The most frustrating lectures I ever attended in college were about the future of media. A typical lecture on this topic began discussing past forms of media, moved slowly to how old business models have failed and ended by saying, “This is an exciting time for journalism. We don’t know what is going to happen or where technology will take us, but hopefully you all will be an influential part of the solution.” It was mind-numbingly frustrating that no one ever went out on a limb and threw out ideas or offered suggestions that challenged conventional wisdom.
I recently spoke with Paul Levinson, Professor of Media Studies at Fordham University and distinguished media and science fiction author—and he was able to offer some challenges. We were talking about media convergence and he offered some specific examples of what he sees for the future.
“I think we’ll see in the next five to ten years smaller portable devices, maybe rings or earrings that we’ll keep on our body that will be much harder to leave at home or lose and will have much more power than today,” he said. He added that the limit for media and how far it can go will be our own brains and imagination; and that if we want something, as long as there is some scientific basis, we will be able to accomplish it eventually.
My conversation with Dr. Levinson inspired me to consider where I see media going. Here are a couple of examples I came up with:
Linked podcasting: Imagine listening to a podcast and any time you were confused about what guests were discussing or wanted more background on a particular topic, you could simply say a voice command that would pause the podcast and take you seamlessly to new people (Either in a quick blurb or another, longer podcast) that would clear up your confusion. It would be like clicking on a link in an online article. You could then return to the original podcast at any time by voice command. This would be great for providing background on news podcasts with complicated global issues, enlightening listeners about inside jokes on comedy podcasts or providing stats on sports podcasts.
iAir: We are continuously moving toward devices like the iPhone and now iPad where we have our entire lives at our fingertips, constantly. I hope one day we won’t even need the physical device. I hate dropping my iPod down the subway stairs (accomplished multiple times) and can only imagine the damage and hassle I would find with the iPad. I want to be able to press a small button in my pocket or say a voice command and have a touch screen pop up in front of me in the air.
An exciting business model!
Whenever the future of media is brought up, the viable business model discussion is always quick to follow. It is usually a vague discussion without groundbreaking ideas and lots of talk about pay walls and freemium. NewsTilt, however, is one business model we might be hearing more about, and to my knowledge, has yet to be attempted.
All of the ideas mentioned here might be completely off track and at any moment new technology could take us in directions never even considered. However, at the very least it’s fun to discuss where we are headed. And you never know—collaborating with others and thinking out-of-the-box together could help us create the future, not just talk about it.
