Empathy for the Digital Age
A book proposal
The time we’re in is a fast-moving escalator towards an uncertain future. We can’t predict what’s to come. There’s been unreal technology development, but also predatory algorithms that drive our communities apart. We are more connected than ever. We are more divided than ever. And the pace is only about to quicken. We need clear-sighted, encouraging, inspired leadership to help us keep our selves and communities connected as we adapt to the rollicking change ahead.
This book moves readers to become co-creators of a more empathetic and connected world during an era of massive change, through stories and practical guidance. It moves people from cynicism to curiosity, from false hope to authentic readiness.
Since I was young, I have been jogging alongside the unfolding of new mass communication technologies. As a kid, I helped build some of the first websites my small town had seen. After university, I was helping organizations adapt to the arrival of social media and the mobile web, before any how-to guides were written.
All along, I've been writing and collecting stories about my attempts to lead digital change. I've seen failures and breakthroughs, and the clear need for true human-centeredness and empathy in the work, as "the way we build becomes the world we live in." This is more true now than ever, in the age of rapid AI development.
This draft manuscript and book proposal has been pitched to numerous literary agents and publishers, and is looking for a publishing partner.
Barry Oshry (author of Seeing Systems, The System Letter, and more) says:
“The goal of increasing empathy is something we can all get behind; Kevan’s mission is to explore the potential in energizing, accelerating, and globalizing that process through our emerging technological connectedness. That interaction between empathy and technological connectedness does seem to be a project worth developing.”
Greg Hemmings, television producer (CBC, CTV, Discovery Channel) interviewed me on his podcast, Boiling Point, and observed: “Kevan could start a movement based around this.”
Early reader feedback:
“You need to publish this book! I think it is important and not just because I think you're great. If you can inspire even one person to not hide in a cave with the digital age, but to embrace it and connect and to have it be a space where we can dispel "the other," this book has the power to change history.”
“I'm not sure that everyone will cry reading your book, but I did.”
“I read your whole manuscript in one sitting. I made the mistake of reading it in public. I was laughing for most of it, so I did not expect it to make me cry. I had to go for a walk afterwards, and I’ve been reflecting so hard on my own life and personal and professional journey since I read the draft. Thank you.”
If you're interested in partnering to bring this book from development into readers' hands, please get in touch.
Special note: Artist and designer Brennan Gleason has helped explore visual ideas for this book, to some stunning results:
