Woody Balut
Media Literacy
Rob Larson
4/5/11
Media Tools of Tomorrow
In today’s world media is used almost every minute of every day, however, imagine what the world was like before any of the media came around. There was no radio, television, internet, etc… That is something that is hard to think about, due to the fact that in today’s world almost everything we do is done through medium known as media. However, something that is even harder to think about is to imagine what the world will be like in the future, and the many media advances that will occur, or in some cases what could fail. Media has changed drastically since the beginning of time obviously, but even more so in the past 50-100 years. It is without a doubt that in the next 50-100 years it is only going to change at a more drastic rate. However, due to how advanced our media is today, it is hard to think about how the media could be technologically improved. There are many types of media, and many devices that are key in the media world. There are a few major types of media devices that will most likely change the most, and become the most important. These include radio, film and television, phones, the Internet, and print.
The radio is something that has been important for a very long time, and something that will continue to be important for years to come. Then again, this form of media will be important for different ways. According to an article on the Gerson Lehrman Group website written by Brad Saul, radio revenues began to fall in 2007, and there are 3 main reasons why. The economy is the first reason; due to the fact that many automobile makers are in economic distress and more than 25% of radio commercials are geared toward automobile manufacturing, auto dealers, or related services. Second, is the fact that new media is coming around that the radio is having a tough time competing with. Companies are now choosing to do advertisement online rather than on the radio, causing the radio to lose the money from advertising that they usually would profit off of. The third, is the fact that this generation has little or no interest in radio. Texting, social networking, and television have taken over from the previous generations that thought of the radio as very important. The radio needs to find a way to direct consumers attention back to where it used to be in generations past, before it is too late. If not, commercial free tools such as Ipods and Pandora will soon take over becoming the standard in vehicles and homes all around the world. (Saul)
Film and television is a form of media that has changed over time, and in the future will continue to change in many ways. Many new developments have been attempted and are still in the making, such as the OLED TV (Organic Light Emitting Diode) that saves energy by using a different type of backlight, and the SED TV that was energy efficient and had a great picture quality. On the other hand, these developments have also had their own faults. The OLED TV is great, but is not a top selling item due to the fact that it cannot be made as a big screen due to technical reasons. The SED TV failed because of the simple fact that major companies fought over the idea, and the development went undeveloped. Conversely, there is
an idea that is improving the television of today and that is 3D television. As of today, 3D has been around for a while, but not on an HDTV that you are able to bring to your home. However, there are some problems with this new idea because 3D TV only offers select channels that one may watch, and even though major movies are now coming out in 3D, it is still a very small amount. Another hassle of 3D is the expensive accessory that one must be have in order to view these 3D televisions. This accessory is a set of “active shutter 3D glasses,” which according to psmag.com will cost somewhere around $150. So, in the future consumers can most likely be ready for 3D televisions that cover all movies and channels, that you can watch in the comfort of your own home, and without the nuisance of 3D glasses. (Strauss)
In society today, the television is improving as well as the sources for the consumer to watch. Online streaming of movies and TV shows has become something very popular with Netflix. With Netflix, the consumers are able to stream their favorite movies and TV shows directly to their computer or television without leaving the couch. This concept has caused the hyped Blu-Ray disc to not be as popular as some companies may have planned. Netflix has over 10 million paying subscribers, and this number is increasing rapidly (Butler). Due to the fact that people today want things brought to them quickly and easily, and it is safe to say that Netflix has only reached the brink of its popularity. Netflix has influenced change through in several major television corporations because of the creation of Comcast On Demand service. The trend of online streaming has begun, and is taking the world by storm; soon all TV’s will have the option of some sort of Netflix, with more movies and shows available to watch quickly and conveniently.
A third major tool of media that has been used in the past, today, and in our future is the telephone. The phone is another tool whose future is uncertain. The first question is what is the future of landlines? The answer is that they will soon be obsolete. With cell phones being used by almost every person at a very young age, home phones are becoming unnecessary, and an extra expense for families that they obviously do not want to pay. According to a study by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the number of households with landline phones declined from 96.2% to 94.1% between 1998 and 2003, and the number of people with cell phones increased from 36.3% to 62.8% (Evslin). The percentage of landline use has continued to drop since then. In 2008 an article in the NY Times stated that one in five homes do not have a landline phone (Hansell). Cell phones are taking over home phones. The cell phone has become popular among all people, and is more technologically advanced than many people ever imagined it could be, and it will only continue to get better in the future. In a recent commercial for the Motorola Atrix 4G cell phone, Motorola claims that the phone is just as much a laptop as it is a cell phone, showing the impressive technology that the phone holds. Again, it is hard to think how this piece of technology could continue to be improved.
Still, there are a few things that are starting to become popular that I feel will become standard in the future for phones. First of all, “Facetime” was put on the Iphone four giving you the ability to actually see the person through video while you talk to them. Now of course it has several glitches now, but in the future this very well could be the norm when talking on a cellular phone. One new interesting technology with cellular phones is the ability to lock, unlock, and start your car from your phone. Depending on your phone service and which car you have it is possible to get this technology for 29.99 a year, however, if you do not have the correct phone and depending on your vehicle this convenience will cost you somewhere from 299.99-499.99. It is only the beginning for the phone controller generation, and one can only imagine where it will go in the future. (Wells)
The Internet has now been around for forty years, and this technology has improved incredibly since its birth. The question remains, what is next for Internet? An interesting concept that is beginning to make way in the world of the Internet is the idea of multi-touch technology. This technology started with the Ipad, and the ability to have a touch screen with a bigger screen then the average cell phone. The mouse will soon be a thing of the past, and this multi-touch technology could very well be a thing of the future.
However, according to an article written by Michael Moyer on the future of Internet in Scientific American stated “it is hard to say how the Internet will grow or if it even will grow due to the fact that the infrastructure of the internet is hidden.” Also, according to Kc Claffy, a professor at the University of California warns consumers that, “We know even now that we are at some fundamental limits of what the Internet can handle.” The current addressing system of the Internet can hold about 4 billion IP (Internet Protocal) addresses, and the Internet is on pace to pass this number of addresses in about two years. Researchers are working on a system that can hold 6 billion addresses, however, if this is not achieved within two years, the Internet will be in serious danger (Moyer).
The last media topic, and in my mind the least valuable tool of media in today’s world is print. Print is something that is in extreme decline. One main cause of this decline is the fact that a consumer can get the news online at any moment. In the last ten years news websites have had an audience increase of 63%. The surge of online news and alternate media besides print may cause the print industry to come to an end. Tony Dearing, former editor of the Flint journal states that up and coming journalists need to be flexible for any type of media, and ready to work predominately in online media (Ramirez). This is happening all over, according to Anja Pasquay, member of the Federation of German Newspaper Publishers, “the advertising market in regional daily newspapers fell 12.1 percent with a similar decline in advertising-related sales” (Ramirez). If the newspaper companies can make money off advertisements, and companies are seeing a decline in papers sold, the companies are in a perfect whirlwind downward. The future of print does not look bright.
Media is a crazy medium because it is very unpredictable and has changed drastically since the beginning of time, and also in the last 100 years. Not only have the devices changed, but the overall media world as well. It is hard to believe the many improvements and discoveries that have been made since the beginning of time, however, it is even harder to think about what amazing, incredible, or even horrible things could and most likely will occur in the future. Digitaltrends.com doesn’t lie with their quote “The next great thing is well into its development cycle, even as were just starting to get settled in with current technological standards,” (Nickson).
Works Cited
Butler, Isaac. "The Future of Netflix." Parabasis. 20 Mar. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://parabasis.typepad.com/blog/2011/03/the-future-of-netflix.html>.
Evslin, Tom. "There Won’t Be Any Landlines in 2013." Fractals of Change. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://blog.tomevslin.com/2007/05/there_wont_be_a.html>.
Hansell, Saul. "Snip! Nearly One-Fifth of Homes Have No Landline - NYTimes.com." Technology - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com. 17 Sept. 2008. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/snip-nearly-one-fifth-of-homes-have-no-landline/>.
Moyer |, Michael. "Observations: The (good and Bad) Future of the Internet." Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American. 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=the-good-and-bad-future-of-the-inte-2010-02-22>.
Ramirez, Brian L. "E-readers Promise Bright Future for Print Media | Business | Deutsche Welle | 28.05.2010." Home | Deutsche Welle. 28 May 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5443144,00.html>.
Saul, Brad. "The Future of Radio - GLG News." Gerson Lehrman Group - The Expert Network. 8 Jan. 2009. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.glgroup.com/News/The-Future-of-Radio-31310.html>.
Smith, Jackie. "Journalists Discuss Future of Print Media | Central Michigan Life." Central Michigan Life | The Independent Student Newspaper of Central Michigan University. 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cm-life.com/2009/04/22/journalistsdiscussfutureofprintmedia/>.
Strauss, Bob. "The Future of Film - LA Daily News." Home - LA Daily News. 15 Feb. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_14406966>.
Wells, Antonio. "Viper SmartStart Android App Allows Car Remote Start, Lock, Unlock, Plus More | Android Tapp. Android App Reviews." Android Tapp. Android App Reviews, Android Apps, News, Ratings, Interviews and Showcase. 29 July 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.androidtapp.com/viper-smartstart-android-app-allows-car-remote-start-lock-unlock-plus-more/>.
Nickson, Chris. "The Future of Television and HDTV." Technology News, Product Reviews, Software Downloads | Digital Trends. 20 Mar. 2009. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.digitaltrends.com/features/the-future-of-television-and-hdtv/>.
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