I wrote this essay a while ago on the 2009 Horizon report. I enjoy reading them yearly. Its interesting how predictions are normally so accurate. When writing this previously i was astonished and excited for these new innovation and now that most of them are here it seems so normal.
We live in an evolving decade that innovations are fluid and ever-present. We constantly have access to technology that presents us with freedom and endless opportunities while protecting our freedom of expression and privacy (Anton, 2009). Technology has not only made our society more independent but also made information easily accessible from anywhere in the world, at any time. The Internet has presented a global platform for information, personal expression, innovation and economic development that has not only shaped our lifestyles but our minds too (Anton, 2009). Few could have predicted that at the start of 2009, one-and-a-half-billion people worldwide access the Internet. It has also globalized education and enabled educational institutions to be able to offer courses to students anywhere in the world (Bonga,2007).
The 2009 Horizons Report aims to predict upcoming successful technology that will be used to expand teaching, learning, research, or creative applications within the next 5 years. Six merging technologies including Mobiles, Cloud Computing, Geo-everything, The Personal Web, Semantic-Aware Applications and Smart objects aim to create an evolving future of excellence.
Mobiles, single portable devices that can make phone calls, take pictures, record audio and video, store data, music, movies, and interact with the Internet all in the palm of our hands. The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the Internet for most people in the world in 2020 (Rainie, 2008). Mobiles have enabled student’s information of every kind so satisfy their every need. They have become a gadget consisting of very educational need possible thus eliminating other necessities being calculators, watches, laptops, cameras, iPods, video recorders and diary’s as mobiles continue to combine every technology into one device.
In 2007 a platform called Android was created to allow devices to communicate with one another creating social applications. Privacy is of a concern to fellow consumers as some might not want to notify others of their vicinity. This insight to an open virtual world includes voice texting with automatic spelling correction, direct uploads to you tube and a 360degree-rotating screen (Chu, 2008). These devices should be seen in the next year.
Like Mobiles, Cloud computing is also seen to appear in one year or less. Cloud computing aims to create a platform where applications are easily accessible by users on the web instead of their computers. This benefits us as it is in a virtual space therefore no destruction can be done to it and the user will have permanent access to their files form anywhere in the world. Tools are easily available on the Cloud, sharing data is fast and simple and applications are always available, saving clients large amounts of money and time. It is estimated that within the next five years, the annual global market for cloud computing will surge to $95 billion (King, 2008). While this seems like the perfect innovation, people worry about the possible misuse of their information as secondary data (Horrigan, 2008).
There are also worries of privacy with Geo-everything. Geo-everything refers to a program that is used to show location with just two co-ordinates. It determines and captures the location of a person, an object or a place. By taking a photo of an object or area a built-in geolocative program tags it and can track down where it is. The device incorporates our experiences in the real world with the virtual world online changing the way we think, behave, and interact. By looking at your mobile handheld map, your photos will appear in the areas they were taken in (Pash, 2008). A virtual geocaching is a drop box online used to store images and other media of any specific location, a perfect set-up to educate virtual tourists.
Many are concerned the upcoming technology will be abused and made sleazy, isolating as well as the abuse of people privacy. GPS has improved convenience of our life, it has also degenerated and worsened our integrity and privacy. As Iphones can upload images directly onto a map, one can trace another’s photos. If some of these images include a persons house or many photos from one area, people can instantly know where one another live, making it very dangerous. Cell phones can be used to pinpoint your location and a skilled hacker could likely get that data from your mobile carrier (Honan, 2009).
The personal web explores tagging, aggregating, updating, and keeping track of content of a persons personal need. Personalized windows to the networked world display ones interests, social and professional activities. Facebook, Twitter and Myspace are in the mainstream and encouraging personal web use, being a member of all three myself I find them very addicting, enjoyable, sociable and very time consuming when trying to write a Horizons report. It aims to educate at the same time as a means for personal and professional reflection. People are able to interact, voice their opinions and see things in a different light. Friends are updated on your online actions, which can be seen as stalking to a degree. As profiles educate others on your life it may cause real life social interaction problems as some can only socialize in the virtual world (Holland, 09).
Semantic-aware applications are tools designed to make the use of a search engine, a whole lot easier and more like the human mind. No longer will keywords be necessary in a few years as use this tool aims to understand a question being asked and provides a direct answer saving time and effort when researching. As it still has programming faults it is expected to be seen in 4-5 years. However for the first time society can see a foundational shift in technology well in advance of its arrival (Ohler, 2008). It is a Pro-based invention that many others and I wait in suspense for.
In a similar time frame, it is expected for smart objects to head into the mainstream in 4-5 years too. They aim to connect the physical world with the world of information, as objects will know what they are, where they are and why they were made. By scanning your objects you give them a sense of being. This smart object can identify your belongings, tell you the weather, guide you to a destination thus incorporating the Internet into every object in the world as the virtual world will be the heart of every appliance. They will aim to make every day life simpler and faster, soon some objects will be able to know a lot more about what you want to know. One of the major problems people think will arise from smart objects is our own personal security, privacy, and safety. People can be tagged just as easily as objects. The question is, will people care about being tagged when their Smart Fridge texts them to tell them their low on milk (Timo, 2008).
We say technology brings freedom and endless opportunities as our economy expands in many new and exciting ways, but is having your life recorded back to front on the easily accessible web really a good idea? By living in the virtual world so often, will we be set back from real life experiences as we are continuously pulled into this ever-evolving growing market? Only time will tell, but until then I look forward to these New and Emerging Media Technologies.
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