Sometimes it’s surprising how quickly things can change, but now we don’t think of tech brands as companies, but rather as neighbourhood stores and coffee shops.

You might pop down to your local Google Shoppe for an Android scan and a healthy drink at the juice bar, or visit Microsoft (again!) for that HoloLens fix, and a latte. Or just head over to Amazon for lunch. And pick up a package.

So many of these so-called internet giants are now accessible in the phygital space, with cafes, pop-ups and dedicated iStores (right next to Tesla) that it’s not worth the hassle of extra screen time, when you can just chat to a helpful human or a talkative robot. And get a meal along the way.

Facebook’s Cafes also dish out free ‘Like’ points, which boosts your Libra cred as well, so what’s not to like about that? They’ve enabled auto checkin, and the barista puts my mocha down before I have to ask!

That’s the benefit of big data that’s personal – it feels like they really know me there. I guess they do, but they always check that my privacy hasn’t been compromised, every time I visit, so I guess I can trust them now. They’re just people, like me, after all.

When you think about it, it was inevitable that people would eventually prefer conversations to screens, and social means being part of society, doesn’t it? Warts and all. And what’s business without a business lunch, or a coffee chat?

But now I gotta run. I’m meeting someone cool at Twitter!