Well friends, another year has come and went. As it seems to be tradition, I’m going to try once again to put together some thoughts on the year that was and what I see happening next year.
- Portable computing will continue to evolve: One of the areas of growth in the computer market has been in the netbook market. These underpowered computing systems have represented a low-end entry point to people wishing to own small computers. Besides, it seems that the tablet market will continue to increase. The tablet market was revitalized through the e-book reader systems that have flooded the market. It also appeared that Apple has theoretically entered this market space with the constant rumors around the hypothetical tablet they may or may not be producing that may or may not be coming out at the middle/end of next year. Microsoft is also planning to create a tablet that is as functional as a Moleskine notebook. Other computer manufacturers are gambling to see if it is worth the risk to enter this field. If they do (and I believe you will see a number of them next year), it will represent a substantial shift away from traditional desktop computing and would add to the convergence in the smartphone/multi-use digital media player/GPS hybrid arena.
- There will be an increase in applications within social networks: With the success of Zynga games on Facebook, it stands to reason that Facebook and perhaps Twitter will be the central platform for developers to create programs and applications designed to work off of social network theory and gift culture to encourage the user to use the program to connect with other members of the user’s network and create some value and/or resources within the program. The most straightforward genre this works in is gaming. However, creative programmers will expand what they learn from the value of games and apply it to other types of programs.
- There will continue to be an exploration of the work/play binary this year: Last year, I talked out the concept of binaries and how they will play out on the digital landscape. Since we are dealing with less than ideal conditions in the global economy (read as a recession), a fair portion of the population is unemployed or underemployed. It was during similar circumstances in the early part of 2000’s (the “tech bubble“) that many bright programmers, engineers, and entrepreneurs had nothing to lose and played and experimented in “digital sandboxes” to create products for the global digital market. Those included Facebook, mySpace, & Wikipedia. Therefore, I believe the increase of free time that some people are having will encourage people to play with the digital environment, which in turn is a form of work.
- This year was defined by the ability to escape from the issues of the real world: I think that’s the theme that ties the first three-point of this post. It seems that we were on more social networks to talk about what others were doing rather than describing the issues of our own lives. I guess we realized we not all rock star and could not afford the rock star lifestyle. To borrow the popular meme, on the Internet nobody knows you are not a rockstar.
Well, this should be the last post for this year. I want to thank Erika Pearson, David Gurzick, Raquel Recuero, and Kris M. Markman for the work for the center and especially you, the reader, for taking the time and reading our journal. I wish all of you and a safe and happy new year.
