The Future of Computing and the Internet

The Blogtober challenge has re-ignited my passion for writing. I was in a real slump there for a while. I even considered archiving Lilyotron! I thought I had lost a focal point for the blog.

Then Blogtober happened and at the same time so did Oculus Connect 6. I realized that I did still have a lot to say and hopefully educate my readers on. I’m glad too, because it’s actually generated some good discussion like on this post.

Now, more than ever, technology has infiltrated our lives. For some of us, it makes life easier. For instance my mom’s left hand is partially paralyzed. This makes it difficult for her to type and text. Fortunately, voice control and voice-to-text makes it possible for her to still take part.

I recognize that tech that listens to you and sees for you can be a major benefit for some people. I just wish it didn’t come with so many hidden strings. What are these companies doing with our data? What rights are buried in their Terms of Service?

I wonder, what happened that the internet went from being a playground of possibilities to a reduction of Google, Twitter, and Facebook?

I think that’s one of the things I’ve enjoyed about Blogtober. I’ve met other bloggers who are on their own sites. They created their own, little section of the internet. Although some of us are stuck to prefabbed WordPress themes, our words and thoughts are truly our own (so far as I know).

I’ve met bloggers like Growing Kale, #First Draft Life, and J.K. I’m Exploring. I feel like I have a little bit of that 1990’s internet back. One of open worlds and learning HTML and CSS for the first time.

Doug Engelbart, inventor of the mouse and first person to build a computer as we think of them today, thought that computers “should augment rather than replace the human intellect” (Fisher 17).

Helen Papagiannis, leading expert in AR, wishes that augmented reality “elevates the experience of wonder and extends our imagination in new ways…” (Papagiannis 132).

Marketing futurists, Cathy Hackl and Samantha Wolfe think, “VR and AR will be part of our everyday living” (101). “It’s simply put, a revolution of marketing, branding, and communications”.

So which will computing be? A force to raise our intellect and imagination or a tool of the the “rich and powerful institutions” (Fisher 47). That, my friends, we shall discuss in tomorrow’s post.

Do you think computing is on the right track? Do you ever think back to the “good old days” of the internet? Let me know in the comments below!

Books Mentioned

Valley of Genius The Uncensored History of Silicon Valley by Adam Fisher

Augmented Human by Helen Papagiannis

Marketing New Realities by Cathy Hackle and Samantha Wolfe