Writing The Future

About 2 years ago I was propped up on my couch lazily watching reruns of my favorite vehicle of consumerism at the time: Shark Tank. Real businesses with creative products and an elevator pitch to claim their fame and capitalize on a whole nation. Despite the plethora of innovative products on the show, a product that makes you raise your eyebrows only comes along rarely.

For me, that was the Rocketbook.

Before you start picturing a futuristic laptop or tablet, let me temper your expectations a little and inform you that it is a notebook (as seen above). Literally. The thing about this book that makes you sit up and take notice is that it allows you to seamlessly bridge the gap between digital and analogue. It lets you take notes/drawings, etc. using special pens (Frixion) and paper (made from reusable plastic) and seamlessly upload it to the cloud using an app.

At the time of their Shark Tank presentation, however, there were some valid concerns about the product that were immediately brought up by the Sharks and as they bowed out one by one, so too did my excitement.

Time went by and the era of Tiktok washed upon us, shortening our attention span from shark tank pitches to 1-minute product reviews. I was a willing victim. My lazy lockdown days were significantly sped up by the TikTok time vacuum perfectly gauging my interests using their magical algorithm. It was one such a day where, I was once again propped on my couch, deep diving into the product recommendation rabbit hole when I spotted the Rocketbook. To make things even more fateful, the following day I heard my friend mention buying it as a gift for her artsy sister. I couldn’t help but feel excited. Here was a product that had jumped into my vision and caught my eye before being shoved back into obscurity but had somehow managed to show some spunk and bounce back and this time it was locked in my sights. Despite the hours I spent watching TikTok product recommendations, I had never once felt the need to buy any of these products but that day fate seemed to wear a pro consumerism jersey and so for the first time ever, I caved and bought my first and only TikTok recommended product (with the exception of ingredients for baked feta pasta which I would highly recommend!)

What Exactly is a Rocketbook?

As you can see on this TikTok video, it is a notebook designed for classrooms, offices or even planning. It comes with a small cloth and a special pen. On the first page it has 7 different symbols you can use to assign anything you write/draw into different folders on the cloud, using their app. At the bottom of each page you can select which of the symbols your piece of work is assigned to before scanning it on the Rocketbook app. The pages can then be erased by dampening the rag and wiping them clear.

One book that could fit it all. Simple. Effective. Genius.

Why I have no regrets buying it:

1)Eco Friendly

I love putting pen on paper. To me, a normal pen feels a lot more like a tap to my mind than an iPad or a Tablet ever could. Despite being a far cry from an eco warrior, I am distinctly aware of the impact that the paper industry has on deforestation (14% for those who are interested), so the opportunity to continue doing what feels more natural to me without the guilt of destroying the environment makes this an easy decision.

2)No more forgetting/losing your notebook

Interestingly enough, this product was created after the co-founder Joe LeMay forgot his notebook for an important sales meeting. He went about creating something that would allow you to access your notes from anywhere. Being someone that suffers from poor organizational skills, writing all manner of snippets, doodles and details in various notebooks never to be seen again, this product does as much as possible to catalog all my notes.

3)Cool Factor

Being able to write in pen and then just put the book under a tap to make everything disappear is a cool enough gimmick on it’s own. It evokes childhood memories of invisible ink and secret agent flicks. Once you couple that with the cool tidbit that the ink is thermochromic, meaning that your ink disappears under heat and can reappear with some time inside the freezer, you are left question how much more Famous Five can it get?!

Where can you buy it?

Here.

There are a range of books you can buy with prices varying from $35 to 45 depending on your need. If you're balking at the price, don't forget that it's completely reusable!

If you are looking to spice up your note taking or drawing then you can also order a range of Frixion pens of various color here.

The you have it. All the reasons I plan to rock the Rocketbook for the foreseeable future.