The Future of Internet...

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "The Future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." Indeed, the future of internet is limitless, is never ending. Once upon a time, when there were no aeroplanes, the Wright brothers dreamt of a future where people can fly. Great inventions by Einstein would not have surfaced without dreams. Dreams can be beautiful, but it takes effort for dreams to become reality. The internet has became a reality of past dreams. From Web 1.0 to 3.0 of today. From telephone, mobile phones and postal mail to internet conferencing, skype and instant emails. 

Let's take a look at the evolution of the internet from the past till today:

 

In regards to the future of the internet, there have been lots of predictions. According to an article by Six Revisions,authored by professional web developer and designer Jacob Gube, he predicts 4 outcomes of the future of the Internet:

1) Audio Web Surfing

Imagine people on the train with headphones attached to their mobile device, say attached to a watch, while Text-to-Speech reads them the latest articles from their favorite sites. It would be the use of HTML5. Rather than reading and clicking, the audience can tell the browser where they want to go with spoken commands. Speech recognition has not been possible in the last decade. But we can see it in mobile phones today, computers that recognizes voice commands, gate security that recognizes only the owner's voice frequency...etc.

2) Web Surf on any Device

In the past, web surf on the mobile seemed impossible. The mobile phone was used only to make phone calls, if not simple text messages or even more advanced, organizing the calendar. The future of internet may predict a touch screen on our refrigerators, chopping boards, or even holograms projected from watches. These items can deliver niche and relevant content. For e.g. the chopping board on the left, it could display instructions as to slice the onions into how small, showing a live-demonstration of a renowned chef chopping onions...etc. 

3) Input Revisited 

Imagine the movie Minority Report happening in our daily lives.Simple gesture implementation on the trackpad in OSX is do good that using gestureless laptops becomes unthinkable. Many hardware manufacturers would hence try to invent their own GUIs. 

4) Mobile Networking

Imagine Harry Potter's newspaper. The pictures in the newspapers are alive, and the videos in the newspapers reinforce the text in the news. Imagine too hands-free systems in cars. When we enter the car, just speak the command and the system will track the location via GPS and auto-pilot us to any location, speak about automated parking!

With advancing technology and unwavering dreams, the future of internet will be charming. One wonders if Internet would dominate human beings, like the robots in I-Robot. Will intelligence in the internet overtake human intelligence? What would happen? We could only imagine and pray this day would not come. 

Journalism + Internet or Journalism Vs. Internet?

As written on my previous blog, the power of Internet has closed down many newspaper firms in Iran. Is Internet killing Journalism? As the saying goes, the pen is mightier than the sword. Today, the internet is the most formidable foe would not be an understatement. The Internet has encouraged a shift in who creates, distributes and ultimately owns the news.

Today when we need reliable news, where do we search for? Newspaper? Internet? The evaluation of news should be based on these benchmarks:

1. Accuracy: 
• The news must have an author who can be traced. Newspapers all have editors and publication, so there's no problem in contacting them. In the Internet, anonymous posts of news coverage should not be taken seriously. If one is thoroughly very sure of his content, he would have no qualms in leaving his contacts.
2. Authority:
•  Although there have been many talks about newspapers having a biased point of view, newspapers are still reliable sources of information. Journalists and reporters all have video clips, interview clips, photos as evidences of the live situation. Some Internet sites are authoritative, hence the news that they publish are reliable too. (Refer to previous week's blog to understand more about Authority bestowed by various source)
3. Objectivity:
• The objectivity and goals of the publication should be consistent. A newspaper company whose aim is to publish political news coverage shouldn't cover entertainment gossips and stuffs. An internet site which supports Obama shouldn't have discriminating posts on him.
4. Currency: 
• The materials of the publication should be up-to-date. Newspapers publish on a dailiy basis, reporters and journalists reach the site of news as soon as possible, hence their coverage is always reliable. Internet sites which publishes news should ensure their news are not out-dated.
5. Coverage:
• Information should be quoted correctly. Too much pictures would discredit the news. Too much words would make it very wordy and difficult to digest. A healthy balance of words and pictures would be ideal for a news publication. Newspapers have live-situation photos to back up their coverage, hence it is always a good source. Internet sites have to ensure their pictures do not mislead any information.

let's end this with a short video on citizen journalism, where citizens are free to post news coverage, wherever they are.