"The experience economy is more than just 'excite me', 'feed me' and 'entertain me'," write the authors. A meaningful experience needs to be rooted in the individual experience, "his or her everyday world and societal context." But what does that mean? The authors do a good job of drawing this out, characterizing both the sensation, emotional impact and context of meaningful experience. "They have a high emotional impact, they have to do with letting go of old patterns, and discovering new frontiers." The having of a meaningful experience is itself an experience; the engagement of one's emotions and beliefs brings about (and this is my interpretation) what might be thought of as a secondary, reflective experience. As the authors write, "Reflection on the cumulative experiences leads to personal insight and possibly the means to personal change or transformation." The article discusses the design of such experiences for (if you will) customers; I think that while the characterization of meaningful experience, the art of creating one might be a bit more hit-or-miss than implied. Still, it is probably the case that there isn't really a chance of fostering such an experience without the satisfaction of some or all of these conditions. Good article, food for thought.
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