Digital Detox from Corporate Babble

Being big on the concept of ‘shop local’, I went into a local business while on vacation recently. While there, I saw a sign near the cash register. I shall re-type the words on the sign, redacting the name of the business, for reasons I think you’ll be able to figure out later:

XXXX is the vibrant transformation of a post-Covid vacant space into a dynamic hub, offering a healthy and versatile community venue – for commerce, work, and events – all thriving within the unique edge-condition environment of XXXX Beach.

Functioning as a Living Lab

As the creators of XXXX, YYYY utilizes this intelligent space to explore, test, and refine our cutting-edge design and technological solutions. This dynamic, multi-purpose environment serves as a real-world laboratory for enhancing in-person interactions. At XXXX, we study what fosters successful, meaningful human connections, continuously pushing the boundaries of safety, health, and joy in spatial design. Our work here drives the creation of Better Places that elevate everyday experiences and inspire a better future.

Reader, I challenge you to tell me what kind of business you think this was.

I promise you, had I put a bunch of corporate speak nonsense words in a blender, then pulled them out in random order, I could not have done a better job of creating this sign.

I knew what sort of business I thought I had entered, but this sign stumped me. I thought maybe what I thought I was getting was simply inside of a shared workspace kind of place, but then I saw this sign:

And I thought, wow, that would be the worst ever shared corporate workspace if you weren’t allowed to use digital items three days a week. How much work can you get done in 2025 without a computer or a phone?

Then I looked around and I realized that no, there wasn’t actually any other space than the space I thought I’d entered. It was, in fact, the place I thought I’d entered and that alone. It was, my friends, a coffee shop. Let me repeat that. A coffee shop. A coffee shop which is, apparently, continuously pushing the boundaries of safety, health, and joy in spatial design. Huh. I thought I was just sitting on a marginally comfortable sofa.

I never thought a place to buy an over-priced latte was the kind of place where I could contribute to a real-world laboratory enhancing in-person interactions. I thought I was just bickering with my husband about what we were going to do for dinner. Who knew?

I pictured some coffee-preneur in his/her/their late twenties, truly believing they were going to revolutionize the coffee industry. This was not just a beverage they were serving up. They were going to save the neighborhood by revitalizing an empty store front and observe the human condition at the same time. They were going to arrange and re-arrange the furniture so as to maximize the conversational potential. This wasn’t going to be a place to caffeinate and doomscroll. Especially not Fri-Sun. No, this was a place with a mission statement worth placing in a prominent position on the counter.

That’s got to be worth an extra buck per bio-degradable cup.

P.S. The coffee was good, but I don’t think it pushed the boundaries of joy.

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