Rethinking What Digital Communication Could Be

We’ve spent decades optimizing digital communication for speed. Faster messages. Instant notifications. Real-time everything. And we’ve succeeded - modern communication tools are incredibly fast and efficient.

But somewhere along the way, we lost something important.

The Speed Trap

When communication is instant, we optimize for quick responses over thoughtful ones. When messages are ephemeral, we lose context and nuance. When every tool is pushing for engagement, we end up in a perpetual state of partial attention.

The irony is that faster communication hasn’t made us more productive or more connected. If anything, it’s made us more scattered and more exhausted.

What If We Optimized for Something Else?

What if we designed communication tools around understanding instead of speed? Around connection instead of engagement? Around depth instead of volume?

This isn’t about going back to slower technologies. Email isn’t the answer. Neither are long-form essays that nobody reads. We need something different - something that leverages modern technology but serves different values.

Communication designed for understanding would:

• Preserve context: Not just the current message, but the entire conversation, the artifacts created, the evolution of ideas over time
• Support different modes of thinking: Sometimes we need quick back-and-forth. Sometimes we need space to think. Tools should support both without forcing everything into the same format
• Respect attention: Not every message needs an immediate response. Not every update needs a notification. Give people room to engage deeply without feeling like they’re falling behind

The Spatial Advantage

This is one reason we’re excited about spatial collaboration. When you work in a shared space - a persistent canvas where conversations, documents, and artifacts all live together - context is implicit. You can see what’s been discussed, what decisions were made, how ideas evolved.

You don’t need to read through 50 Slack messages or dig through email threads to understand what’s happening. The space itself tells the story.

Human-Paced Digital

There’s a term in urban planning: “human-scaled architecture.” Buildings and streets designed around how humans actually move and interact, not just optimized for traffic flow or maximum density.

We need human-paced digital communication. Tools that work with our natural rhythms instead of demanding constant attention. Spaces that let ideas develop over hours or days, not just minutes. Interfaces that show us what matters without overwhelming us with what doesn’t.

This Isn’t Nostalgia

We’re not arguing for a return to slower, older ways of working. Modern collaboration tools have genuine advantages: global teams can work together seamlessly, information is accessible anywhere, iteration cycles are faster than ever.

But we can keep those advantages while rejecting the always-on, notification-driven, context-free approach that dominates current tools.

We can build communication tools that are both modern and humane. That leverage technology to amplify human connection rather than fragment attention. That make collaboration feel energizing instead of exhausting.

The Work Ahead

Rethinking digital communication isn’t just about building better tools - it’s about questioning assumptions we’ve taken for granted. Do we really need instant notifications? Does everything need to be a feed? Should all communication be ephemeral?

These aren’t easy questions, and the answers will be different for different teams and different contexts. But they’re worth asking.

Because the future of work shouldn’t just be faster and more efficient. It should be more thoughtful, more connected, and more human.

---

What would communication tools look like if they were designed for understanding instead of speed? Share your thoughts at hello@glint.so