Hi there,
‘I am Hamzah and I am a Coffee addict’.
In the past when someone asked me, ‘Coffee or Tea’, my immediate answer was tea. Perhaps this is due to my upbringing in a South Asian household. We like tea. Wait, let me rephrase, WE LOVE TEA.
However 10 years ago when I started university, I remember I was so nervous. new school, new people, new city, the list continues…
I took a small dramatic pause and stared at myself in my own reflection in the little water puddle next to the side walk. I said to myself ‘New beginnings also mean BRAND NEW HAMZAH!’. There I was walking into this cute little coffee shop next to my university’s entrance in Brussels. This was just the beginning to my loving yet toxic relationship with Coffee. I need Coffee to function, to start my day, to start my weekend, to start my holidays. If I am totally honest, Coffee has brought a structure in my life.
That’s all I would share about my Coffee addiction for now. Let’s dive into why you are here.
The simple answer is, DATA.
DATA DATA DATA.
Have you ever wondered how our daily lives are impacted by data? How different sorts of data impacts our lives? How is datafication such a norm in today’s tech world? How does technology know me better than I do? Or is just making me think it knows me when it does not know me?
Woops sorry, my brain just made me switch into this role of TV presenter on a quiz show. (Second cup of coffee btw and its only 9:30 AM here in Rotterdam)
The bigger question which intrigues me is how does datafication actually affects the social change in our society. Is social change controlled by data or is data being controlled by social change? (You see what I did there?)
So grab your coffee cups and join me and my other awesome coffee enthusiasts on some fun drama revolving around data.
I’ll close of this post off with something I say to my mom every time she tells me that I am addicted to coffee:
‘Its not a phase mom, Its a lifestyle’.
