(Courtesy Raysnaps)
When I was six I got my first (and only) Filofax. While it was kinda nice to have somewhere to store all your information, I wouldn’t recommend giving it to a six year old for their entertainment as it soon got discarded along with all the other “educational” toys.
It seems like everyone else soon forgot about them too. The last time I saw one, it belonged to a teacher at school who swiftly went from Filofax, to electronic personal organiser, to palm pilot.
Firstly, this has nothing to do with “analogue chic”. I’m not going to waste my time filling out the address book by hand when my phone can automatically synchronise all my contact for me. There’s no glory in that.This weekend, over 18 years later, I rediscovered this forgotten artifact hiding out in the stationary section of a department store. What’s weird is that I’ve now got a lot of respect for them.
I’m not suggesting that the Filofax has any future, but in some ways it was visionary for its time. It could contain EVERYTHING: your address book, your diary, your personal information, maps, a calculator, notes and (paper based) games. It could be personalized to the nth degree: the sections, tools and add-ons allowed you to upgrade and customise as much as you wanted. Your world in one tidy package.
Remind you of something else? Your smartphone, perhaps?
Before mobile telephony the Filofax was the smartphone of its day, because of the things it contained and what it allowed you to do. Seeing the whole range of add-ons on display, it reminded me of the app store. It’s some sort of proto-iPhone.
So it’s still on sale (at a premium), but for how much longer? My grandparents, who I never believed would enter the computing age, now own an iPad 2. Why stick with a paper based organisation system when it’s been rendered so clumsy and awkward by newer technology? Unless there’s a specific ritual, value or fun factor involved (like there is with listening to music on vinyl), my guess is that the Filofax will go the same way as the phone book and the cassette tape: all but gone, and completely forgotten.
Still, I can’t help wondering what would have happened if Mr/ Mrs Filofax had taken his/ her creation one step further. I remember seeing a Filofax brand electronic organizer. What if they’d been the first to merge this with a mobile phone? What if they’d partnered with Nokia to expand their business model? The ambition was there in what they tried to do (create a second to none organisational tool and set of resources). If they’d only made their device more enjoyable, could they have taken that extra step?
Lindsay Alexander
14/04/2012
Filofax is alive and well – strangely enough there are a lot of people out there who love their gadgets, but love paper and stationery. I keep all my phone numbers in my phone, but addresses, plans, to do lists all go in my filo. Philofaxy is full of people who love the paper based systems and wouldn’t be without them.
Joseph David Quinton
14/04/2012
I have an Android smartphone, an iPod Touch, and an iPad2, but I much prefer my Cuban A5 Filofax and a fountain pen to these technological devices. I use my Android to make telephone calls, as an alarm clock, and to feed my Instagram obsession. I use my iPod to listen to music and podcasts and I use my iPad to read books and blogs. I organize my life and thoughts with my Filofax…perhaps it is a visual/tactual thing…but I just love the art of writing.
Sarah
14/04/2012
You’d be surprised actually. I love my gadgets and my iPhone especially, but find a filofax extremely useful for organising my life (full time job & part time degree = hectic!). There is quite a large base of people who still use filofaxes, perhaps if you stop over at philofaxy.blogspot.co.uk you’ll get an idea if just how much some people love their filofaxes!
Alison Reeves
14/04/2012
You may be surprised to discover that there is a very thriving community around the Filofax and it’s use. Also that avid users (young and old) tend to use it as a faithful companion to their smartphones, using it to implement advanced planning systems (aka GTD), as well as many other uses. Why not come over to Philofaxy blog and find out more?
ayra k
18/04/2012
I’m a big big big iPhone/Apple fan and could admit to mentally cheering and whooping when I first saw the youtube clip with Steve Job introducing the world to the iPhone 2. But at the same time I love my A5 Finsbury and have recently obtained a Personal Baroque (Filofaxes, in case your wondering – and there are so many more styles than people realise) and I carry them with me everywhere.
My iPhone is for storing my phone numbers, addresses, budgets as well as the usual phone, camera, music and games usages. But my Filofaxes are for my work and personal to-do lists, my travel plans, my project plans as well as any doodling or writing I want to do.
There’s a big Filofax community out there. As the above comments have noted, go visit philofaxy to see the tip of the iceberg.