I want to apologize for not posting in the past couple of weeks. It seems that my life as a retail superstar has interfered with my ability to act as an academic, let alone a public academic. So, I might as well attempt to write something before the end of the year. As my relatives are enjoying another college bowl game or a game of cards, I guess this would be as good a time as any to try to put together some thoughts on the year that was and what I see happening next year.
Microblogging will continue to evolve
One of the biggest stories of the past month has been the Denver plane crash and how one of the passengers Twittered during the crash. This lead to a series of headlines punning of either Twitter or crashes. I don’t believe Twitter will survive at the end of 2009 unless the Twitter crew can find some way to monetize the system. However, thanks to systems like the Laconica microblogging software and the Bootcamp initiative, there will be communities of microblogs connected by a superstructure of the universal profile supported by OpenID.
Cybereducation and cyberliteracy will begin to connect the levels of the American education system
With Margaret Spellings leaving and Arne Duncan becoming the Secretary of Education, I got to believe that there will be a long, hard look at (and possible elimination of) No Child Left Behind. I also believe that Duncan represents a future in cybereducation either in the form of more distance higher education to areas under-served by the current higher education/digital divide issues or through a reorganization of the primary/secondary/post-secondary education system in the United States.
There will continue to be questions in the binary levels of the Internet
Many of the academics that I listen to talk about binary issues, which are the differences between private life/public identity, online/offline, high-tech/lo-tech, public service/private utility and connected/unconnected. I realize as more of the issues emerge in the world of the Internet, there will continue to be a struggle to define our existence in this arena and what will be the methods used to help deal with the changes caused by the development in this environment.
This year was defined by the ability to connect with others, being able to precisely deliver a coherent thought and trying to persuade others with your message
I wish I could add more to this point. I’ll merely say that there has been a great deal of worldwide mediated platform that people could connect and express themselves in front of a worldwide audience. The channels of communication used to clarify points that were left out for the media’s presentation of events (U.S. Presidential Election, Prop 8 Protests, Olympics, et al.)
Well, this should be the last post for this year. I wish you and yours a happy rest of the year. I have to stop now; it’s my turn to play cards.
