Gerhard Hirczi: Upgrade your routines. Take advantage of digital opportunities

Our daily working life is shaped by routines. Routines create a framework for our actions and provide security at every level: starting with our daily trip to the coffee machine while we wait for the computer to start up, continuing with interdepartmental processes within the company and ending with the general rules of the game observed between business partners. Culturally significant acts such as offering drinks at the beginning of a meeting are an essential part of working life, no matter how tight the schedule is.
Our business culture, our well-rehearsed traditions and systems are still very much shaped by the analog world. This year, the coronavirus crisis has put these habits to a severe test. The Viennese economy has taken enormous digital strides during this time and the local creative scene has definitely led the way. Entire festivals have relocated into the digital world almost overnight and gotten down to business right away.

Every digital ship needs an analog anchor
A brief chat in the corridor or a shared lunch with your colleagues can go a long way to making daily working life more enjoyable. A coffee mug emoji in the group chat isn’t really the same thing. An architectural office with its display window facing out onto the street, swapping stories at an after-show party, the tactile sensation of a piece of clothing: these things are not only the lifeblood of entire companies, they also define the DNA of every creative hub.

We are gradually coming to the realization that we can use digital applications to get more out of our analog experiences. In Vienna, applications from the field of culture & technology are important springboards. Companies like NOUSdigital use digital art education tools to turn a visit to a museum into a multimedia learning experience. The augmented reality app Artivive lets you watch real works of art come to virtual life. Innovations that integrate analog and digital thinking offer tremendous opportunities for the arts and cultural scene, especially in times of crisis. We must continue to promote these pioneering solutions. Let’s get down to business!