Statues or art pieces had to be installed. Not software.

Why did a formless creation adopt such a 'heavy' term?

Most of us have no idea what goes on inside of our computers.

Or the operating system, for that matter.

Where does the system operate? 

Software developers are probably shaking their heads.

It's just a set of instructions to be executed.

Why do they have to be executed?

Because they are programmed to execute a defined set of functions

And where are these programs?

In the computer's memory, in a registry.

As if they were posh neighborhoods in virtual real estate

Why are software coders called developers?

Because they develop programs.

So the operating system helps run several programs?

Kind of.

Where exactly?

On the microprocessor inside the computer.

And what is happening in there?

That's hard to explain because several parallel processes are being executed.

Have you understood anything so far? 

Software and computing terms need a rethink from the ground up.

Mixed metaphors from art, engineering, biology and the industrial age have meshed 

Software may be eating the world but does not know how to explain itself 

It keeps getting stuck in a recursive loop.

Let's do some freewheeling

It has been credited with getting civilization going

And thousands of years later, it continues to play a central role in our lives.

Take any form of transport. Wheels take you places.

We've moved from wooden to rubber and carbon fiber wheels for more sophisticated uses

Even airplanes can't take off or land without wheels cushioning the impact.

Online is no different. 

Memory works with stacks of round disks spinning at high speeds inside hard disks

The rotating wheel on our screens indicates a program about to launch

We use wheels, or a form of it in practically every UX interaction.

The buffering symbol in videos 

The circular graph in statistics

Or the concentric circles converging into a bull's eye

It's how we depict time on clocks or the targets we aim for

It's part of the daily rhythms of our lives that tell us things are ok

And when we're not ok

'Going around in circles' is an expression that indicates we're spinning pointlessly in one place.

Or 'Life has come full circle' when we sound off on a philosophical note about how our lives have been lived

Wheels are the symbol and the metaphor that pervades our senses

When brands start riffing

It happens in music studios when a musician plays a few bars of music.

Others in the group join in with their instruments adding their improvisations.

And the melody begins to flow.

For brands, when does a one in a million moment happen?

A conversation begins on a social media thread and gathers pace

What started off as a simple closing comment expands and goes in all directions

Everyone's riffing on it as it gathers steam.

You've been through similar experiences with close friends

Someone makes a remark and the group laughs

Then various people in the group chip in with one-liners and there are roars of delight.

A single joke becomes a cascading wave

And the party transforms from being ok to memorable

A recent tweet on the official Microsoft Twitter account:

*Unmutes mic*

“Nothing from me.”

*Mutes mic*

It got 3.7K Retweets,  860 Quote Tweets,  14.8K Likes

The social media manager must be beaming.

An offhand tweet making a sly comment on virtual meetings

What did people relate to?

Go through the thread and you'll see personal and professional references.

99.99% of the time, brands are diplomats.

But once in a while, they'll show their hand.

Keep watching

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