a new world is coming

so i’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately (hrm… when do i not actually?) about the state of things… not only in regards to my life but the state of the world. the more i observe where we are as a society, the more i can’t help but realize that we are at a crossroads–a turning point as a civilization. things are beginning to change.

first off, let’s take a look at technology and the increasingly important role that it’s playing in our everyday lives. since the last dotcom bust of the late 1990s, the intern are embarking on ‘web 2.0′ (i really hate buzz-words, so this term really means nothing other than defining this trend), which supposedly is the next version of the internet led by organizations like google, flickr, yahoo and the hundreds of online digital communities that have popped up. with the increased rate of information exchange, communications and interaction, most of our lives are shifting to be experienced online as the amount of democratic power we hold is becoming widely available. google is finally giving microsoft (the once powerful, unreachable conglomerate of a software company) something to worry about and microsoft is definitely worried as of late. they no longer are the innovative software developers they used to be as they have fallen behind in trends and innovation, which of course has been led by companies like google leading the shift into web 2.0. everything will be done online. the current handful of web-based application, or RIAs (rich internet applications), that google has developed are merely a glimpse of what is to come. software will shift towards the internet rather than having to install software on your local computer, which offers many benefits for both the developers (easy updates, more control) and users (no installation requirements, no technical problems for inexperienced users).

additionally in conjunction with the increased role that the internet will have, ubiquitous, or pervasive, computing is becoming more of a reality, which is simply the existance of digital technology embedded in our phyiscal environment in such a way that it essentially becomes invisible due to our daily, continous interaction with it in a more natural way. soon computers will not exist as those humming boxes we all have next to our desks. keyboards and mouses will only be alternate input devices. ubiquitous computing offers hope in the human-computer interaction (HCI) problem. we will interact with computers using more natural gestural commands with our bodies rather than only our hands via the keyboard/mouse. computers will be able to recognize and respond appropriately to our spoken words as well as our hand and eye movements in order to complete a task. therefore, since such technology will be totally embedded in our physical space, we will be interacting with our environments rather than with a machine/computer. this is essential in order to get beyond our current limitations to access that exist with the current state of digital technologies, computers and the internet.

furthermore, ubiquitous computing offers several other promises as well. we are quickly running out of available ip addresses (the numerical address to your computer on our global network). therefore, a new method of assigning ip addresses has been developed that essentially allows us to assign an ip address to every single grain of sand on the planet. if you haven’t realized, that’s trillions of available ip address! that’s not how this technology will be used, however. instead, we will be able to assign every physical object with an ip address in order to track its precise location using GPS tracking devices combined with KML files used in google earth/maps and yahoo maps and geotagging objects. geotagging has become one of the greatest new trends as it allows people to assign an exact location for things on the net, such as their shared photos and the latitude/longitude position it was taken. this can then be overlaid onto a map to provide a visual map of the user’s trip or path taken via a series of geotagged photos. with all objects being able to be tracked in real-time, we will no longer lose our items. say, for example we lost our keys (as we always do!). well, since they have their own ip address via an RFID tag attached to the keyring, we can simply google the keys’ ip address or alias and it will plot onto a map where they are located with impeccable accuracy. the possibilities are limitless…

aside from technology, other changes are taking place if you have been paying attention. the united state’s role in the world has become degraded and negatively altered. we are no longer the country others look up to, but rather are more ashamed and disgusted at due to our recent bad decisions and moves that are simply looking out for our own self-interests rather than the interests of the global community. our economy is suffering. we no longer manufacture many products here at home as everything is being outsourced and manufactured internationally where labor is cheaper. thus, we no longer have a strong economic backbone that manufacturing tends to provide… we are more dependent on highly unstable technology markets whose intense fluctuations can disrupt the economy instantly. our involvement in iraq has continued to weaken us slowly, as if an infection continuously feeding off our resources with nothing in return and no real progress being made. and now, we have more conflicts to consider–iran, north korea and now israel and lebanon in the region. if we get involved in a war with iran or north korea in the short-term, it will likely be over. other economies are quickly gaining strength… china (strong manufacturing economy) and india (strong technological economy).

meanwhile, our (the united states’) inability to move beyond that which we are comfortable with. this is stifling our innovation, creativity and entire social fabric. take architecture for one… we know recent trends in architecture are not the appropriate response to the problems it has to answer. however, we continue building much of the same. our cities continue to sprawl, designed only around the car which forces us into supporting the private automobile industry since our cities are not pedestrian or public transportation friendly. whether this is an ‘under-the-table scheme’ put in place by the government, developers and the u.s. auto manufacturers, who knows. shopping strip centers and big-box chain stores are disgusting and are littering our cities with faux design, faux culture and a lack of anything beneficial. drive across the country and one will quickly learn that from city to city, there is monotony… sameness and lack of place. one place is the same as the next and the same as the next. the only defining element of american culture is sameness. we have no true identity and go about our lives oblivous to the fact that there’s an entire world out there beyond our ‘comfort zone’ that many of us have no desire to experience. but why? why is it that we, americans, think that our lives, our values, our beliefs and our country are the greatest? how is it that we argue for so many freedoms and equal opportunity for all, yet we continue to surpress the same minority groups? we are a society of hypocrits which will do anything to get what we want, even if that means our own government changing/adding/breaking laws just to get what they want.

so, where am i trying to get with all this? the world is quickly changing and if we, the united states, does not evolve with it we are going to get left behind. we are not as strong as we used to be and are increasingly losing ground. our society needs to educate itself and worry about global concerns rather than living lives in oblivion and in our own personal ‘bubbles’ of comfort. yeah the news may not be as exciting as your evening network sitcom or mtv series for some. but if you want to rot your brain in a sea of ignorance, than please do not participate in a society where the rest of us are concerned for the well-being of a global community.