Bonus Blog

Technology changes at a rapid rate. However, at some point the way we communicate can only change so much. Although it is hard to imagine what new methods of interaction can be developed in the near future, in many cases, certain means of communication have evolved as much as they will. The technology behind video phones has been around quite a while. However, they never caught on, because people do not want their media to that salient. They want to be able to limit the nonverbal cues that the person they are communicating with receives.

What I see as the significant change happening is the portability of communication. In just the past few years cell phones have become a part of every day life. The popularity of cell phones are rendering payphones obsolete. In fact, AT&T just announced that they will no longer be offering payphone services LINK.

Phones becoming wireless is just the beginning. Text messaging allows for short messages anywhere and developing data technologies allow for wireless internet everywhere. With wireless, people can be connected anywhere. They can use AIM portably or even facebook wherever they want.

The advancements that I see changing the way people communicate come through portability. The blackberry already allows people to email from wherever and whenever they want. As time goes on, computers will get smaller, work faster, and draw less power. If you want to go into concept theories in a few years mini fuel cell and wireless power should start coming around allowing for nonstop use of portable computers. Future technology could eventually shrink computer displays from glasses with a built in screen (which exist now) to a monitor built into a contact lens.

When everybody becomes a walking computer communication will change some. There will no longer be an excuse for a delay in asynchronous communication. Like with the blackberry, people will know instantly when they have a new email, someone has facebooked them, someone has im’ed them, or whatever the next system will be. However besides the change in how synchronous communication is, most theories should remain the same. The fact that there are currently theories that have been around for quite some time shows how timeless they really are.

I think the class does a fairly good job of touching on most branches of social computing. To finish off I am detailing my new communication method for the future. I have decided that in the future there will be a system called moose. By using moose you can telepathically message anyone. It is an asynchronous system. When using moose you will have to check your telepathic messages by directly hooking your brain up to the internet. However since everything is wireless. This will not be a problem. You can connect anywhere. The beauty of moose is that it is not recordable. As soon as you receive a message, you forget it. This makes it a great medium for breaking bad news.