Welcome to the WordPress Blog page for RTV 3001. We’ll use this page to discuss various topics throughout the semester. Please be sure to check the course blackboard page to attain scores on your posts. Each post is worth 25 points (they’ll be 4 during the semester).
Remember, You’ll receive credit for an entry that thoughtfully reflects upon the reading, in-class discussion, another student’s posting or adds a unique link, picture or video to the discourse. To receive full credit, you must post by the due date and include an entry of atleast 250 words. Spelling and grammar do count. Please be sure that I may identify your entry so you receive the credit you deserve. Blog on…
For the first entry, please watch the EPIC 2015 video (if the link doesn’t work, the video is also available via YouTube or Google search). In addition to watching the video, read up on the background information that led to the creation of the video, EPIC 2014 and follow up EPIC 2015.
After reviewing these items, please consider responding to any of the following questions:
The video does a nice job reviewing history of the Internet and the rise of what we term social media through 2004. What portion of that history do you believe is particularly compelling? Understanding that this version of the video was made in January 2005, which of the predictions made after 2004 do you believe are like reality today? Which have not happened and maybe too far fetched? What are your impressions of EPIC, the evolving personal information construct and what elements do you already see that are like this today? If this construct comes to fruition, are there significant privacy concerns or does the convenience of having customized information delivered to us outweigh any harms? How is EPIC and the history of social media significantly different from what we’ve been discussing in terms of radio, television and cable television — all forms of point-to-multipoint communication? What trends does this video and EPIC represent in terms of how the Internet has evolved in terms of social media, Web 2.0 and user-generated content?
There are no right or wrong answers, just give us your informed insight on these issues. Remember to be civil with one another if you disagree and be sure to attach your name to your post and/or comments that you make. It’s not a bad idea either to save your entry in Word first just in case you have problems posting.
Intro to Telecommunications RTV 3001 Spring '12 
As per the EPIC 2015 video, I believe that even though Google and Amazon.com have not merged and probably never will, we have seen in the past decade how giants of the Internet have consolidated to become even more powerful. The idea of news outlets like the New York Times only sending newsletters to the “elite and elderly” may not be far off; as our generation and those to come take over the milieu of online news, it isn’t far-fetched to envision our lives being controlled by a dominating force of a global network of “bloggers” coming together to inform the world of newsworthy topics without the need of newspapers or other print publications. Although EPIC is fictional, it’s not impossible to imagine how a social and personal information construct like that described in the video could not come into fruition in the next decade with the proliferation of Internet users and the advancement in social media like Facebook or Twitter becoming “infotainment”, emphasis on the info part. Privacy concerns are definitely points of interest that need to be highlighted here due to the invasion of our daily lives by a medium that is customized to deliver information about each other without our consent. This may already be happening with Google Earth and other GPS types of programs. Nothing about EPIC 2015 deals with how security would play a part in our lives; this is an important point to make because this ideal which we hold to be very valuable is overlooked. The concept is interesting nevertheless, and something like it may not be too far off.
Courtney Whitaker
From the way our generation is evolving into this technological century, it is common to have Google and Amazon.com as a resource to look up anything we wish. When it comes to the New York Times, I do believe at a certain point, newspapers will no longer be around. As a Publix cashier, majority of the people I see grabbing and purchasing a newspaper is more of the older crowd. The internet has become such a widely used source for most of this generation because it is free and quick to retrieve. I feel with the use of Facebook and Twitter, news is coming out quicker than newspapers making it to the stands. With the fictional EPIC, I don’t not see this becoming plausible within our generation. However, with resources such as Google map, privacy does become an issue. The past year, a recent friend told me of a website which you looked up your name and found a picture of your home with all of your information at the bottom. Luckily, you were able to deactivate your account. However, it is a scary thought to know your information is being broadcasted without consent. As you can see with our discussion on radios and the way it progressed in the late 1900’s, today we have phones which carry music and radio stations such as Pandora. It is scary to think what will come out next.
My impression of EPIC is that I feel we are already able to identify with some of its features. EPIC would observe what our interests are each time we input any information into search engines or personal sites, and would automatically create news that is tailored to each individual. The mass majority of us are members of social networking sites and use them as tools to get the latest news, keep in touch with others or input our own ideas and get feedback. If you step back and look at it, a lot of these sites have ads lined down each side of the page that are customized to things you may have searched for before. An excellent example is Twitter. The site has a “trending topics” section that locates what the most popular topics are of that very moment. According to msnbc.com, in April 2011, there were 175 million registered Twitter users- that number has only grown in the last 9 months. As we can see, the internet is already able to calculate what the majority of people are interested in day by day, and is able to compile news and information based on this. EPIC proposed that this will keep on progressing to the point that journalists will no longer be needed, which seems unlikely. Yes, interests and ideas would be compiled from EPIC, but how much of it could be deemed true. We will always need a source that is reliable and can confirm news, because that is where we get the information to put on these sites to begin with. Overall, it seems that the idea of EPIC, conceived in 2004, was not too far off.
This video is frightening to say the least. The future of media is already undergoing a drastic change and I would not say it’s for the better.
The predictions made in this video seem pretty accurate. Even though Google and Amazon may not join forces, Google has already bought off a number of websites. Google already has a pretty decent size monopoly over the internet. How much further can it go? (Don’t answer that) Companies like Google try so hard to get “bigger”- they have consolidated all the news in one tab. When a person can find all the hot breaking headlines in one place, why would they bother to look up the actual local newspaper? – that they don’t realize what they’re doing in the end- hurting others.
(I do think newspapers will become obsolete one day, sadly to say. They’re already on a downhill. I think it’s number one killer is the amateur “blogger.” It used to be, to be a reporter you’d have to get a degree, be a good writer, KNOW some grammar (some students in this mass comm program can’t even do that!), and work your butt off to get the juicy story. Now, sit on your butt at home and type away at the computer and give all the opinions you want. Blogging- I laugh! That’s not real journalism. Call me an old school hag, but Perez Hilton is not a real reporter much less someone to have any kind of spotlight and anyone else like him.)
Look at Facebook. How many times has it been in the news for selling your “private” information to third parties? Customized advertising to boost their profits. Most of the advertisements on Facebook are things you’ve looked up or are appealing to you based on your searches and interests on your profile. On Yahoo! sidebar, you can find the “trend” section to see what people are interested in and are looking up.
The prediction of Pinky letting her friends know what she was up to and where- that’s already happening in Facebook and Twitter with geolocation. “Johnny Smith was just at Applebees with Betty and Sally.” But you know what? The only ones to blame for marketing agencies using our “private” information is ourselves. Who cares to know what you’re doing or where you are or with who? WE put all of that information on our social networking sites for everyone to see. We’ve become a very narcissist society thinking everyone is interested in our lives. We put the information out there- don’t get upset when people actually start using it.
I personally do not see any positives outweighing the negatives on the privacy issue. The advertising age has gone too far in my opinion and it only seems to be getting further….
So yes, Epic’s predictions aren’t far off.
When it comes to comparing this video’s perspective on history and what we’ve been discussing in class- I think it’s interesting to see how a lot of media was one point to multipoint communication and it’s transforming into multipoint to multipoint communication with the internet. No longer do people have to sit by their TV sets to watch a program- they can look it up online. People find different news from different sources online, if you don’t like one thing on one site, you can find it on another. The internet has gone beyond many barriers that couldn’t be crossed before it’s invention.
Maybe I’m being a bit pessimistic, but it’s a fact that the world of media and news will continue to drastically change. I just don’t think it’s going in a right direction. Journalism won’t be as we know it. Half of what is written and read today cannot be called journalism anyway.
Though many of the predictions made in the video were not accurate, I don’t think that they were far off. I see many similarities between their predictions and our actual advancements. I definitely think that the video made a correct assumption in predicting that newspapers would diminish over time. Instead of turning to a newspaper, many people use sources of the Internet to keep themselves updated on daily or even hourly news. I, myself, use Twitter, online news websites and other sources that are available online to keep myself aware of daily current events in the news and/or entertainment. It is a much faster and more convenient way to stay “in the know.” Instead of having to use a computer, the Internet can be easily accessed in various forms. People just pull out their handy dandy cell phone, iPod, iPad, etc., and are instantly connected to the Worldwide Web! As old-fashioned as it may sound in this day and age, the video scared me because I love reading from a newspaper or an old book. I don’t think anything compares to flipping through the old, dusty, yellowed pages of an aged paperback.
The video made me realize how far we have come in the world of media. It is amazing how many technological advancements have been made in just a little over two decades! It makes me wonder what else is to come in the future of media. Epic reminded me of the technology that we have today. On Facebook and Twitter you can check in, post your thoughts and share videos and pictures with the world. People on the Internet share many personal things about themselves. The technology predicted for 2014 also made me think about an issue that presents itself in today’s technology. Privacy. I think that privacy will always be an issue. Parents want to protect their children from the dangers in the world and on the Internet. It can be difficult to police where they are online because today, more than ever, children are surrounded by everyday constant access to the Internet, just as we are. Many websites ask people to provide personal information and they are often unsafe. Hopefully in the future, we can better protect our children from predators and scams. I actually encountered a website where you could type anyone’s name and you could find out intimate details about their life. The information included: an address, phone number, number of occupants residing in the home, salary, profession, and names of other relatives. I tried many of my family members’ names and found the website to be extremely accurate. It’s terrifying that people can easily access so much personal information about anyone.
The Internet provides an exciting world of information and it is growing larger every single day. I think it is sad to see print diminishing, but the world of media has expanded in a wonderful way and it is wise for us to take advantage of it.
I personally believe the most compelling portion is the power struggle between each of the companies. In the virtual world, just like the physical, for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. For every Hotmail there is a Gmail and for every Newsbot there is a Google News. Every company continues to up the stakes only to be matched by another. Each company challenges one another’s monopoly by attempting to create one of their own.
I believe that there is a similar reality in that Microsoft could want to create some social network as google did attempt to create google friends in response to facebook. Obviously Google and Amazon have not combined, and most likely will not due to the fact they are vastly success companies alone, but the idea that our interested are being monitored with suggestions being given is very accurate. If you find yourself on one website, do not be surprised as you watch youtube, or use google later if an ad in the corner is presenting some enticement for the site you were just on.
The idea that the New York Times would pull off the Internet entirely is somewhat ridiculous. As such a powerful company with extensive resources, the Times can easily stay in business online and will most likely find many individuals clicking onto their site for news related stories, as they will consider it a credible source. This is the one idea most individuals forget in response to the Internet. While there may be many sites presenting information, there is always a lingering suspicion about the accuracy of it all. Therefore, we will see individuals turn to credible sources rather than using a quick alternative.
If EPIC is a compilation of all the world’s knowledge, just one click away, how is that much different than what we have right now? No, we do not have personalized news stories delivered to us the moment we log online, but in reality how much of a difference is there between one click or three, except a few seconds. When adds with our favorite websites come up, we already see a trend of our habits being given to us, eliminating the steps in between. In reality, news stations should take a hint from consumer stores and attempt this same form of advertising in order to keep reader interest.
There are some extreme privacy concerns that come into play here, but it is not EPIC I am concerned with. I believe some of the most frightening sites today involve Spokeo and any form of geolocation applications. With spokeo, any individual can find you simply by name and it will take you directly to an individuals home, sometimes with even the exact street and a photo of their house. Geolocation is similar as anyone, anywhere can see where exactly an individual is, negating any form of safety. We do still have a right to our privacy and while we can be solicited to, I would hope protections would be put in place and these corporations would not be allowed to sell the information to any other companies, etc.
What is being discussed in class is vastly different in that there is no point – to – multipoint communication. There is simply multipoint and no communication. There is no human interaction within any of these internet features. Google News collects sources from all over the web, compiling them within their database and then for news, individuals simply click and find themselves where they need to be. The populace is no longer relying on a particular station or individual to give them the news. The inter-web is called that for a reason, there is no starting point and there are no end-points.
Again the trends this video discusses are not so far off from today. The idea of user-generated content is happening now. With social media such as facebook, twitter, bloggers, etc information is bursting from every direction. The majority of Americans found out about the death of Osama Bin Laden through twitter and facebook, what does that tell us about where telecommunication has evolved too?
I find it gripping that I did not even hear of Blogger or Friendster until I watched the EPIC video. This leaves me wondering, how many other technological tools exist that I know nothing about? Generally, not being in the know makes me feel uneasy and my first impression of this video, surprisingly, was egotistical. Many people like to make predictions about what the future will hold but Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson executed this video in such a way where they sounded like they knew what was going to happen, 100 percent. Google and Amazon did not merge and there is no war between Google and Microsoft; however, these days, all of the social media networks are very competitive.
I think it might be a bad thing for EPIC to exist because people would only receive information that interests them and they will never expand beyond that small range of information, thus never expanding their knowledge. Receiving customized information sounds nice, helpful, and easy, but I do not think it is a good idea. I also think EPIC jumped the gun with predicting where technology would be in 2005 to 2015. I think they had higher expectations of technology than what has played out in reality. Yes, newspapers such as, the New York Times, have declined but they have not and will not go out of business and become strictly an on-line website. At the same time, the internet has become more popular to use for a variety of instances, such as The Yellow Pages which was originally a printed book and communication such as social networks like Facebook or Twitter.
Overall, I feel as though Sloan and Thompson incorrectly predicted the future of technology, but they were not entirely mistaken.
I think that EPIC 2015 is actually pretty interesting because even though almost none of it has actually happened over the years, there have been a million other technologies that have been made that nobody ever would have imagined themselves. The iPhone 4S for instance. Who would have ever thought that you could talk to your phone and tell it to do everything for you so you never have to do anything on your phone yourself? It is ridiculous how much thought inventors put into things and how many technologies were mentioned in this video that haven’t been created yet, but I am sure they will be created someday. I agree with Kasey when she said that the personalized aspect is kind of already existent because of Facebook ads and Twitter “trending topics.” The internet is able to save in its memory all of the topics you have searched so it knows what your interests are. I do believe that the Internet has ruined newspaper businesses because everything is online now. Anything that you can read in the newspaper, you can find online and majority of homes have at least one computer in them now-a-days. The Internet makes things much easier already, so EPIC 2015’s ideas would only speed up some processes even more in some cases. However, I think there could be a lot of problems with all pf the personalized information because it could possibly get a little out of hand. Some computers may save some things that the owner of that computer didn’t mean to search for, but now it’s under their interests. Or the owner’s friend may be looking things up on that computer, and now all of the personalized information is all turned around. There are definitely tweaks here and there, but EPIC 2015 has a good idea of what is happening to the world of technology.
“EPIC 2015” paints an interesting picture of how those familiar with technology can be so close in their predictions of the future of the web as we know it, but simultaneously how farfetched and inside the box they can think. For example, their prediction of the “WiFiPod” was right on; we know it as the iPhone. Although Apple had previously expressed their desire as a company to produce a telephone as early as 2004, the original iPhone wasn’t announced and/or launched until 2007. In this respect, the creators of “EPIC 2015” were on point. Similarly, they were accurate in their prediction of geolocation services like geocaching and accident reports on the scene with GPS information as well as pictures. When I got my first Android phone, I was amazed that I was literally able to see an accident some 2 miles in front of me while traveling on I-4 eastbound. The video also alludes to what we know now as flash mobs: an organization with a speedy grassroots movement telling people various ways (videos, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to be at a certain place at a certain time, even down to wearing a certain article of clothing for identification purposes. What wasn’t possible even less than a decade ago is now something of the norm, as evidenced by the Occupy movement.
But it is in this author’s opinion that the prediction from the creators of “EPIC 2015” of the New York Times’ imminent demise is both laughable and ignorant. Contrary to the agenda of companies like Amazon and Apple who are pushing for reliance on tablets, I believe there will always be a place for print media. I find it difficult to read on a tablet or eReader (Which are seemingly already obsolete! Look at how much more a tablet can do for around the same price point). While they make it easier to access (via search functions), I retain only a fraction of what I am able to via traditional print books. If anything, the independent and “DIY” publishers will keep alive the paper print similar to the way that independent record labels have kept vinyl alive. If you hadn’t notice, vinyl has seen an incredible resurgence in the last decade, due largely in part to the nostalgia-factor. I think this is an indication that the book as we know it will never die. It may morph or shift, but books will always have a place on the shelves of the learned.
When I first watched the video, I did not realize that it was created in 2005. There were some discrepancies between reality and what was featured in the video, but it seemed that most of the video followed the true growth of technology.
Mention of the “wifiPod” stood out to me. Many of us now tote iPods and iPhones that do exactly what the “wifiPod” was forecasted to do. The ability to take photos or send and receive information instantly seems almost commonplace now. That prediction was very close to our reality today. “Googlezon” is very similar to the way the Internet currently operates. The Internet does, in fact, store our likes and past searches in order to customize our future searches. We are able to share this information and comment on the searches of other users. Most websites, including social media sources, use this technique to customize advertising to specific users. The “Google grid” feels all too real. Google does hold a wealth of information and does seem to monopolize the ownership of content on the web. The prediction of The New York Times offering online subscriptions is very true today. Most newspapers have looked to online subscriptions to keep them relevant in today’s ever-changing technological climate. The most ominous prediction made in this video is “EPIC”, or the idea that almost all content found on the Internet is controlled and created by us. My translation of “EPIC” is a giant Wikipedia forum. The Internet will become unreliable and fantastical. Facts will be faulty and everything read or seen should be questioned. I fear that we already face this dilemma with the Internet today, and we should prepare for this to get worse.
Since Armstrong, Sarnoff and Deforest our country has seen many technological changes in media. From the radio being broadcasted over waves and having static, we can now use Pandora YouTube and other online music sites to play music anywhere we go, whether it’s on our IPhone’s or our I pads. From the simple phonograph, to HD Television and I pad’s we have established new ways to get in touch with our society in 2012. From search engines like Google, Amazon, Yahoo and Bing, we have all different types of ways to get information off the internet for many types of research. I do not think though that big corporations like Amazon and Google will merge since they are both competing against one another, yet I do think that print media like newspapers and magazines will be eliminated in a few years. I like having articles and newspapers online, I think that having these online can give access to other people around the world and since these articles are constantly updating I think that this will be the new way to get information. Utilizing these new forms of social media, I think, will give corporations an upper hand in selling, promoting and advertising as well. Also, I do not think that The New York Times will fold any time soon. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace (even though recently bought out by Justin Timberlake) are some of the new ways for people to get in touch with friends and family all over the world, especially using face time. I remember when I got my first cell phone when I was 12 (2001). It was a Nokia, dark blue and thick, didn’t have a camera on it or anything and no texting, now I can’t believe that we can use face time and internet on our phone. With EPIC, I think some of the instances have happened like media convergence, but I don’t think the majority of those will happen in the coming years, even though we are on a very quick path to achieving those goals.
The EPIC 2015 video is a pretty accurate description of the digital media platform. As far as details go, yes they were far off. There is no mega corporation called Googlzon, but both Google and Amazon dominate their markets. Between Google and Amazon we can find anything we want, and it is no secret that most of us depend on those search sites.
The news war is real, it is not exactly NYT vs. Google but by allowing easy access to news articles online without payments, it is a constant battle for newspaper companies.
Social media has also become a big part of our lives. It was interesting to hear about the effects of social media and Friendster from a search engine and analytics side. Yes, I knew that by filling out my basic information on Facebook I was being recorded but it really is amazing to see how our information is used in studies, target marketing and mapping web analytics.
The one device shown in the video where people were sharing events they were going to, where car crashes happened, etc. it completely the reality of what the internet consists of. The use of social media site (Facebook, Twitter, Fousquare, instagram etc.) and geo-location technology has made this possible. Users can upload pictures, rant about traffic and spread the word about events.
I think we would be naïve if we thought EPIC was out of our reach. I think it will not be exactly as the video describes it to be, but it will be a refection of it just as the rest of their predictions were. I think that we are all becoming more engaged with the internet and younger generations are growing up with the internet as a necessity. It would not surprise me at all if EPIC became a reality with so many of us turning completely digital.
Krista West
New technology has drastically changed the world around us. We have made ourselves so dependent on these technologies that we couldn’t even fathom living without them. People no longer have to remember phone numbers, know directions, calculate numbers, or know anything for that matter. Who needs knowledge when we have Google?
New ideas, new gadgets, and new “ways to connect” are happening so fast that it’s hard to imagine what might come next. EPIC 2015 seems to make some pretty good predictions as to where we could be headed. I’m 25, my generation basically grew up as the Internet was becoming popular and more and more accessible. By the time I was writing papers for class, if I needed information I went to the Internet. I don’t know one person my age that reads a newspaper. I hate to see something as traditional and sacred as the newspaper fall by the wayside, but it definitely seems possible. Laptops, tablets, and cell phones now give us our source of news. We can have text alerts send to our phones as soon as big news breaks. How can the newspaper keep up with that?
Perhaps the most frightening part of the EPIC video to me was the privacy issue. Absolutely everything that you put on the Internet is out there for someone else to see. Whether it be companies selling your purchasing habit information, hackers looking for passwords and credit card information, or stalkers looking for your address, it’s ALL scary! As for Facebook, I do enjoy how easily it is to keep in touch with family and friends, but people have got to be smart about it! Inappropriate pictures and comments are costing people their jobs! The Pinki GPS program that that EPIC mentions is something I would want nothing to do with. Broadcasting where you are at all times is just downright idiotic. Maybe in a perfect world it would be a good idea, but the reality is, unfortunately there are people out there who would use this kind of technology for the wrong reasons. Telling the world where you are at all times seems like an open invitation for either your house to get robbed or someone to stalk you.
Technology has quickly evolved into a double-edged sword. The benefits it has provided us are amazing, but with all the awing advances we’re making, we must keep in mind how to stay smart about them.
After watching the EPIC 2015 video I felt a bit frightened by technology. Like everyone else, I try to keep up with the latest technological trends without thinking much of it. I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon and currently have a Twitter account. I do not really understand the need to tell people what I am doing at all times, but it is oddly fulfilling. I never really saw this as a threat to my privacy or safety. It was not until watching the video that they demonstrated how advertisements could one day have the ability to build profiles and target certain products directly to consumers. I feel uncomfortable thinking about the idea that someone could monitor me in such a way where the advertisements I see online are no longer random. I feel that GPS could one day enable the stalking of individuals. I don’t want all my information to be available to everyone, or people to be able to track my movements. Honestly, it’s almost a reason to feel paranoid. I no longer “check in” to places on Facebook because the world doesn’t really need to know where I am at all times.
At first, I thought that information presented in the video was real. The makers of the video sounded so convincing and confident that I momentarily forgot that it was a prediction. I don’t believe that Amazon and Google will join forces, but I can see how it could happen. Many companies are joining forces in order to become more powerful. I don’t believe that the New York Times will directly compete with Google. It was a bit extreme to say that the New York Times would sue Googlezon and that the case would reach the Supreme Court. I realize that companies may struggle to dominate, but I don’t think the struggle will be so severe that federal judges will need to be involved. I definitely believe that newspapers will no longer be printed in the future. Newspapers are starting to utilize the internet more and more every day.
I think that this video hit the nail right on the head. With the way that technology is progressing, I feel like personal privacy will soon be nonexistent. I recently deleted my Facebook because I felt like Facebook knew me and my personal history better than I did myself. Facebook recently released their new “Timeline”, where you can time travel to years in your past, exact days, exact times, and it made me feel uneasy and concerned for my own privacy. I signed up for Facebook when I was a freshman in high school and in the matter of five years had nearly 2,000 photos posted on my Facebook and over 1,000 friends. There is no way that any one of my friends was interested in 2,000 photos of me, and if they were, that’s just creepy!
At first Facebook was fun, I could talk to my friends and keep up with what they were doing; now, Facebook just uses me as an advertising tool! The privacy settings on Facbeook grant complete access to advertisers, enabling them to go into your own personal profile and view your personal interests in order to advertise directly towards you. For example, on my Facebook I posted that one of my “interests” was softball, and my “favorite movie” was Tommy Boy. My Facebook was covered in advertisements of the newest and hottest softball glove and the latest SNL memorabilia of my favorite actor from Tommy Boy. If Facbeook is granting access of my private profile to advertisers, I wonder who else they release my information to.
The video EPIC 2015 touched base on personal privacy and made it seem like it was nonexistent in this Googlezon world, which could be quickly approaching. Even though I “deactivated” my Facebook, it will never be gone. I will always have those 2,000 photos hiding behind the Facebook curtain. This video also did an extremely great job with showing how fast technology morphs into something you never thought it could become; just like when A.M. radio was reaching it’s climax, a “better” technology came in and knocked it off the grid almost instantly. There is always going to be something newer, better, slimmer, sleeker, or faster; and with technology, I think it is more important now than ever to stop and think about what you are signing up for before you make an account that can NEVER be deleted.
Much of the technology discussed in the film is generally accurate. The Wifipod can be seen as a basis for the iPhone, a portable device capable of transmitting information from one spot to another. What isn’t taken into account is the ingenuity of individuals outside of the established players of the time. While The New York Times and Google still remain in the upper echelon of online resources, sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube (now owned by Google) have been developed since 2005 and have been staples of the Alexa Top 10 rankings for, at least, the last three years.
While the technology discussed in the film and social networking is fairly accurate, the producers of the content are different (for example, Facebook was established by a Harvard student, not a powerful international technological conglomerate). I found the Googlezon idea too farfetched because I believe that Amazon would not benefit from the merger because if Amazon were to align itself with Google only, Yahoo (number 4 in Alexa rankings on January 25, 2012) could potentially remove Amazon results from their search engine leading to a decline in sales.
EPIC is different from the forms of point-to-multipoint communication we’ve looked at because it is much more personalized and user-specific. Television shows and radio programs are intended to reach a wide audience and are not filtered for the user. With EPIC, it narrows down content to provide you with recommendations based on past searches (content that is relevant to the individual’s interests). One of the ways this is seen today is on YouTube. On YouTube, if you search for a video (for example, the EPIC 2015 piece) and you watch the video, it provides a customized recommendation panel on the side based on that (my current recommendations now are EPIC 2014, Web 2.0 The Machine is Using Us, etc.).
While Amazon and Google have not come together to create Googlezon, it is a great example of how large companies are collaborating to become more powerful. The more dominant they are, the more able they are to tailor their service to the public. This also makes them more likely to have the resources to acquire information about us. While many might be afraid of the consequences that come with privacy violations, it is even scarier to realize that we are the ones supplying these companies with much of their information. This goes back to our humanistic need for communication. We love to post status updates, tweets, pictures and what events we are attending as a way to feel that others are involved in our lives and we in theirs but if this information becomes spread without our consent, we get scared. Isn’t it ironic that we are so afraid about what others might find out about us on the web, yet many of us are constantly ready to “facebook stalk” just about anyone? While EPIC is fictional, I would not be surprised if this technology became reality in the near future as many of its features exist today (specified advertisements, etc.). I believe that our generation is much more obsessed with knowing about other’s lives than about protecting theirs in terms of privacy. It is so easy to get carried away with how trendy something is and forget that consequences may follow. In relation to our discussion about radio, it is important to note how the communication trend has changed. In the emergence of radio, communication happened from point to point. It later became from point to many points. Both of those forms still exist today with email, cell phone use and modern radio. However, since the beginning of modern internet use, communication has increasingly become an endless circle of crossing points (many points to many points). The possibilities seem endless.
The events predicted in the flash video, EPIC 2015, are undeniably accurate in developing what we know today as “The Digital Media Space.” Other than the names of certain social platforms and app releases the general or broad idea behind EPIC 2015 is close to if not…reality. Realizing that the human race can’t keep up with technology makes the ideas presented in the flash video a plausible reality.
So there is no massive conglomerate called, “Googlezon,” or is there? Yes, there are many massive online giants that dominate and control their niche. Just to name a few:
Vehicle, Company
Search Engine, Google
Social Network, Facebook and Twitter (Google+ is on the horizon)
Professional Social Network, LinkedIn
Video Sharing, YouTube
Email, Gmail
Auction Site, eBay
Of the companies on this very short and basic list Google owns the majority of them. So is there a reoccurring theme between EPIC and an online monopoly?
Recently, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has expanded its ongoing probe of Google to the Google+ network. Google’s algorithms are under fire with speculation of giving its services favorable “treatment” on the most used search engine. (http://mashable.com/2012/01/13/ftc-google-plus/) So by the year 2015, who knows what Google will own, another company? A country? It’s out of our hands.
The evolving personal information construct is reality; people are hesitant to accept it. But those same people are the most involved with social media and its abundant variations. Privacy is the number one concern among social networking and people still post pictures of everything including: what they are doing, who they’re doing it with, and where they’re doing it at. If your concern is privacy then, “think before you post.”
Geo-location is one of the social media platforms now on the rise. Apps like foursquare and Facebook Places enables people to share with the digital community exactly where they are and give them incentives to “check-in” for deals or coupons. The only solution to privacy for a person is not to be online. And if a company or brand doesn’t have a digital presence it can result in a enormous decline in market share.
I think the accepting the idea of EPIC is difficult to digest because of how influential “The Digital Space” can be. Let’s think about this for a minute. Congress tries to pass SOPA and PIPA and with the support of the online community the bills entered legislative limbo. (http://mashable.com/2012/01/20/sopa-is-dead-timeline-january-blackout/)
Still think EPIC isn’t real?
The portion of the history in EPIC 2015 that I found captivating was the information about Blogger and Google News coming out in 1999, and then the introduction of Friendster in 2002. Perhaps it is because I was only 9 and I wasn’t exactly an avid Internet user, but I do not remember sites like Blogger or Google News being around so early. I was also surprised that there was ever a social network called Friendster, which sounds like a precursor to MySpace and Facebook.
The predictions about Apple coming out with a WifiPod, Microsoft having a news site that allows users to comment, Google Grid and its space for users to store online, and sites using information from social media networks and browsing history to create news tailored to individuals, are all eerily realistic and similar to the actual course of events that happened. Apple has released the iPod, iPhone, and now iPad, which all store and play music, allow users to send and receive texts, and provide maps, calendars, mobile Internet, and more. Most news sites, including those of major newspapers, allow readers to comment on the news stories and provide feedback. There have been programs created that are along the same lines as Google Grid, like Dropbox. Finally, news may not be tailored to individuals yet, but companies use personal information from social networks, as well as browsing history, to tailor advertisements to specific people.
To me, none of the predictions in EPIC 2015 seem too far-fetched. The technological advances that have been made over the last 10 years are incredible. If someone can create something like Siri for the iPhone 4S, then possibilities seem endless. Most of the predictions have not happened exactly, and one prediction that I believe will not happen, is the merging of Amazon and Google. If this idea were to ever come up, the government would probably step in to avoid a major monopoly. As far as I know, there have not been any lawsuits between news companies and sites like Google for violation of copyright laws.
I think that EPIC is unnecessary, like several programs, sites, and devices that actually exist today. Some elements that do exist that are similar to the prediction of EPIC are the user-contributed information, and the GPS information. Sites like Wikipedia are full of user-generated information. Many newspaper and news sites write stories based on the things people post on Twitter. Also, sites like Facebook and apps like Foursquare allow people to check-in to places, which is similar to the user news on the map. If EPIC were created, I don’t think that privacy concerns would be a huge issue. People are becoming more and more comfortable with putting personal information online, from pictures, to biographical information, banking information, etc.
EPIC and the history of social media differs greatly from what we’ve learned about radio, television, and cable because of the brief amount of time it has taken for the Internet and these sites to evolve into what they are today. The radio took decades to become what it is now. Television and cable followed decades later, using previous inventions like the radio. In the past 20 years, social media has taken over the world. This short video and the idea of EPIC represent exactly the way social media sites, and the world’s obsession with user-generated content and convenience has changed over the past decade.
One particular interest that was sparked from the EPIC 2015 flash movie was the future prediction of Apple WifiPod. The movie stated that this futurist invention would “allow users to send and receive messages on the go.” The Apple WifiPod was shown as being able to take pictures and display them in a geographical format. By searching the map around your location, you could view photos of a blue sky or get information of a car accident blocks away.
While this sharing of information was revolutionary at the time, the military has developed the technology to assist the United States Soldiers and allied forces. What this technology is called is Blue Force Tracker.
The Blue Force Tracker is a computer; GPS based system that provides individual Soldiers and commanders with location information of friendly military forces. The system continually transmits locations through a satellite terminal using satellite antennas either mounted on the individual Soldier or on their host vehicle. This allows the entire system to monitor the location and progress of friendly forces.
This technology can be used in route planning or warning the vehicle crew of upcoming changes in their objective. The system also allows users to input or update photos, voice recordings, and other intelligence materials. While deployed to Afghanistan, this electronic device was my closet friend and used daily!
I believe this technology will become more available in the future to the civilian marketplace linking friends, family and other users. Companies are linking delivery trucks on a global system and managers of pizza stores are tracking their deliveries. The Apple WifiPod is not that farfetched for being thought of in 2005.
Word Count: 280
EPIC is something that is not farfetched if we think about how we are already affected by user generated content. The things we buy and the websites we visit are documented and used by advertisers in order to market effectively. EPIC is something that would combine all user-generated content into one convenient page. Users would experience things they are already experiencing in one condensed venue. There are features that stem from websites like amazon, google, facebook and various news websites. Products that have been purchased before and products similar to what have been purchased show up in a feed layout allowing advertisers to hit their markets as directly as they possibly can. News stories related to stories that have been read by users will appear in similar fashion. The combination of all this user-generated material seems ideal for advertisers but I am hesitant to see how it effects the translation of news. If there is no contrast in views or news source how is there ever any true verification of news. When a user is conditioned to allow the news to come to the EPIC page there will never be any real effort to find alternative news sources or viewpoints. I am however impressed at how close we are to a program similar to EPIC. For a video made over 5 years ago it has proved to be something that is very plausible in the near future. As for some of the predictions made about corporations buying each other out I feel as though some of the presented buyouts are inconceivable at this point.
I had seen “EPIC 2014,” the earlier incarnation of this video, for another class about a year ago. There is very little difference between this and that version, but both are equally unnerving in how accurate some of their claims are.
The first thing that struck me was how close the filmmakers came to predicting the development of the iPod, giving it both a camera and GPS feature. They probably couldn’t begin to imagine the effect the iPhone and other smart-phones would have on social media and the internet at large, but they still erred in the right direction.
While slightly catastrophiszing it, I feel like the filmmakers hit the nail on the head with the idea of the EPIC construct (which could be interpreted as Facebook, Twitter or any other major social networking site) bombarding people with increasingly minuscule and personal information that paints a varied but very narrow canvas of the world at large. The vast majority of young people receive their news through social media platforms, almost always limited to the distinct viewpoints of whoever is on their friends list. This, in addition to blogging slightly overshadowing the more traditional and unbiased news mediums, shows a picture eerily similar to the media dystopia portrayed in the video.
While being slightly off the nose about the fate of print media, the video was able to grasp the gist of the future, and now present, of social media and how it redefined the entire media landscape. Its claims of social media allowing the probing eyes of governments and corporations into our private lives could not ring more eerily true today.
The portion of history that I find most compelling came in 1999 when Blogger was introduced. This portion of history is the most compelling to me because this tool, in my mind, was the first element of social media. I believe Blogger to be the first element of social media because for the first time, an individual could record their thoughts and put them out there for everyone to interact with and view. This was revolutionary and I believe began the age of instant information that we have become to consider the norm. I believe that the predication made after 2004 that is like reality today is Google and Amazon’s googlization. I believe this to be true because of the development of consumer demographics and tracking through social media. The event that did not happen, that I believe to be too far fetched is Google’s EPIC. I find it very hard to believe that a service that pays users to contribute information could exist at such a large scale. It seems to me that it would take a great deal of manpower to crosscheck the information to make sure it is accurate and the business would need a fairly large sum of money to pay such a large audience to supply all the information. Even though I find EPIC to be far fetched, there are some elements that I do see in our current society. The most prevalent element of EPIC that I see is the suggestions that are made based on personalization. This reminds me of suggestions that are made on Facebook for friends, likes and products. EPIC and the history of social media is significantly different from what we’ve been discussing in terms of radio and television because it is being done on such a larger scale. When radio and television came about it was only available to those that were in the right region (in range of the radio towers) and had enough money to invest in the products (radio, television, etc.). With social media, all that someone needs is a computer and that can be found at a local Internet café or library. It is much easier today to get on the Internet with a computer than it was in the past to own a radio or television.
After watching the video once through, reading the background information on the video and watching it a second time, I have to say that I am pretty impressed with how close some of the future products given in the video are to actual products we have today.
The evolution of Google, both real and fictional, given in the video shows us a version of Google not too far from what it is today. Google can be used in an incredible variety of ways. It’s a search engine, image and video search, map and direction provider, email service, translator, news source, and a source on shopping, weather, finance, books, and pretty much anything else you would ever need. That’s all from one website. Then you have cell phones providers partnered with Google so that you can us their services on the go, Google TV, which is a video/television/movie streaming service, and finally Google Chrome, Google’s own internet browser. While not as all-encompassing as Google Grid or Epic, today’s Google does seem to rule much of the internet and other markets.
Part of the Google Grid idea of saving and sharing things directly on the Internet is in place today. Websites like Dropbox make it possible to save and store almost anything and open it back up later on any Internet capable device. Tumblr gives users the ability to create and share blogs of their own thoughts and feelings or to re-post and share things they find on the Internet with other people with the same interests.
Pinki’s feed idea toward the end of the video gives people the power to communicate easily with each other, posting pictures and videos, giving directions, and leaving comments. This makes me think of how Facebook and, even more so, Twitter are used today; the easy share of information through posts, comments, pictures, videos, and interactions between people.
They also almost got the Apple wifiPod right. It took a little bit longer than 2005 for the iPod to have a built in camera and the ability to save from and post to the Internet. It wasn’t until 2007 when the iPhone and iPod touch were released that we got those features.
All in all, it’s scary how close some of these predictions really are to the Internet technologies of today.
The video seems a little too far-fetched, and the predictions seem unreasonable to have happened within a ten year time span (2005-2015). But some of the predictions are nearly accurate. The first one being that the New York Times will switch to becoming an online-only newspaper. Even though the New York Times is still in print, articles from the paper can be found online, and many other newspapers publish their articles online too. The prediction of the Global Tracking Device is not realized yet, but may be in the future. Websites such as Foursquare and Facebook can allow someone to post where they have been. It seems reasonable that the usefullness of the GPS and the interactivity from Facebook may combine. EPIC seems a little too unreasonable, especially in the near future. I think it’s possible that tv, phone, radio, and internet will combine into one being one day, but it’s impossible to have every bit of knowledge in one place. EPIC is different than radio/tv communications because instead of radio/tv “talking to people,” people can “talk to EPIC.” For example, a TV cannot interact with its viewers, even though the amount of viewers determines what prorgramming a network airs. People wouuld be able to interact with EPIC and will tell EPIC exactly what they like and don’t like.
This video did an excellent job of explaining how the Internet and social media has expanded and did an even better job using trends to lay out the future possibilities. The thing that I found most interesting was how Google users, and other search engines learn about you individually. They look at your trends, usual searches, genres, tendencies, likes, dislikes . . . basically everything. Some may believe reaching this point of technology and capability is positive. The supporters would say that this allows for quick searches, prioritized directly for you. Making life simpler and easier. I would tell these people that while it makes your life easier it also makes you more sheltered. You are more sheltered because you may never see anything other than what Google “thinks” you like. Because of this you may miss out on great opinions, stories, and events. Simply, I believe that it cuts out of the range of information you can obtain.
I believe that EPIC is almost already here. Many people do not realize how much websites and search engines already condense your information. For example, most ads you see are based on what you have searched for or bought. It may also be because of your demographic and your choice of music. Either way the internet has already begun to isolate you into what it thinks you like. Facebook has made similar steps to EPIC as well. The new timeline feature displays all of your photos and entries in a timeline style from present, all the way to birth. Social media is continuing to get less private, in my eyes, making it easier for hackers and scammers to steal your information.
EPIC is different from what we’ve been learning about radio and television. Television has programs that run ads based on its content. For example, during the Super Bowl, there are many beer and vehicle ads because statistically more men watch football than women. While this is still prioritizing, it does not go to such a personal level.
It’s interesting to look at the predictions in EPIC knowing what I know today. I think some compelling history used is how the creators of EPIC realized how blogger and Friendster would have such an impact on how news and information is custom tailored to our individual likes and wants. Although the creators did not correctly predict what Apple would create or which social networking websites would be the most popular, they did understand how these companies would use the social media landscape to create our own individual news worlds. I did find the prediction of “Googlezon” entertaining. I think the creators of the video gave too much credit to Amazon’s recommendations platform. The idea of Google Grid really isn’t that far off from what Google is trying to do today. With all the information and services google has and now with Google Plus, the idea is to try and give the user access to everything directly from Google. If something like EPIC actually did ever come to life, I think that there are obviously privacy concerns. I think that as long as people have a choice in what personal information they chose to share and companies are transparent with the information they collect, custom tailored news is beneficial. I think what we will continue to see is something similar to EPIC, but more or less a decentralization of news. Web 2.0 has already been around for several years and it has given ordinary people the opportunity to input their own feedback and communicate with companies, friends and brands like never before. It’s no longer a one way street of information where there is a sender and receiver. User generated content will continue to grow and be king because it is cheaper and more relevant for most occasions. News organizations will not go away because there will always be a need for concrete reporting and well delivered hard news that readers demand. Either way, the landscape of news and media is shifting to an interconnected decentralized form of interaction between people.
Media has changed drastically throughout the years, from the development of Morse code, radio, television and now internet, EPIC 2015 is right on point. Even though there is no corporation called Googlzon (Amazon and Google), Google and Amazon are now both dominating their markets. It is scary to think what technology is available now-a-days and what will be available in the future. I am stunted that I had not heard about Blogger or Friendster until I watched the video. It makes me wonder what else is out there?
Most of the futuristic elements and technology that was shown in EPIC are similar in some ways to the technology today. ‘Msn newsbotster’ reflects the ‘newsfeed’ on Facebook where you can see what your friends are doing and recently it has been updated to show what news articles your friends have looked at and read. The ‘wifipod’ is similar to the IPhone and IPods, where sending information, pictures and locations are exactly what modern technology holds.
There may be some issues with security and privacy if EPIC was to ever come into place but if one was to really think about it, our privacy has already been lost. We have Facebook which holds our information, personal pictures and family members, Google Maps were we are able to zoom into houses and neighborhoods. Personally, I think, this is what the public wants secretly. Having EPIC would save us time and effort and replace the “creeping” or “stocking” others on Facebook or twitter pages.
It was amazing to see that in 2005, the creators of EPIC where able to construct an idea stating that newspapers would no longer be around and that everything would be online. Many newspapers now are online; the smaller companies have either been bought over or have had to remove their paper version of their newspapers. New York Times has both, a physical newspaper and an online version, but what if EPIC 2015 is right?
While watching the video I realized that maybe we are watching the future of the media right before us, and maybe this is what 2015 will be like. I believe that we have yet to see it all, there will be more.
I believe the idea of EPIC is playing out before our very eyes. Our level of social networking and online sharing has become so deep, that we have already reached the point of telling each other news, sharing pictures and video, and even live face-to-face chat from across the globe, and all it takes is an instant.
Facebook and Twitter (and of course, Google) have become the foreground of the internet. No longer do we need news pages and traditional web blogs to send messages. Now, with short 140 character blurbs, included with pictures, videos or links to a more extensive statement. Those extensive statements could come from news articles, traditional web blogs, or just an extended “tweet” that violates Twitter’s 140 character limit.
I believe our privacy has been on a steady decline since the arrival of social networks. However, that’s not to say we haven’t asked for it. We live in a world we are now encouraged to say exactly where we are, take pictures and videos of it, and then put it online for all to see. It isn’t hard for someone to feel like they know you without actually meeting you in person. It could mean trouble for those who aren’t careful, but it can also be rewarding for those with shared interests.
Current technology has taken what radio started and capitalized on it. Forget point-to-multipoint. It is now point-to-worldwide. You can be anywhere in the world, but if you have the right url, you now have access to whatever it is you’ve been looking for. We’re not restricted to local servers only. We can reach any server in the world.
EPIC seems like it could be a frightening thing, but after giving it some thought, some of the features of EPIC are prevalent today. For example, the video says that everyone can contribute to it and post information about various subjects, regardless if the information is correct. This sounds very similar to Wikipedia, which is information that is not entirely credible because anyone can post and add information to any page. Another concept is that it says people can be paid, based on the popularity of the post. This is something I have seen recently in YouTube. I have an account and not too long ago received an email regarding my account and possible payment for my videos. It basically said that if I have any videos that I would like to add advertisements to; I could go ahead and do so, as long as the videos do not contain any copyrighted material in it. So the more popular the video is, the more money I could make, which was basically one of the concepts of EPIC. Also a big factor that stands out today is that Facebook incorporates many concepts that the video was talking about. For instance, the video showed at the end people podcasting their locations and sharing it with their friends, which many people actually do on Facebook. The feature of “checking in” is basically this same concept. Also Facebook has a newer feature that allows the user to show their location whenever they post a status and even when they post a picture. So the video really was not too far off in predicting what was going to happen.
In EPIC 2015, one thing in particular caught my attention. From what I understood from the video was that Google, with Amazon, would gather information about people and use this to better cater advertisements and suggestions to them. I believe this general idea was already happening to users on Facebook, and many weren’t particularly happy about it. A generic term for it is ad tailoring, or tailored ads. According to an article at inc.com from 2009, “Most people don’t like tailored web ads and they don’t appreciate advertisers using their personal information to direct those ads, revealed a recent study.” I also remember hearing about people complain about the “intrusive” ad companies at the time. Because of this, EPIC 2015’s idea seems farfetched at best. If people are opposed to companies scanning for people with “videogames” under their listed interests on Facebook, I am sure people will be opposed to further gathering of information on their lives. Considering how much most people put themselves out there via social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, I find this mildly hipocrytical. Individual people can look at the stuff individuals like and do with their time, but somehow it’s crossing the line if it’s a company attempting to sell or suggest something to them.
The video also suggests The New York Times will become print only. I personally believe the opposite will be for most print media. Most publications will cease printing and become strictly online resources. In the series .hack, a fictional world comprised of books, videogames and TV shows, printed publications died off in its timeline before 2015. Although it is just a fictional world, I believe this to be more accurate when concerning popular printed publications, if it even happens at all.
Technology has developed so much since this video was created in 2004. The creators of this video developed many predictions of what technology would become in the near future. Some of their ideas were: a wifi- ipod, google grid, newsbotster, EPIC and the emergence and domination of Googlezon. Although some of their predictions were far-fetched, most of them were very close to the truth. The wifi ipod idea is essentially the same thing as a current iphone. An iphone has the ability to listen to music, as well as, take pictures and send information; this was the essential idea of the wifi ipod. A factor the video stressed was the domination of Googlezon and the customization content. The combination of google and amazon would lead to the ultimate customization for users. This customization would be known as EPIC, evolving personal information construct. With EPIC media would be filtered, ordered and distributed. The idea of customization for different users is being used today. Many websites, such as Google and Facebook, use one’s previous searches to customize future searches and advertisements. I believe having customized information would be useful in certain instances, such as advertisements. But, I do not believe you should be restricted to customized information from the internet. There are many instances in life when you need information that is outside of your interests. Having only customized information would inhibit that. The producers of the video also mentioned news organizations from the 20th century would be gone due to personal broadcasts with GPS data. I strongly disagree with this idea. Through time how a person gets his or her news will change. Today, newspapers are less prominent than in the past. But, people have found alternative ways to get the news. Just because the method of acquiring news changes doesn’t mean people will stop seeking news from another source.
Jordan Hicks
Jennifer L. Newton
I agree with the people who have said, technology is scary. We haven’t seen Google and Amazon merge together like the clip explains, but so many other aspects of the clip are true. Technology is taking over. What impresses me the most is how we see advertisements today. With advertisements, the computer remembers what sites you are searching so that when you decide to log onto your Facebook account, the advertisements that interest you will pop up to the side of your screen. Whether you are shopping online or press the “like” button on someone’s Facebook page, the computer will remember this and generate customized advertisements that would interest you as an individual. It freaks me out that those advertisements appear. They have a mind of their own. Another thing they showed that is similar to what we see today, is the GPS. We also have GPS on our phones and the internet. Also in there is a Google program of the world. You can literally look into people’s backyards and see cars that are parked in driveways. Through our phones and the internet when we go to our GPS or Google maps site, the devices can even detect our current location without us actually typing in a physical address. This is astonishing. When I was younger, I never thought about how technology would change into this and couldn’t imagine living in a world were cell phones and internet were not around. The technology advances that we see today are scary, but yet amazing. It is crazy to imagine what our future holds. Eventually the need for newspapers will all together disappear. It is already fading with the information being available online and with the fast moving paperless world we are evolving into. It is only a matter of time until newspapers will die out all together.
I was quite surprised how far I had gotten into the video before I thought to myself that these last few concepts might be a bit far fetched. A particular aspect of the Internet history that I had found compelling was how Amazon.com really set the pace for everything and Google derived from Amazon. This stuck out to me because I hadn’t realized that Amazon came first. In my own experience, I knew about Google first and then I was introduced to Amazon. Some things I felt that were just a tad bit far fetched was MSN Newsbotster as the social networking site for those wanting to promote different news stories as well as Googlezon. Newsbotster seemed far-fetched to me simply because it is redundant in Today’s society. We already are able to share any story we read online with the click of a button and normally, we as a younger generation are not reading as much. It seems absurd that there would ever be a “need” for a website solely dedicated to that. Googlezon seemed far fetched to me solely because I doubt Google would ever merge with anyone. Upon reviewing EPIC, one major thought crossed my mind- who spends that much time online? Granted, we as college students typically spend a large amount of time online, but it is broken down simply… we are on a social networking site, we are blogging, we are listening to music, shopping or we are doing research. In order for EPIC to work at it’s best, you would have to truly take advantage of its technology by essentially staying in front of the computer all day taking in that information. It seems too time consuming. It is an invasion of privacy as well because it documents every single thing that is looked up and uses that information. EPIC is significantly different from what has been discussed in class because the radio and television we have been discussing is all a mutual partnership. We as journalists are supposed to give YOU the story, and you are supposed to read it. EPIC takes away the human element of someone’s livelihood being intertwined with the media. Some of the trends that the video and EPIC have in common with social media is the fact that Facebook is using a similar technology. Now, it groups together posts that are about “similar” topics. These are all scary and invasive things.
Some of the predictions are similar to what exists today, such as the combining of two huge online services. Google and Amazon may not have merged yet, but Google did buy YouTube in November 2006.
As for the Google Grid, it sounds like a mix between Apple’s iCloud application and social media networks such as Facebook. Where Google Grid allows one to store his or her files on an online server, the iCloud permits the same thing. Google Grid would allow one to privatize or publish his or her files, while Facebook permits one to do the same as well (i.e. pictures, videos, notes).
The wifiPod is today’s iPod Touch and iPhone; both come “with an integrated camera that can send and receive images and podcasts on the go”, along with being capable of doing much more.
Microsoft Newsbotster is incredibly similar to the Facebook of today. Users can rank the status updates of their friends by choosing to subscribe to all of a friend’s updates, most updates, or only those that are important. Users can also choose to hide certain stories from their news feed, along with being able to sort the updates according to which are “top stories” and those that are most recent. They can even choose to unsubscribe from a friend’s status updates altogether.
However, a few of the predictions are a bit far-fetched. If Google Grid were to ever come to fruition, I highly doubt it would offer unlimited storage and bandwidth. Realistically, the server would most likely crash or reach its full capacity at the least, so some sort of limit would be put in place. The Googlezon splicing of news stories could never possibly happen either. The New York Times would win the lawsuit in a heartbeat because it truly is a violation of copyright law and the Supreme Court would see it as such.
I found EPIC to be fascinating. Although the media seems to have a new trend or development frequently, I do not see it becoming as invasive as the film has implied it will be. I found the film to be very effective and could see it being potentially convincing to some as well. I thought the presentation of “Googletron” and its inconceivable personalization abilities were particularly interesting and a thought that I do not believe is too far-fetched (although the creators anticipated its arrival earlier than present day). What I do believe is a tad absurd, however, is the “Pinki” self broadcasting. Technically, it could be possible, I presume. But, I do not think that a technological advance such as that would ever replace our media outlets. Content must be delivered in such a manner that most individuals are not in a capacity to do. I truly could not imagine listening to people on the airwaves babbling on about potentially very uninformative things. Additionally, it could pose as a invasion of privacy to some. I am not sure how you would regulate airwaves to be accessed by some select members of “your station” but blocked for others. In terms of user-generated content, it is clear that the rise of social media and YouTube, for instance, has taken a massive role in today’s society. Essentially, people can be their own journalists and film makers. We have witnessed the instant fame some have received due to the amount of hits their content receives. The creators of EPIC had the right idea when they predicted the production of content over the internet by the average American. However, it is not the magnitude that they anticipated at this point in time.
None of this video seems too “far-fetched”. The way technology is rapidly evolving and how large social media has become, there doesn’t seem to be an end in site. I like how this video depicts Google as the heaviest hitter, as this search engine was still young when the film was made, and now it has become such a dominant force in both the internet world and the real economic world. Google has its hands in everything, including detailed maps of the entire world and an account with every user of a smart phone. Speaking of smart phones, take the iPhone for example. The syncing capabilities it has now with voice and name recognition, to daily planning, as well as other features, already touches on the idea of the ‘Epic’ technology that was foreseen in the video.
The only concept that didn’t really make sense to me was the New York Times role in trying to sue Googlezon. Anything displayed on the internet should be considered public information, and as Googlezon isn’t actually charging, or making profit from individuals looking at the information, I don’t see the New York Times as having a solid case. Also, as the New York Times are one of, if not, the biggest news corporation, in today’s world they are small time compared to Google or in this case even smaller to Googlezon.
It’s scary how accurate this video is to current society. Google and Amazon haven’t merged, but both are still top dogs in the internet marketplace as well as Microsoft. Though where this video made its mistake was in the convergence of Google and Amazon in a fight against Microsoft; instead it has become more of merger between Google and Microsoft to take over the technological world.
I thought that the video gave great insight on the history of the internet and what it is becoming. I had no idea that Amazon.com was the first created and how far it has come. I found myself really getting into the video and taking in the information. In a sense, Google was created from Amazon. For the first few minutes, I thought that everything discussed was possible and not far-fetched. With the technological advances in society today, anything is possible. There is some type of new technology invented every day. Social networks are on the rise and they are steadily increasing. I thought the idea of Amazon and Google teaming up against Microsoft was kind of cool. Amazon and Google would be called GoogleZon. I could see Google on the rise and eventually taking over. Google has a variety of internal components such as maps, email, informational links, etc. When a wifi-Pod was mentioned, I initially thought of the Iphone and Ipod. I think that those devices complement each other. Keyzone reminded me of Google Maps. Through Google Maps, you can input someone’s address and it shows up on the map and displays satellite photos. I’m not sure about how the whole Google Grid and EPIC idea works; but in this world today, any type of technology is possible. Google and Amazon.com are two of the main internet hotspots and still are currently not he rise. I could possibly see Google rising above all.
I believe that we possess all the tools to take our technology and social media to the next level. Over the next few years there will continue to be changes with the internet and many online sources. Google is my pick for the ultimate internet competitor. Over the years, Google has made many strategic moves. One major move was buying out YouTube. YouTube caters to millions and millions of viewers which will benefit Google in the long run. Ultimately, I think we will just have to wait and see what will happen.
Overall, I think the video takes viewers down a pretty slippery slope, but I admit I was struck by the accuracy of some its predictions.
For instance, the fictional “Google Grid” is said to make it “easier than ever for people to make their lives part of the media landscape.” In a sense, this prediction has already come to fruition, particularly with the explosion of social networking websites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter – all allowing users to publish and share media with unprecedented speed.
I also found the part about “MSN Newsbotster” (“ranks and sorts news based on what each user’s friends are reading and viewing… and allows everyone to comment on what they see”) to be particularly interesting. This prediction has not come to be true in the literal sense, but many of the internet’s most prominent website’s have recently attempted to provide users with a similar feature. For example, Twitter users can find out what news items are most interesting simply by looking at trending hashtag topics or even retweeted items that their friends think are worth sharing. I imagine that, if Google+ ever becomes as popular as the company hopes it will, the result may be something nearly identical to MSN Newsbotster. Indeed, Google News would at that point be able to use the personal information provided by Google+ (i.e. interests, what friends are reading) and present a similarly personalized news source. As I see it, adding social networking to Google’s already wide arsenal of services would make what used to be a simple search engine a truly personal – albeit, intrusive – experience.
Dominique Benjamin
If only Deforest Sarnoff and Armstrong could see the world now, they would be astonished by all of the technological advances in media since the invention of radio. While watching EPIC I couldn’t help but be a little frightened. Although many of the predictions about upcoming technology was far off, some were spot on. The “WiFi Pod “ for example is very close to technology Apple has out today. This past Christmas, my 8 year old cousin showed me his iPod Touch and I was amazed at what I was seeing. He could go on the internet, live video chat with friends, stream videos wirelessly, airprint, take photos, download apps and play games, text his friends and listen to music. It could virtually do everything an iPhone could do except make phone calls. To be completely honest, until that time, I had no idea how advanced that little device was. I only remember IPods playing music and nothing else.
Another thing I feel EPIC was correct about was the advances in Google. Although there is no “Googlezon” (yet) Google has made some major advances, for example, Google now has it’s own social networking site Google +. Using Google, you can shop online, look at images, read news, get directions, book flights and email friends. Basically you can do almost anything on Google that you need to do. I can’t begin to fathom what technological advances will develop in the next few years.
One thing that stood out to me in this video was how our ever changing and growing media is evolving and becoming very invasive. A lot of which was depicted about Google decoding what you have written is not far off. I made a post of Facebook the other day and used the word “vet” in a sentence. The next few days I noticed that I was seeing advertisements on the side of my screen for veterinarian schools and military advertisements for veterans. Now when I upload pictures Facebook, it automatically tags my friends that are in the pictures with me. This really scares me because that means out of the 722 people I am friends with Facebook is technologically advanced enough to recognize and distinguish a single face. In one of my photos, a friend was making a goofy face with her tongue out and nose scrunched and Facebook still tagged her in the photo. With technology rapidly advancing every day and not ceasing to slow down, I can’t help but be excited and frightened of what the future holds.
Wow, this video makes you think. Some of the stuff in this video seems likely to still happen, but it’s kind of scary to think that we may be heading in such a direction where our lives are basically run by our social networks (if they already aren’t). The video makes claims that are not that far off from reality. They mention something known as the wifipod where you can upload and share pictures and video on the go. Well take a look at the iphone, or any of our smart phones these days, uploading pictures and video is a simple feat.
One issue I had with the video was that they made Google out to be this company that would eventually own and run everything, like some sort of skynet, terminator style.
There was another part where the video mentioned people blogging and making money from it. Well this is actually a truth now. People who have a large fan base on sites like youtube have the ability to place google ads in front of their videos, earning them about $1 per 1000 views. There are some videos with millions of views, bringing in thousands of dollars.
Another interesting part of the video was when they mention “Googlezon” being sued for copyright infringement because of the fact-scrapping bots. Very recently a major uploading and downloading site, “megaupload” was shut down for piracy and copyright issues. While it may not be an exact match, it is very interesting to see a connection between a prediction from eight years ago, and reality.
Although the video, Epic 2015, did make a few valid predictions, some of them were a bit too improbable just because of the complexities that came with it. For example, their mentioning of the “Google grid” is somewhat similar to Google Docs that we have now. You do have the options of storing documents or making them viewable to the public. Another prediction that was made about “Googlezon” actually made me laugh. That would be like FaceBook and Twitter combining forces and forming “TwitBook.” The idea in itself if far too ridiculous just because of the fact that those are two very large search engines and the idea of them working together would have far too many clashes between the two companies. They mentioned their “fact-stripping” robots which would probably cause more harm than good.
The customization of content in advertising is something that is already happening on some websites. For example, FaceBook has advertisements popped up on the side of the screen that appeal to either something that you were just talking about in a comment to another person, or if you visit a website very often they will usually have their advertisements up for you to click on their page and explore what else they have to offer. Vanessarao mentioned that this is very similar to the way that the internet it currently run which is very true! The internet in itself is a huge search engine and it does store our most popular sites in order to appeal more to our interests.
Another last point that I would like to point out is their mention of The New York Times becoming almost obsolete by paper and mainly online. This prediction was very much so the truth. Although there are a select few that do read the newspaper, most people access these materials on their websites. According to the “Head’s Broadcasting in America” book, “many newspapers continued to offer headlines and snippets from their print publications free online, but increasingly charged for full-text access” (McGregor 10).
Though it decreased their print profits, it increased their online profits tremendously. The video in itself was very interesting—though it had a few flawed predictions—it was very interesting to see what the future predictions were back in 2005.
Although the video was sensational and fictional, the way it described mega powers like Google, Amazon, and the New York Times was far from fiction in my opinion. Internet websites over the years have changed and adapted at a highly rapid pace to the point where the most successful ones can serve multiple functions at once. Google serves as the main control center or launching point for all the information one can possibly find. When a person needs to find breaking news, they can simply “google it” and it’s instantaneously right there. The video’s assessment of the future of newspapers was very accurate. While I don’t think that newspapers will be totally obsolete by 2015, there will eventually come a point where the method of finding news through physical reading a paper every morning will be considered archaic.
The idea of Epic is an accurate representation of where technology is heading today. Social media and interaction with one’s surroundings and people have become a staple in people’s everyday social media use with devices such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, where people can instantly communicate ideas and opinion to others. Like in the video, you can tweet to all of your nearby friends of how nice of a day it is outside. Each avenue of social media serves a different purpose but eventually there will be a medium that does in fact merge every avenue into one. Technology is rapidly changing before our eyes, but we live in a generation that is savvy enough to keep up.
Although it is obvious that the video transitions into fiction based on what its producers depict as a possible sequence of future events, the end struck me the most. At the end of the video, news media as we know it today is eradicated and replaced by citizenship blogging. However, citizenship blogging is prevalent and quickly emerging in today’s world with the help of new, upcoming technology allowing consumers to become more mobile. News blogging is a present issue that I’m sure will become increasingly controversial as the years pass. What is news blogging? News blogging can be defined as citizens spreading news through the internet. The problem? None—yet. The problem would arise if and when such blogs became the main source of news rather than online diaries. The idea at the end of the video is that the United States’ own population would collectively serve as news collectors and distributors. This would be made possible by mobile devices, such as smart phones. Today, a rubbernecker can take a quick snapshot of an accident on his cell phone and upload it instantly using the same device. This same person can add a quick caption including the location of the accident, the number of vehicles involved, and whether or not there seem to be injuries. However, are people who are not formally educated to deliver news a credible source? How would such blogging be regulated? Although blogging is currently being embraced and becoming more widespread, I disagree with the video producers’ projection that professional news media will be eradicated. However, I believe it is possible and probable that the news media industry will shrink over time. Upcoming generations are more technology savvy than former generations and will demand a different, unique method of delivering news. For additional information and insight, go to http://news.cnet.com/The-future-of-blogging/2030-1069_3-5654288.html
I am going to approach this question in parts:
I think the most compelling part about the video was the idea of how the internet was designed to be a helpful tool but then progressed to be a corrupt system. Even though this video was invented over six years ago I think the fear of what control the internet could and does have is prevalent. The idea that this powerful tool will take over our generation transpired into the video in an extremist extent. I found the information about geotagging to be a tool which is connected to today. Geotagging and sharing instant personal information (i.e. location, photos, tips, music, etc) was something that is used for good but can produce evil.
My thoughts on the EPIC are that the idea of an internet tailored to you is something which I know every American would love. Facebook already tailors advertisements towards you directly depends on your activity on their site. Yet, the idea that a machine can compile a self-identification on every individual is something that spooks me. Even though it may be easier I think it will provide more harm for personal identification. The ability to know everything about someone will pose many threats to their safety and identification. The theory of the idea was neat and we see how in this society we actually have parts which have in some form actually happened.
The idea of google and amazon merging has not exactly happened but the access and search methods have come along the same technology. The search engine can find a match that is more tailored to you, specific and thorough by finding key words or phrases to match your search.
I thought this video was really interesting. It’s amazing how these predictions were made all the way back in 2005 and they still hold some water. Of course, there is no “Googlezon” or “Google Grid”, but we can still see similar examples in today’s world. The fact that Google is one of the top dogs of the internet to this day is proof of this, as is the emergence of social media that this film hints at. The idea of EPIC itself reminds me of the way Wikipedia and many “news” blogging sites work: No reliable sources or journalists needed. Anyone with a computer and a brain can post what they wish and claim it to be fact. It’s not as rampant or blatantly out of control as EPIC, but there are eerie similarities. I don’t the see the New York Times getting shut down anytime soon, but it is true that print media is on the decline in favor of the internet. Something else I found interesting was the part where blogging for money was mentioned as something that would eventually happen. This is somewhat personal for me, since I have been paid for writing blogs on sites like AOL. Like Leah White mentioned in her comment above, I think it would be interesting to see DeForest, Armstrong, and the rest of the early mass media inventor’s reactions to what technology and mass media has become today. Then again, this video is focused more on the future and I’m sure our reactions will be similar in 50 years time. Who knows? Maybe by then the internet will be a thing of the past.
No doubt about it, the combination of Web 2.0, the ever growing popularity of Social Media, and the rapid evolution of online technology have forever changed how the individual consumer deals with news and entertainment content. With the advent of powerful news aggregation sites like Google News, the endless flow of content from news organizations worldwide allows the individual to choose stories that are indeed catered to his or her interest to the point where owning a subscription to any sort of print medium would be laughable when the cost of accessing Google News is absolute zero.
I laughed when I heard that Amazon and Google were to join forces in order to ‘share’ user content to offer a hyper-customized content packages and online ads. It is quite scary how companies like Google and Facebook make a living off of offering customized advertisements based on what emails you send and what you list as your interests, however, I doubt the viability of two internet behemoths like Google and Amazon joining forces to share data as Google on its own is an antitrust landmine, and any ‘sharing’ of user data would not go unscrutinized by Washington regulators.
The discussion of the New York Times suing Google for copyright infringement by automatically gathering content from the New York Time’s online page in August 2011 was hilarious, of course, because the mere statement of this fact dates the video heavily. Although I don’t doubt that former news giants are angry about their content being used by Google News, I believe they do not need to resort to legal proceedings in order to stay in business. I do indeed access the New York Times on a regular basis separate to Google News as their online content is laid out in a very attractive fashion. Google News does not display news from these sites, but merely links stories back to their original creator, like the New York Times, offering the places like the New York Times to earn heavy ad revenue. I believe that old print organizations may be able to keep their heads above water in the digital age so long as they offer a highly attractive user interface, and make use of online advertising.
I think it’s interesting to see how people thought technology would advance back in 2004. Even though, some of those predictions did not come true, technology has advanced in ways many probably could not imagine back in 2004. Technology is taking over the world. Everyone wants the latest, fastest piece of technology, which increases the need to create faster cell phones, more advanced televisions, more complex music players and more interactive social networking sites. I also found it interesting to see the types of social networking sites that they predicted from 2004. Most of which I had never heard but the ideas of how they would run sound like the beginnings of the social networking sites that we now have. If there is anything that scares me about the concept of new technology it would have to be that news papers and written news documents will soon disappear. It is scary to see how fast information can be posted on different sites and sometimes without permission. Something like that makes the internet and advancing technology dangerous. On a brighter note, seeing the video and seeing their predictions for the future that we are now in, makes me wonder how technology will advance by 2020. While EPIC had the right idea about topics like Google and Amazon merging they are far from accurate as they could not foresee the type of success and power both Amazon and Google have today. Overall, I think the video was a great way to show that technology is always moving and even though our predictions today may not be accurate in years to come, it is inevitable that our technology will continue to grow and advance.
I highly doubt television programming will be dead in 10 years. I’m not sure television programming will ever die to tell you the truth. How many people said books would die? Radio would die? Television programming isn’t going anywhere. Will it change? Oh, most drastically. We’ve already seen the kind of effect creations like Netflix and Hulu have done to TV programming. I’m not sure how much longer people will be willing to pay subscription fees to watch certain shows if they can be found online for free. It is possible TV networks would think up some ways to befriend the online world rather than look at it as an enemy. I would not doubt if certain networks made a similar move as Netflix and charge a decent price for full access to all seasons of their shows. Since more and more people are moving on to watching almost everything on a portable device- it would be wise of TV networks to move in the same direction. I think that would be the networks’ best bet. Hulu would have to cease to exist for such movements to be made though. Or the networks and Hulu can work a deal where only some previews or episodes would be available for free (mostly to seduce viewers that paying for the whole series is worth the money). I also liked the idea (http://www.fastcompany.com/1696925/the-future-of-television-and-the-digital-living-room) of “checking in” to TV. TV shows already ask viewers to text in their answers to live quizzes or for access codes to special features online. “Checking in” to a TV program on social media is a great way to promote through word of mouth and possible give out deals and discounts to loyal customers on that Netflix-look-a-like website of the TV network. TV programmers are going to have to be more creative if they want to make any profits in the next 10 years because subscription fees are decreasing. TV networks have to be more mobile and more interactive with viewers.
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