Editorial
Leave a comment

From the Editor: Modewest Issue 2 Summer 2015

Another year has managed to slip down the stream and a new year has begun. How can it already be 2015!? Let’s take a look at 2014: a year in review for small business.

2014 saw a rush of invention and business innovation. We experimented with new ways of working and interacting on ‘the cloud’. Many businesses moved their entire workflow to the internet—or are now in the process of doing so. Business tasks such as accounting, invoicing, project management and customer service are all done on the internet now, and we’re able to attend webinars and learn from the best teachers in the world, all without leaving our offices or homes.

The future has certainly arrived—or so it would seem. Despite the technological advances, business still happens in the human context, and business in the cloud is half the picture. The other half happens in real life—it’s still a people’s game.

We may not be exaggerating when we say that the death of Robin Williams in 2014 was a knock to humanity. Williams’ death from suicide brought depression to centre stage again and reminded us that behind smiles and laughs may live sorrow and anxiety. Sydney Siege was an Australian catastrophe, and the national mourning and sadness further proves our next point: it’s so important to communicate and comfort—and be reassured that there is help available.

This year, we’re inviting small businesses to our year of the personal—our very own experiment in interaction: The Lounge. The Lounge will be a place for like-minded people to come together, drop their defences, and relate to each other on a personal level.

Our wish for 2015? Let’s continue to innovate and invent, but let’s also be comforters and understanders of people.

Gina Jaaskelainen, Editor-in-Chief

Leave a comment