Module 3 Blog Post – Rhyme of History

In his speech, “The Next 5,000 days of the Web,” Kelly (2007) alludes to the impact which the web will have upon our very lives through embodiment, restructuring, and co-dependency.  He reminds us that these machines are merely “portals to the web” which has allowed us to transform from linking computers, to linking data.  As with any technology there is a price;  being so connected also makes us transparent. 

During his speech, I was suddenly reminded of the Star Trek movie, “Voyager” where the Voyager satellite went around collecting information until it was finally ready to come home and share the information it had collected to its creator.  When Kelly kept referring to the web as “the one” and that we are the web, I began to wonder if that has not already happened to us.  Our co-dependency on our portable devices has begun to take over our own lives. People are calling, texting, tweeting, sharing pictures, videos, etc. at the blink of an eye. 

One of these forms of technology which falls in this category is the ability to use a touch screen device to record your thoughts using digital text such as with my I Phone.  This is reminiscent of the notepad, or as one of my former colleagues called it, his own personal palm pilot.  It is portable thus allowing you to have easy access to it when needed.  Even on my I Phone I have a memo pad app where I can create my grocery list.  Now with the emergence of the I Phone 5, I wonder where the next I Phone will take us? 

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Emerging and future technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Kelly, K. (2007, December). Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the Web [Speech]. Speech delivered at the EG 2007 Conference, Los Angeles. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html