What the Future Holds (Bonus Blog)

I think many of the theories we have studied this semester will hold in the future, especially those of selective self-presentation. As the internet grows and becomes more complex it is likely that it will be easier for people to deceive other online. However, the possibility also arises that is will become easier to detect online deception. I think other issues that will need to be addressed will arise from social networking sites such as Facebook and the impact they are going to have on people’s future opportunities because of the selective self-presentation and impression formation opportunities they provide. Although we don’t know what Mark Zuckerberg has in store for Facebook’s future, it is likely that that the network will become more complex. The employers of my generation have already found ways to do background checks on interviewees and it is inevitable that what people have in their Facebook profiles now might come back to haunt them.

Although not directly studied in COMM 245, I think a major issue that will need to be addressed in the future is the impact of the internet on the television industry. Google has grown to be the one of the most powerful Fortune 500 companies in America within a mere ten years of being founded. Perhaps the company’s biggest accomplishment is revolutionizing one of the driving forces of the entire media industry—advertising. By only displaying ads that are relevant to customers’ search topics Google has raised billions of dollars in advertising revenue and has become more effective at advertising than traditional forms of media, especially television. It will be interesting to see how the television industry will deal with the ever-growing force of the internet, that is, if it is able to survive at all.

A subject I have always been fascinated with that I think COMM 245 should cover is intellectual property on the internet. Most people would never even consider stealing something, but for some reason when it comes to movies, music, etc. on the internet, peoples’ usual moral rules just don’t hold up. The internet makes music seem as free as air and the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has begun to fine people up to $250,000 for illegal downloading. Our own campus has even taken measures to address this issue with the introduction of Ruckus network back in October, which allows Cornell students to legally download music. I think COMM 245 should definitely explore the phenomenon of illegal downloads and what makes people push their ethical standards aside to break the law.

As a Comm. Major I have been studying the effect of the internet for years. COMM 245 has not only enhanced my previous knowledge, but has also opened my eyes to a lot of aspects of the internet I had never even considered. In addition to the possibilities the future of the internet holds, it is equally worthy to contemplate what lessons COMM 245 will teach in thirty years from now!