As the days get swallowed by code, architecture decisions, and the general chaos of trying to build things that work... I get lost and forget to do things that I enjoy. Such as writing and publishing on this blog.

So here I am again, with a story.

The other day I was on the train, commuting. And I was feeling a bit guilty because I was reading a book called Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle.

Usually, my brain says I should be reading something "useful" during this time. Angular docs. A technical blog post about system architecture. Anything work-related that helps me push the next feature for ialoc.

So here I was: ⇒ Reading a book about sociology and human connection ⇒ Feeling guilty about not reading API documentation

What do?

I kept reading. And then I got to the part where she explains how our screens are slowly eroding our ability to just sit across from someone and talk. Like really talk. Not exchange information or react to a meme, but just be there in a conversation that goes somewhere unplanned.

We are so used to the constant stimulation of digital communication that we've forgotten how to handle the quiet moments. We reach for our phones the second a conversation gets boring or pauses. And because of that, we never reach the deeper parts of a discussion that only happen after the awkward pause.

Reading this as a CTO, I had to laugh.

Because my actual job is creating teams which build great software that lives on screens. I spend 8 countless hours a day staring at one, writing code/docs/ADRs/tests etc so that other people can stare at theirs.

But the entire purpose of ialoc.ro is to get people to go out to restaurants. To sit at a table. Face to face. With another human being.

It made me realize something important about what we are actually building. If you look at it strictly technically, ialoc is a booking engine. We process reservations.

But that's just the logistics.

What we actually sell is the arrival. The reservation gets you through the door. But the real product is that moment when you sit down, put your phone face-down on the table, and have one of those unplanned, wandering conversations that Turkle says we're losing.

It's a weird contradiction. In the tech industry, the goal is almost always to keep users in the app for as long as possible. More engagement. More screen time.

But for us? The best thing our technology can do is get you to the table efficiently, and then disappear completely. If our software is doing its job right, you shouldn't be looking at it.

Are we building technology that demands attention, or technology that frees it up?

ps. No, I haven't finished the book yet. I keep reading a chapter and then staring out the train window thinking about it. Which, ironically, is exactly what the book is about.