Does Every Generation Feel this Way?
The deeper I go into the rabbit hole of social media, the more tools and potential I see. I see more and more “perfect score” sites – sites that are next to impossible to improve upon. Twitter, for all of it’s reliability faults (something that they are actively addressing by possibly moving off Ruby on Rails) does exactly what it’s supposed to do. Flickr, YouTube, the indomitable Google – small, discrete functionality that can be strung together to create some massively impressive applications.
I just signed up for Google Health to see if it’s as awesome as I hope. So much time is wasted on recollecting data that already exists. I want a centralized data source to which I can grant access – permanently or temporarily. There are, of course, trust issues. Google’s still a corporation and they aren’t held to HIPAA standards like medical facilities. But if the trust issue could be overcome, I would gladly let a third party handle things for me as I begin to build my metacortex.
I see so much potential in the disruptive technologies that are springing up. It’s as if technology is progressing at an ever increasing speed. Is this what it felt like during the industrial revolution, when newer machines allowed for even newer machines that allowed for ever more newer machines? I feel like the next 20 years is going to change everything we’ve ever known! Cybernetics, nanotech, biochemistry, custom genetics – just four of the fields that are feeding off each other and growing faster and faster! The future is here!
Now here’s the question: does every generation feel this way? Optimistic that future is limited only by clock cycles and since clock cycles are still following Moore’s Law it’s only a matter of time? I can see so much of StarTrek happening, everything from teleportation to food replicators to and end to any and all poverty. I see an end to human civilization as it’s ever been known, whether that’s good or bad is debateable, but I’m convinced that it’s going to happen. But am I being naive? Do the young in every generation feel like the end of the world is out there, waiting to be grasped, and racing towards it?
Obviously, the future isn’t for everyone. I’ve tried explaining Twitter and RSS to people and keep getting blank stares. “You can get all the information you want, when you want it.” <blank stare> So maybe it’s being an information junkie that makes me see a bright horizon. I hope it’s not just me.
Tags: Future, google health, metacortex
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
We are now following each other on Twitter and I checked out your site. Someone had to explain Twitter to me and I’m still trying to grasp RSS. I feel like I’m way behind and it would be too hard to catch up. All of the "kids" at work have to explain most everything new. I’m treading water. It’s hard to keep up and sometimes very overwhelming.
May 26th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
I wish I was as optimistic as you. I see extreme potential for abuse & loss of power for the individual. *sigh* but still I participate. ~not to be a bummer or anything~
May 27th, 2008 at 5:36 am
I agree with Taylor that there is an abuse potential, probably greater now than at any time in the past. Whenever a corporation or government says, “Trust us. We’re not going to do anything wrong,” I get very cynical and begin to recount all of human history. The only mitigating factor is that their is an unprecedented level of transparency in play. The democratizing nature of the internet means that you can instantly report things as they happen. The events surrounding Derek Onstott’s atrocious behavior to a Yelp review is a good example.
In fact, I would be more afraid of THAT type of abuse – people maliciously reporting information. The democratizing nature of the internet, and especially social media, means that any yokel with a computer can speak his peace AND everyone else can read it. I can see state secrets, military plans, personal and private information, and any number of things being leaked for personal gain. Posting stuff on the internet is worse than squeezing out toothpaste – not only can you never put it back, but it regularly gets backed up and copied!