▶️ Guest Interview - Dan Rhoton
Learn more about Dan Rhoton Learn more about Hopeworks 🗣️ Discussion Points
Hopeworks is located in Camden, New Jersey, and works with young adults aged 17-26. These young adults enter the program unemployed and leave the program making roughly $43,000 per year, and 80% of them are still working 12 months later. The program begins with training including the technical, social, and emotional skills needed for success. After the training stage, participants enter jobs at Hopework’s own suite of web design services to build their portfolio. Dan believes that what makes Hopeworks so successful is the fact that they recognize that a technical certification may get someone a job, but that doesn’t mean they will keep it. They really emphasize helping their people heal and become more emotionally healthy, ready for the challenges of the world, and knowing how to ask for help. The trauma-informed approach at Hopeworks means that they know that people have been hurt, and it will be harder for them to succeed if they never deal with that hurt. Hopeworks has figured out that the solution to poverty is money. They have decided that if they can help people experiencing poverty get the tools they need to make it into high-wage and high-growth fields, many of the problems associated with poverty start going away. This, for Dan, has been one of the most exciting things to observe in his role. They have even had participants go off to begin their own tech businesses and come back to Hopeworks to hire their first employees. When many of the young people begin at Hopeworks, they are consumers of technology but don’t actually understand it enough to solve their own problems. When they leave Hopeworks, they understand that technology is a force that can be used to solve problems. Dan believes it is very important that the people who understand and control technology are not the ones with lots of money who don’t understand the needs of the world. ⭐️ Takeaways
There are lots of organizations doing similar work to Hopeworks. Determine the change you want to make happen and then find out who you can work with to make it happen. Technology is a means to an end, but you have to target the right end. If you’re someone who builds technology, it’s important to ask yourself if what you’re building serves the people who will be using it. 🔵  Find Us
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On this episode of the Digital Citizen podcast, Hopeworks graduate Kayondra Garrison talks to Fastmail CTO Ricardo Signes, continuing the conversation about Hopeworks by talking about her experience as a program participant.
 
Hear about Kayondra’s experience at Hopeworks. Learn about the important skills young people should develop when they are looking for a job in technology, how technology learning to build technology can change your relationship with the technology we use every day, and what it means to have hope and overcome fear to find success.
▶️ Guest Interview - Kayondra Garrison
Learn more about Kayondra Garrison Learn more about Hopeworks 🗣️ Discussion Points
Kayondra describes Hopeworks as a place you come to with hope and make it work. It is a revolutionary organization for its time that is far ahead of what the modern-day workplace should look like. It helps people connect the dots, with motivation and drive and everything else under the sun. Previously, Kayondra was a student at Hopeworks. Now, she works a remote job as a Benefits Outreach Specialist helping clients apply for public benefits. As a student at Hopeworks, one of the most important lessons Kayondra learned was that if at first you don’t succeed, you should try again. She also learned that there are people you can meet in a professional atmosphere who genuinely care for you. She discovered what it means to work hard on a daily basis, and that positivity goes a long way. Kayondra emphasizes that everyone’s journey at Hopeworks looks different because everyone specializes in different things. As a motivational speaker, Kayondra specializes in soft skills and interacting with younger people. Her goal is to help people succeed in whatever way is succeeding for them and to conquer their fears. She shares that fear is only false evidence appearing real, which can be applied to any scenario in life. Success opportunities are everywhere, but we have to overcome the fear of trying new things first. Of all the training offered at Hopeworks, Kayondra believes one of the most valuable skills is learning how to code your own website. She also thinks learning presentation skills, time management, working with different types of people, and networking were key to her success. She shares her hope that people will live in the real world more rather than on social media. ⭐️ Takeaways
Sometimes it’s important to take a step back from social media and live in the moment. Don’t undervalue interpersonal skills. If you want to succeed, even in tech, it’s not just technical skills that lead you to success. Building a strong foundation of interpersonal skills is a huge part of making yourself employable and successful in the current job market. Overcoming the fear that something isn’t going to work out, or that you might not be good at something, is the first step towards making a real change in your life. 🔵  Find Us
Send us a question for our bonus episode Digital Citizen Website: fastmail.com/digitalcitizen Check out our blog Tweet us @Fastmail 💙  Review Us
If you love this show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also take our survey and send us a question for our bonus episode.

On this episode of the Digital Citizen podcast, L.X. Beckett, Toronto-based science fiction author, talks to Fastmail CTO, Ricardo Signes, about how science fiction is often a critique of the world we live in and what it means to find hope in the communities you are part of.
 
Dive into the world of L.X.’s book Gamechanger and learn about the people who inhabit its pages. L.X. offers advice for feeling hopeful about the potential setbacks we will likely go through in the future as they have the potential to lead us to a brighter side. Rik and L.X. also discuss the positive and negative parts of online communities and what it means to be a good digital citizen.
▶️ Guest Interview - L.X. Beckett
Learn more about L.X. Beckett Check out Gamechanger here 🗣️ Discussion Points
Gamechanger is set in the dawn of a new era for humankind after the twenty-first century. There are three main generations represented in the book at odds with each other. Privacy and international systems have been lost, and the wealth gap has been forcibly closed. Art, for L.X., is the biggest fight back against the negative sides of reality. Writing this book was their method of showing a good possible end result despite major setbacks, motivating people to engage with the idea that there is a viable positive outcome. For artists, hope is a moral practice that you can choose to pursue. The vast majority of us with the internet and smartphones give our personal data to companies. This is not unlike the total lack of privacy that exists in the world of Gamechanger, in which every single move a person makes goes into a large data cache. For anyone looking to have a safe and healthy relationship with the online network, L.X. suggests figuring out what your soul really needs without apology. This could be something as simple as taking a social media break when it gets to be too much. ⭐️ Takeaways
Reading is both an escape and a way of getting a different view on the world we live in. It’s never too late to get involved in online communities, especially ones that are committed to having a positive impact. Self-knowledge is important. If you feel like the way you are using social media is having negative side effects, you should absolutely change your approach. A positive review can go a long way. If you have a podcast or content realtor you like, you should leave a positive review so the creators know their efforts are appreciated. Rik’s book recommendations: New Day by Sarah Pinsker.  It touches on how online culture can be less connected than in-person culture, without reducing everything to "technology is bad." Axiomatic by Greg Egan. Bonus points, he's Australian. It's a story collection where many of the stories take seriously ideas that are often used as sci-fi tropes without consideration of how they'd really affect us. Helen’s book recommendations: Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson and The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson are among my favorite sci-fi books ever. Station 11 by Emily St. John Mandel is a book I recommend to people who say they don’t like sci-fi, but maybe just need a chance to try it. 🔵  Find Us
Send us a question for our bonus episode Digital Citizen Website: fastmail.com/digitalcitizen Check out our blog Tweet us @Fastmail 💙  Review Us
If you love this show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also take our survey and send us a question for our bonus episode.