methaphone - tl;dr

TIMELINE: the video

MAY 5. Catherine sends me this message. I had mailed her and a few other friends a prototype, hoping to get feedback. She had received her device in the mail. 

Within two short weeks her methaphone video would be seen more than 150 million times across TikTok, Instagram and X.   


We had launched a small fundraising campaign. It had gone well. We sold through our first batch of devices and covered all the costs of the project.

Cat sends a follow up and a few photos, "I'm showing it to people and their eyes are lighting up."

May 15. Cat creates and posts the video on TikTok. I didn't see it until the next morning; it had already passed 4 million views. I send her a message, 'heads up!'.

Within 5 days, that post of the video would reach 53 million views (also 3.5M likes and > 200,000 saves.)    


May 16. Someone else reshares the video is on X. That audience is pretty different audience than TikTok, but it also starts climbing very fast. Within 4 days, that version would reach 29 million views. Another X account gets 7 million. 

May 17. Barstool Sports re-shares the video and tags Cat. New audience here too. This takes only 3 days before it's at 58 million views. Jordan Howlett posts it, and adds his own commentary on Instagram. It passes 7 million in the same timeframe. Many other people do similar collabs.

On the same day, Cat posts a response video to answer some questions in the comments. 4 days later, that video is seen 25 million times.

There are press stories about this mysterious device in publications as varied as the New York Post, Fast Company, Metro UK, a South African radio station, Daily Mail, and the Hindustan Times.      

So the video gets seen 150 million times between May 15-20. In that short period, it likely the most viewed video on the Internet, or very close.   

   
TIMELINE: the Methaphone (one month before)
 
March 29. Here's the text where it began. I messaged my friend Grex about an idea. He's an artist and engineer in NY.

In less than 4 weeks, this went from an idea to an object people were holding in their hand.        

 
The day before I had been walking out of a coffee shop with my family. I tapped my pockets in panic. Phew! my phone was there. I told them we had reached a level of twitching and compulsion around these devices, and one day we'd need a something to ease the cravings and help us detox.

"For 60 years, heroin addicts have been given methadone to do this. For us, maybe it would be something called methaphone." It got a solid laugh. 

An hour later later I tried to visualize it using ChatGPT. It made the image above in one shot. First, that image was incredibly useful to show myself my own idea. I instantly could see why it might be compelling or playful or at least aesthetically interesting. Second, it let me show my idea to someone else, Grex and other people would help me build it.  

Grex replied back - he had been thinking about something weirdly similar.  


His device wasn't about detox, he was pursuing something aesthetic. Here's what he sent back: 

 
March 30. Through very odd circumstances, I ran into my favorite musician Brian Eno. We talked for about 10 minutes. He had made so many great pieces of music and art over decades. I felt deeply inspired to ship this.   

March 31. On a long plane flight with so-so wifi, I asked Chat for help with manufacturing. I had never worked with acrylic before. How should I cut it, with laser or CNC? For materials and specs, find me 3 companies that will make a few prototypes for not a ton of money. Then create an email I can send to them with all the details likely to ask.

By the time the plane landed, I had emailed them, gotten two respones and placed an order. The samples would arrive in days. 

Meanwhile, Grex went to a local shop in New York and ordered a handful of his devices in a range of colors and materials. I had never imagined to do that.  

April 4. He sends me this text. His prototypes were ready. 


April 5. Grex was kinda kidding about the 'business', but I felt strongly that I did want to share it with people whether it made money or note. I wanted them to hold it, experience it, and have a personal response.

The phone has become massively powerful in our lives. I was confident the device would cause SOME reflection about that relationship. That might be a first step to loosen its grip. 

Also, when you do a project in public, you learn a lot more. You have to explain yourself and your intent. It forces more detailed thinking. It's not a rehearsal, you pay closer attention.  

I submitted a Kickstarter to fund my project. It takes a few days for them to approve. 

While I was waiting I asked Grex, "What if we did this together? What if we offered one of the NEON phones as part of the campaign?" He said 'yes', and I was very happy. I loved many of his prior art projects (see here), and I'd always wanted to work on something with him.


April 7. This first prototype was delivered. In 10 days it went from an idea in my mind and now I was holding that idea in my hands. Things like Chat will make this an increasingly common experience for people. 

I have done many projects before. Some are visible on this site, Mindless Toys. Despite that name, these are both serious and playful; they are tools and toys. They are also art; they intend to help people see something new they couldn't see before.

April 8-17. Kickstarter REJECTED the campaign, twice! Their communication was vague but it probably tripped the rule below. The response was frustrating and instantly motivating: I furiously put the campaign on Indiegogo in an hour.


The campaign quickly went live. I emailed the link with this short note to a few friends:

Spring project. My campaign is for the methaphone is live! You are invited (but now obligated!) to back it.

April 18. One friend, Sam, really liked it. He became a tireless supporter of the project. When he first got my email, he forwarded onto Casey Neistat. So on the 18th I awoke to this encouraging (and humbling) tweet:
 

Grex and I texted a flurry of OMGs to each other.

Another friend, Zach, had been hugely helpful to me as I slogged through flaky suppliers and production details. He'd done materials and hardware for 20 years and was a daily source of encouragement. "Making physical things is hard. There are always problems; that's a feature. Just keep iterating." There were many, many others who helped. 

Casey’s post on X also began to surface different reactions. While some people could hold both the serious and humorous, some clearly could not. Wait, this is NOT a real phone? 


Chapter 1 of this project was about making this thing - and getting to do it with Grex. During that time we told our version of the story. Here what we're trying to build. The product page covers that well. It's serious, but not only serious (e.g., "Do Not Disturb reimagined from the ground up", "Dark mode is really dark.")

Chapter 2 was about other people. Once you've shared something anything creative, the audience gets a turn. They have their own experiences and to tell a chapter on the story. Cat was one of those people. She had a strong reaction, and I could feel it in those first text messages.   

By make the video (and the response) she took the story in a new direction, and it was amazing. As an artist or inventor, you probably can't ask for anything greater than someone in the community to invest THEIR creativity in telling part of the story. Her take was so powerful that 150 million became curious. What IS this? A new phone? A placebo? Or something else. What Cat did was masterful, she created mystery.

One reporter asked me why I did this project? Well, that would be a better question for Chapter 1. I'll answer it, but now that we're at least in Chapter 2, I think it matters a lot less. 

So, why do you did this?  

1. Curiosity. When I saw Chat's first mock of the device, I was instantly curious. We're been looking a phones like this for 15 years, hours a day, everyday. The shape is iconic, totemic, ominous and beautiful. If I could make a device that looked like this, I thought other people might be just as drawn to it.

2. Reflection. Making a detox device felt powerful. I include myself among people who do not like the current relationship with phones and their apps. There is an active debate about what to do, but I wanted a physical device that would make you think. I wanted a tool. Why you play with it, I becomes a mirror for your phone feelings. As you turn it over in your hands, questions might start to arise. Woah, how can this thing have such power in my life? What would it be like to carry this version around with me all day?

3. Play. This is a big one. Yes, as a detox devices it's a tool. But there is also something very playful about the methaphone, so it's also a toy. When I brought out to dinner friends would get excited. They'd pass it around, do pretend phone things with it (scroll, tap, swipe) like they were children. They'd come up with funny scenarios. There was always a lot of laugher. It often would dominate the entire meal. If it's also delightful it will get used and it will get shared. This is not an bonus feature, it's essential.  

4. Friendship. A hugely underrated effect of making things - you make friends or deeper friendships. Grex, Cat, Sam, Zach are examples. Total strangers who ordered it or commented online. There's a whole essay to write on 'Making Friends with Art' but I'll spare you. At least for now. 

5. Make Everything. I try to make everything I imagine. Sometimes it's just a single prototype, that's fine. For physical things, doing a sketch doesn't cut it for me anymore. I want to being able to hold it. You learn something totally new when an idea has evolved that far. These days I'm able to follow through with this promise most of the time.

Back to the timeline...

April 20. Easter Sunday. Grex sent an image of Michelangelo's David holding his NEON methaphone. Delightful! I got inspired and went to a sculpture garden later that afternoon to do the same with real statues. Here are shots from these 19th century hand models (h/t Rodin): 



April 22. The first box of phones arrive. They look great. I'm restless, and I ship a bunch that evening.


In the package I include a letter. I also made a cardboard coaster as a Quick Start guide, showing a few places you might use this device:


April 24. People start receiving them. Our day is a stream of DMs of photos using them in public or at home. Some people post on social, like this one below. 

Sam posts an unboxing video. As noted, this is Chapter 2 and the audience takes over the story. They get to decide what it means to them. For both Greg and I, it's joyful and fascinating because the community of people use your thing always come up with better ideas that you.